Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers?
Shares of Plus500 Ltd. ( LON:PLUS – Get Free Report ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 2,670 ($33.60) and last traded at GBX 2,670 ($33.60), with a volume of 46259 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,652 ($33.37). Plus500 Stock Up 0.7 % The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,499.45 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 2,430.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 3.89. The company has a market cap of £1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,030.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.20. Plus500 Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Plus500 Ltd., a fintech company, operates technology-based trading platforms in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and internationally. The company develops and operates an online trading platform, including over the counter (OTC) products comprising the contracts for difference (CFDs) sector enabling its international customer base of individual customers to trade CFDs on underlying financial instruments comprising shares, indices, commodities, options, ETFs, foreign exchange, and cryptocurrencies internationally. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Plus500 Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Plus500 and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Bruce Cassidy became the eighth active coach in the NHL to hit the 400-win mark on Thursday when his Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights held on for a 3-2 victory at Ottawa on Thursday. But the Ottawa native had little time to celebrate. The Golden Knights jumped on a train for Montreal shortly after the contest and will continue a season-long five-game road trip against the resurgent Canadiens on Saturday night. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. The aging of the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1946 and 1964) has significantly increased the share of the U.S. population aged 55+ during the past decade: from 24.9% in 2010, to 30.2% in 2023. And a growing number of these Americans are opting to age in place or downsize—creati... Click for more. American Cities With the Oldest Homebuyers
David Beckham pays tribute to ‘heartbeat of Manchester United’ Kath PhippsWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. severely lags behind China in shipbuilding capacity, lawmakers and experts have warned, as the Biden administration tries to build up the country's ability to develop and produce weapons and other defense supplies to fend off war. Speaking at a congressional hearing Thursday, Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said the country lacks the capacity to “deter and win a fight” with China and called for action. “Bold policy changes and significant resources are now needed to restore deterrence and prevent a fight” with China, Moolenaar said. China’s navy is already the world’s largest, and its shipbuilding capacity, estimated to be 230 times larger, dwarfs that of the U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking Democratic member of the committee, told Fox News last week that “for every one oceangoing vessel that we can produce, China can produce 359 in one single year." The U.S. government has come to see China as its “pacing challenge," and officials have warned that Beijing is pursuing the largest peacetime military buildup in history, raising concerns about how the U.S. would respond and ensure victory in case of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific, where tensions are high in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea . Krishnamoorthi on Thursday warned that a weak military industrial base could invite aggression and argued that strengthening it is necessary to avoid war with China. “History tells us we need a healthy defense industrial base now to deter aggression and make sure the world’s dictators think again before dragging the U.S. and the world into yet another disastrous conflict,” Krishnamoorthi said. National security adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “generational project” to fix the problem after the American shipbuilding industry had its “bottom fell out” in the early 1980s. “Part of it is we don't have the backbone of a healthy commercial shipbuilding base to rest our naval shipbuilding on top of,” Sullivan said Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington. “And that's part of the fragility of what we're contending with and why this is going to be such a generational project to fix.” The challenge in shipbuilding has been “especially immense,” stemming from the hollowing-out of the U.S. manufacturing base where its workforce shrank and suppliers left, Sullivan said. And it is part of the broader problem of a weakened U.S. military industrial base, as manifested in the weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sullivan said, when Kyiv in eight weeks “burned through a year's worth of U.S. 155-millimeter artillery production." “Decades of underinvestments and consolidation had seriously eroded our defense industrial base, and there was no way around it,” Sullivan said. The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, warned last month that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East were eating away at critical U.S. weapons stockpiles and could hamper the military’s ability to respond to China should a conflict arise. He said providing or selling billions of dollars worth of air defenses to both Ukraine and Israel were hampering U.S. ability to respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific. “It’s now eating into stocks, and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” he told an audience at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Nov . 19. Several researchers at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said China’s rapid military buildup could allow the country to prevail over the U.S., especially in case of a prolonged conflict. “China’s massive shipbuilding industry would provide a strategic advantage in a war that stretches beyond a few weeks, allowing it to repair damaged vessels or construct replacements much faster than the United States,” the researchers wrote in June. On Thursday, the congressional panel heard suggestions from experts who said it would take time to rebuild the defense industrial base, but for quicker fixes, the U.S. could innovate to make low-cost and autonomous systems and tap resources of its allies. “We need to look at co-production of whether it's munitions in Australia or shipbuilding in Korea,” said William Greenwalt, a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute. “We need to get numbers as fast as we can," he said.
STILLWATER — For 11 years, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy found himself noticing Kody Walterscheid’s family on the pre-game march into Boone Pickens Stadium. “I noticed the mom's holding a baby,” Gundy said. “I'm guessing that's a grandkid. They're in the same place on The Walk, and it just happens that when I get to a certain point, that for whatever reason, I can see them. Obviously, his dad's like 6-foot-9, so it's not hard to miss them. ... That family's been a big part of our football team." Saturday’s senior day game against Texas Tech will be Walterscheid’s 61st game as a Cowboy. It will also mark the end of the 11-year streak of OSU teams including a Walterscheid that began when Kody’s older brother Cole Walterscheid joined the team in 2014. At least 20 seniors will say goodbye to Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday, but the list could get much bigger. Twelve seniors have the option to return but might choose to go ahead and participate in senior day this weekend perhaps influenced by pending roster cuts following the season. Then there’s any players who might choose to declare early for the NFL Draft which Gundy expects to include running back Ollie Gordon and linebacker Nick Martin although he hadn't received official word yet. People are also reading... Sooners legend Tiare Jennings 'a game changer' as OU softball graduate assistant Bill Haisten: ‘Why would you even say that?’ OSU fund-raising was damaged by Gundy comments Berry Tramel: Kevin Wilson makes a decision for TU's future that might not be his State Department of Education bought 532 Trump Bibles, purchase order shows QB commit Jett Niu's dreams led him to OSU, but he had one question for Mike Gundy What's the latest with Michael Fasusi? An update on OU's top 2025 recruiting target Roster cuts are coming to Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy is dreading it Will Brent Venables make a solid offensive coordinator hire? Joe C believes so — and here's why POLL CLOSED: Vote for the Bill Knight Automotive high school football player of the week for Week 11 A new name coming for one of Tulsa's tallest buildings What's Brent Venables telling recruits now? Has no-visit policy for OU commits changed? Police, sheriff talk about what Trump's mass deportation plan could mean for Tulsa James Franco visits Outsiders House Museum Mike Gundy preparing to send Ollie Gordon, Nick Martin, Collin Oliver to NFL Draft Video: Stephen Colbert counts Ryan Walters among 'far-right weirdos' Trump could hire Sixteen seniors have played their entire career at OSU. Only five other teams in the nation have more this season. “Those guys have, a lot of them have been here for six years, and each year when they depart, I can't decide whether I think they just got here or if they've been here forever with all the classes that are meshing nowadays,” Gundy said. “These guys have won a lot of games. ... Their commitment to the organization has been very special, like all of them. It takes a lot, and those guys have been very successful.” At times, defensive lineman Collin Clay thought he’d never make it to this moment after tearing the same ACL in back-to-back years. “I felt like after my second one, I was ready to, you know, just hang it up,” Clay said. “But, you know, I just feel like I'm strong enough to just go out there and persevere through that stuff. And I feel like I did. I feel like that's a story for anybody else that may be going through the same thing. ... If you feel like you know your faith is there, just trust and believe God that everything will work out the way they're supposed to.” Clay said his time on the sidelines taught him that there’s more to life than football. At some point, his identity became completely wrapped up in the sport, which made things difficult when he couldn’t play. “It definitely built my character,” Clay said. Clay plans to coach high school football after his playing career wraps up, but he’s also considering another path— culinary school. “I think it's cool to just watch people cook things,” Clay said. “It's pretty entertaining just to see like the process and everything that it takes. ... It is just cool to be able to try new things.”
FDA Accepts Ascendis Pharma’s Supplemental Biologics License Application for TransConTM hGH for ...As Love Island star Maura Higgins and author Reverend Richard Coles join fellow celebrities Down Under. The latecomers were revealed on Wednesday, November 20 and have yet to join the other campmates. The two are currently in their own private camp as hosts Ant and Dec told viewers they would be living in the 'Junkyard' camp for the next few days. Thinking it would be really bad living conditions, the camp transformed with a mattress bed, bubble bath, grill and more. Maura influencing a priest was not on my 2024 bingo card #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/ZFCl2buUuC However, the two had to complete a mission by convincing the celebrities in the other camp that they were living in awful conditions. Despite not yet being with the other celebrities, fans of the ITV show have said that they are already loving them. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one I’m A Celeb viewer said: “These two are like polar opposites but so funny together." As another added: “Richard and Maura are MY WINNERS ALREADY." A further said: ““Sorry Father.” HAHAHAHAHA adding Maura to an already 10/10 camp is ridiculously brilliant!" While one said: “Aww I’ve missed Maura, I love her! I saw her on Love Island USA but I still have missed her." The reason celebrities no longer have their phone numbers printed on their uniforms is because ITV has changed the way viewers vote this year. Usually, viewers can vote for celebrities to take part in trials or to leave camp by calling the phone numbers assigned to each of them. However, this year, the ITV show is not accepting votes via phone calls. Therefore, viewers must use the app to make their votes. RECOMMENDED READING I'm A Celeb's Danny Jones in tears as he shares mental health journey GK Barry and Dean branded ‘awful’ on I’m A Celebrity I'm A Celebrity's Melvin Odoom was on this hit TV show - do you remember him? The app is available to download either via the App Store or Play Store. One viewer took to X (formerly Twitter) to say they didn't like the change: "Don’t like how they no longer stick phone numbers on the back of their shirts on I’m A Celeb. "Some things should never change, even with technological advances."TI Fluid Systems (LON:TIFS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?
Albion dominated for large periods on a foggy evening at the Amex Stadium and hit the woodwork inside four minutes through Julio Enciso. Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken also made a string of important saves before being forced off injured in the 36th minute, albeit his replacement Hakon Valdimarsson was rarely tested on his Premier League debut. Brentford, who remain without a top-flight away win this term, had an early Yoane Wissa finish ruled out for offside following VAR intervention but barely threatened, despite an improved second-half showing. The Seagulls remain 10th ahead of Monday’s trip to Aston Villa, with Thomas Frank’s visitors a position and two points below moving towards their New Year’s Day showdown with Arsenal. Brighton have plummeted from second place to mid-table amid a poor run of form which has increased scrutiny on head coach Fabian Hurzeler. Seagulls chief executive Paul Barber called for perspective from fans in his programme notes after revealing he revealed emails “full of doom and gloom” following the recent 3-1 home defeat to rivals Crystal Palace. Enciso, one of two players recalled by Hurzeler following Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham, almost gave Albion a dream start. A poor pass from Bees goalkeeper Flekken was intercepted by Carlos Baleba and, following a neat layoff from Joao Pedro, Paraguay forward Enciso curled against the right post. Brentford arrived in Sussex with the worst away record in the division, having previously taken a solitary point from 24 available this term. Flekken saved well from Baleba and then collected a tame header from the unmarked Enciso before the away side thought they had snatched a 13th-minute lead. After being slipped in by Mads Roerslev at the end of a swift counter-attack, Wissa thumped high into the net beyond Seagulls keeper Bart Verbruggen only to be ruled marginally offside. Flekken made further saves from Brajan Gruda and Matt O’Riley before hurting himself keeping out a deflected Kaoru Mitoma cross and being replaced by 23-year-old Iceland international Valdimarsson. Brentford remained on the back foot and, aside from Wissa’s disallowed effort, offered little going forward in a one-sided opening period which somehow ended level. Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke produced a crucial block to deny Wissa as the west London club began the second half brightly before Christian Norgaard’s ambitious effort deflected wide amid groans from increasingly restless home fans. Hurzeler responded with a triple change, introducing Yasin Ayari, Simon Adingra and Yankuba Minteh in place of O’Riley, Gruda and Mitoma. Albion forward Pedro then escaped punishment in the 76th minute after swinging an arm at Bees substitute Yehor Yarmoliuk without making contact before defender Ben Mee became the second visiting player to depart injured. The introduction of Solly March in the 88th minute for his first appearance since suffering a serious knee injury in October last year briefly lifted the mood on the terraces. But, following a frantic five minutes of added time, some Seagulls supporters vented their displeasure at full-time as their club’s wait for victory goes on.Key premiers dismiss Doug Ford's threat to stop Donald Trump's tariffs by cutting off energy to Americans
Moment of silence for former President Jimmy Carter held before the Falcons-Commanders gameISSAQUAH, Wash., Dec. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: COST) today announced its operating results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (twelve weeks), ended November 24, 2024. Net sales for the first quarter increased 7.5 percent, to $60.99 billion from $56.72 billion last year. Comparable sales for the first quarter fiscal 2025 were as follows: *Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange. Net income for the quarter was $1,798 million, $4.04 per diluted share, compared to $1,589 million, $3.58 per diluted share, last year. This year’s results included a tax benefit of $100 million, $0.22 per diluted share, related to stock-based compensation. Last year’s results included a tax benefit of $44 million, $0.10 per diluted share, also related to stock-based compensation. Costco currently operates 897 warehouses, including 617 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 109 in Canada, 41 in Mexico, 36 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia. A conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (PT) today, December 12, 2024, and is available via a webcast on investor.costco.com (click “Events & Presentations”). Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, inflation or deflation, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, breaches of security or privacy of member or business information, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, capital spending, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (generally including health-care costs and wages), workforce interruptions, energy and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions (including tariffs), the ability to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, regulatory and other impacts related to environmental and social matters, public-health related factors, and other risks identified from time to time in the Company’s public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update these statements, except as required by law. Comparable sales and comparable sales excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange are intended as supplemental information and are not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. COST-Earn
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Tubi ‘s imported comedy Big Mood debuted in April 2024 and has left viewers wondering what’s next for friends Maggie ( Nicola Coughlan ) and Eddie ( Lydia West ) ever since it launched. But will the series return for a second season? No official confirmation regarding the show’s future has been made at this time, in other words, it hasn’t been renewed, but it hasn’t been canceled either. In the meantime, we’re breaking down everything we know about the show’s potential return so far, below. Tubi Yes, there’s an abundance of hope due in part to some teases series creator and writer Camilla Whitehill gave about planning for another chapter of the comedy. During an appearance on the Firecrotch & Normcore: They Like to Watch Podcast in July 2024, Whitehill said, “I’m writing Big Mood Series 2, which hasn’t been fully fully greenlit.” She added that regarding a second season, “a few episodes have been commissioned, so I’m working on that. I hope that we will be, that we’ll go again.” Big Mood , as fans saw in Season 1, focuses on the friendship between Eddie and Maggie, the latter of which struggles to live with her bipolar disorder. While Eddie is a big support, she has struggles of her own that often fly under the radar as she tries her best to be there for Maggie. Ultimately, Season 1 ended with Maggie missing out on accompanying Eddie for an abortion due to her mental status. Missing time and space, Maggie eventually shows up at the bar Eddie owned to find a closed sign before she sees Eddie leaving with luggage in a taxi. Nicola Coughlan Weighs in on 'Big Mood' & 'Bridgerton's Friendship Statuses It’s a heartbreaking scene, and Season 2 would likely pick up where things left off, or examine where these friends are some time after the events after spending some time apart. Only time would tell for certain as we await word on the show’s future. When it came to the possibility of a second season, Big Mood stars Coughlan and West were interested in exploring the origin of Maggie and Eddie’s friendship. “If we get a Season 2 — touch wood — I really want a flashback scene to when they met,” Coughlan told TV Insider . “I’d love that. That would be so funny,” West countered. “And it would be full Indie sleaze,” Coughlan added as she continued to paint a metaphorical picture. Will this vision come to life? We’ll keep our fingers crossed. Until then, stream Big Mood anytime on Tubi. Big Mood , Streaming now, Tubi More Headlines: Will ‘Big Mood’ Return for Season 2? Everything We Know So Far ‘Squid Game’ Season 2: Every New Game, Explained What’s Next on ‘General Hospital’ in 2025: Lulu & Dante, Michael’s Exit, Trina & Kai, and More ‘Inside Outlander’ Aftershow: Silvia Presente on Jane’s Return & Relationship With William (VIDEO) ‘Southern Hospitality’ Stars Bradley Carter & T.J. Dinch Tease ‘Raw’ Season 3: ‘Buckle Up’
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan gave athletic director Warde Manuel a five-year contract extension Thursday on the heels of over rival Ohio State and to the basketball season. Manuel, who has held the position since 2016, signed through June 30, 2030, the school announced. Manuel of the College Football Playoff selection committee. “During Warde’s tenure as director, Athletics has put a structure in place where our student-athletes compete for Big Ten and national championships, excel in the classroom, and proudly graduate with their University of Michigan degrees,” university President Santa J. Ono said in the announcement. Michigan had a disappointing football season, finishing 7-5 (5-4 Big Ten), but a 13-10 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State took some pressure off of the program. The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points, the widest point spread for the rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Wolverines last year in their final season led by coach Jim Harbaugh, whose tenure at the school involved multiple NCAA investigations for recruiting and sign-stealing allegations. Manuel supported Harbaugh through those processes. In basketball, the women's team made its season debut (No. 23) in the AP Top 25 this week. The men are 7-1 a season coach Juwan Howard, who lost a school-record 24 games in 2023-24 as Michigan plummeted to a last-place finish in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967. Michigan has won 52 Big Ten championships since 2020. “Every day, I am thankful to work at this great institution and to represent Michigan Athletics," Manuel said in a statement. "I especially want to thank the student-athletes, coaches and staff who compete for each of our teams and who have helped us achieve unparalleled success athletically and academically. I am excited to continue giving back to a university that has provided me with so much over my career.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: andColumnist {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. I had no doubt Dennis Connors would share the feeling. He is a deeply respected upstate historian, curator emeritus for the Onondaga County Historical Association, but a part of him is always a Lackawanna guy. The steel industry brought his family to that lakefront community, where he grew up in a classic double across the street from the towering Our Lady of Victory Basilica. As a kid, Connors embraced the same point I hope to make this morning about light and wonder − and where so many of us, since our Western New York childhoods, have found it at Christmas. The Electric Tower, built in 1912, is framed by holiday lights in a nearby tree in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. Connors remembers nighttime Yuletide rides with his parents through downtown Buffalo, looking out at window displays and decorated streets and a magnificent landmark that in December always burned in reds and greens: The Electric Tower, skyline monument to the season. Dennis Connors, curator of history emeritus from the Onondaga Historical Association: A sensibility shaped by a Lackawanna childhood. Touching off our conversation was an email I received a few weeks ago from Jared Paventi, who works in public affairs for National Grid. The company, he told me, was formally relighting the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse – which the late Ada Louise Huxtable, renowned critic of the New York Times, saw as one of the great examples of art deco in the nation. The connection to Buffalo lies in the hands of the designers. Deco was an exuberant and wildly eccentric style, intertwined with the breakout of electric-powered technology in the 1920s and '30s − which means this region, home to the hydroelectric pioneers of Niagara Falls, was often a treasury for the form. An international audience was treated to firsthand views of the Electric Tower, illuminated for the Yuletide, a skyline icon unique to Buffalo, on Sunday night. The soon-to-be-called-NiMo building went up in 1932 as headquarters for Niagara Hudson, which brought together many power companies under one roof. Electricity was transforming everyday life, and the designers sought to capture that feeling in Syracuse with an Oz-like explosion of stainless steel, aluminum, chrome, black glass and much more. Those features were made to be amplified by light. It was a philosophical statement involving Buffalo architects Lawrence Bley and Duane Lyman. For this landmark, they helped create rippling patterns of white light, soon extinguished due to of fear of World War II bombing raids. The Niagara Mohawk Building − regional headquarters of National Grid in Syracuse − at Christmas. Those lights weren't truly restored until 2000, when NiMo brought in the late international lighting master Howard Brandston – the guy who lighted the Statue of Liberty – to illuminate the building in a stop-in-your-tracks array of color. An image of the Electric Tower, more than 60 years ago, at Christmas. Brandston’s system “started experiencing problems” two years ago, Paventi told me. A deco monument abruptly went dark. National Grid, which took over the building decades ago, hired a group of design specialists to update and reignite a vast system of LED lights, all centered around a stunning deco sculpture called “The Spirit of Light.” The result reaffirms what Brandston told me decades ago, when I wrote for the Post-Standard in Syracuse. “You have no idea how special this building is.” With respect, I gently told him: I think I do. That story – with Christmas at the heart of it – begins in Buffalo, with a building architect Mike Chadwick of Iskalo Development affectionately calls a "wedding cake rocketship." My central Yuletide memories involve that “Electric Tower,” though when I was a kid we knew it as the Electric Building − because that is the way my dad and his co-workers described it. My father spent his career moving coal along the waterfront for Niagara Mohawk. He started at the now-shuttered Huntley station in Tonawanda and then became a coal handler at Dunkirk's now-long-closed steam station. Every year, not long before Christmas, we would head to Buffalo, where the first stop was always the tower. My father would go into the deco lobby to pick up his savings, and then we would hit Sears and Roebuck on Main Street and Jefferson Avenue − my parents somehow trying to shop, without us seeing − before going downtown to find Santa Claus at the department stores. The spiritual highlight, each December, was when night fell and Yuletide lights snapped on atop the Electric Tower. This was long before the tower, owned now by Iskalo, became the centerpiece of New Year's Eve celebrations. I was a little kid. I had no idea it had been designed in 1912 by Esenwein & Johnson, who were inspired by a similar landmark at the Pan-American Exposition and by an ancient lighthouse in Alexandria. M&T Bank's gold dome branch, left, the Hiker statue, center, and the Electric Tower are lit up by lights in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. I didn’t know the original lighting was a design statement by W. D'Arcy Ryan, a global pioneer in outdoor illumination – both at Niagara Falls and the Manhattan skyline. And I didn’t know a guy named Paul Schoellkopf, as president of Niagara Hudson in the early 1930s, brought in Bley and Lyman to do extensive deco work in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Syracuse. In this regard, Michael Kless speaks for much of Buffalo. He is chief engineer at the Electric Tower, the Washington Street landmark owned by Iskalo Development. That means he has 14 floors worth of equipment and wiring to deal with every day, creating a building that to an engineer almost becomes a living thing. Yet this is no ordinary They were "maybe the leading deco firm in the city,” said architectural historian Martin Wachadlo – though he gave a respectful nod to John J. Wade, architect of City Hall. Wachadlo noted Bley and Lyman created a 1930s pamphlet about deco style, available in the research library of the Buffalo History Museum, in which they wrote: “The public’s attention is attracted to a building at night, it is true, by brilliant illumination, but where a number of buildings are equally striving for attention that building which exhibits an ingenious and imaginative use of light will finally win the attention of the public. Cars drive by the Electric Tower in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. “Such a building,” they wrote, “will fix itself in the mind of the public more strongly and will be remembered long after the others have been forgotten.” Certainly they saw proof in the Electric Tower, graceful beaux arts neoclassical design elevated by what Ryan did with lights at night. Bley and Lyman put their deco principles to work in a smaller but striking Niagara Hudson building, in Niagara Falls. Yet the dizzying apex of their deco vision was part of what became known as the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse. Melvin King was listed as supervising architect. Still, as Chuck LaChiusa’s Buffalo Architecture and History site asserts, Bley and Lyman were “listed as consulting architects but they had designed other structures for the company ... and it is thought that the design came out their office.” The building was a vessel for the entire idea of how power could transform the world, and the design took that notion, as Dennis Connors said, “to the nth degree.” The Niagara Mohawk building, burning pure white in Syracuse. “It was kind of this unique and specific aspect of upstate New York, this idea of electricity and power and so much starting with the Falls, and it all fits right into the whole stream of art deco,” he said. In their 1930s essay, Bley and Lyman reflected on how deco architects could utilize the way light and shadow play with intensity "upon different materials,” as well as “command (of) not only color but movement.” All of it is evident, today, in the NiMo Building. Paventi said it's coincidence that the relighting happened during the holidays, but the building's shifting array of colors included reds and greens of the season when my son and I stopped by a few days ago. How beautiful is it? At 65, I felt the kind of awe I felt at 5, beneath the Electric Tower. The effect was so spectacular that many motorists, overwhelmed, pulled over, parked their cars and tried to somehow capture what they were feeling, with their phones. Erie Bouelvard entrance to a Bley and Lyman masterpiece, the NiMo building in Syracuse. The enduring love and passion of Buffalo fans – dogged, raucous loyalty that's now part of the international football persona of this city – helps explain why these championship Bills still live in greater Buffalo, six decades later. It left me thinking of the dreams of Bley and Lyman, how Bley died in 1940 and Lyman in 1966, though their hope − in Buffalo and beyond − was to do something that would be "remembered long after." Standing there last week, I thought: They pulled it off. We talk a lot, with good reason, about the scholarly legacy of great architects. But the real gift of a truly stunning building is something more elemental, the power to raise a child’s eyes toward the sky and to cause that kid to realize – in a sudden communion of light and structure, with a spark of genius – the daily presence of unexpected, soul-lifting beauty. In Buffalo, looking up, I call that Christmas. Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Buffalo News. Email him at skirst@buffnews.com . 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