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The White Brotherhood was an urban society (or militia) of Toulouse established in 1211 during the episcopate of Folquet de Marselha, so-called from its members' habit of wearing white crosses on their chests. The society, called a "pious institution" by William of Puylaurens, was militant towards usurers (Jews) and Cathars, robbing them and destroying their homes. Most of the Whites came from the city proper. A Black Brotherhood, so-called in opposition to the White, was soon formed and the two factions went to war in the streets of Toulouse. According to Puylaurens: |
Daily the two parties would clash, banners flying, bristling with weapons, even with cavalry in evidence. Through the agency of His servant the bishop, Our Lord came to bring them, not a bad peace but a good war. |
From the White Brotherhood Folquet selected 500 men-at-arms and sent them to aid the Albigensian Crusade in besieging Lavaur. The bishop even composed pro-Crusade "sirventes" for the troops to sing. Count Raymond VII, however, forbade the citizens to go and tried to force Folquet from the city. The White Brotherhood did go, however, and the bishop eventually left as well, to join the siege at Lavaur. |
The White Brotherhood gained notoriety among the opponents of the Crusade. The troubadour Gavaudan wrote the song "A la plus longa nuech de l'an" in which he criticises the "foolish white people", almost certainly a reference to the Whites of Toulouse. |
= = = Blue Night Network = = = |
The Blue Night Network is the overnight public transit service operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The network consists of a basic grid of 27 bus and 4 streetcar routes, distributed so that almost all of the city is within 2 km of at least one route. It is the largest and most frequent night network in North America. |
The times of Blue Night service vary according to individual scheduling situations on each route. Most regular service bus and streetcar routes cease operations at approximately 1:30 a.m. If there is a Blue Night route on the same street, its first trip will then follow at a suitable interval after the last regular run. |
On the subway system, the last trains on each line make a complete trip; the last trains running east, west, and north from Bloor–Yonge and St. George stations each leave at 1:50 a.m. or just after. Each station then closes as the last train passes it. |
In the morning, regular bus and streetcar service mostly takes over from the corresponding Blue Night routes around 5:30a.m, or 8:00a.m. on Sundays. The first trains on the subway then start from various positions along the routes, allowing all stations to open more or less simultaneously just before 6:00a.m., or 8:00a.m. on Sundays. The Blue Night routes that parallel the subway lines keep running until that time, and their last buses terminate service at a subway station to facilitate transfers to the trains. |
Normal TTC fares apply on the Blue Night Network. Passengers can transfer to or from regular-service routes as usual. Additionally, TTC passes valid for the previous day are honoured until 5:30a.m. the next day, rather than midnight. |
Blue Night routes operate with frequencies of every 30 minutes or better. Blue Night routes are distinguished from regular routes by numbers in the 300 series. Numbering on these routes can correspond to a day route, such as 301 Queen being Blue Night for 501 Queen. Routings are often combinations of multiple-day routes or slight alterations to their corresponding day route. |
Most routes are operated by TTC's fleet of low-floor buses, where applicable, making them fully accessible for handicapped and wheelchair users. Four routes operate with streetcars: the 301 Queen, the 304 King, the 306 Carlton, and the 310 Spadina. As of January 2020, all of these routes are operated with accessible Flexity Outlook streetcars. |
Toronto has had overnight streetcar service since the days of the Toronto Railway Company in the 1890s, and the TTC continued it when they took over in 1921. The routes selected for 24-hour service were those serving 24-hour employers such as factories, stockyards, and railway yards. |
Over the years various streetcar routes were replaced by other modes, and where new subway lines replaced streetcars during regular hours, buses were put on overnight. But the overnight routings remained largely unchanged for decades, even after the TTC's service area expanded in 1954 from the Toronto city limits as they then were, to include the whole of Metropolitan Toronto ("Metro", which in 1998 became the present amalgamated city of Toronto). Only one overnight route (the Queen streetcar, later 501 Queen, to Long Branch loop) extended a significant distance into the suburbs. |
In 1974, after the subway had been extended beyond the Toronto city limits in three directions, the same was done for overnight bus service. But large areas of Metro still remained without 24-hour transit — Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough each had only one or two routes — as late as 1986, when the TTC's planning department issued a report on "Metro All-Night Transit Service" calling for major changes. |
The report pointed out that the importance of the original "demand generators" for overnight public transit had declined. Nightly demand was now twice as heavy on weekends as on weekdays, showing that not many people were using transit to get to night work. And as Metro had grown, only 45% of its population still lived within a 15-minute walk of the existing 24-hour transit routes. In fact, hardly any of the 14 overnight routes then in existence were strictly justified by demand any more, particularly on weekdays. But since "one of the TTC's primary goals is to maximize mobility and accessibility to transit service", the report's recommendation was to redesign the system, not eliminate it. |
Most of Toronto has a squarish grid of main streets that originated as township roads and are spaced at 1¼-mile intervals (about 2 km). By running overnight buses along every second road in the grid, all parts of Metro would be reached and 86% of the population would be within a 15-minute walk (taken as 1.25 km or ¾ mile). To avoid excessively long trips, some grid streets such as Eglinton Avenue would require two bus routes meeting end-to-end, but still just 15 routes would be needed to form the grid. The 506 Carlton route had sufficient traffic to be retained in addition, for a total of 16 routes. |
This is what the report proposed. In changing from the old network of 14 routes to the new set of 16, only 2 routes would be entirely unchanged. There would be 11 entirely new overnight routes (all bus-operated), with 7 existing ones eliminated (3 streetcar, 3 trolleybus, and only 1 bus route, as the night network would be shifted away from the streetcar tracks and trolleybus wires). |
Despite the route eliminations and probable increased ridership, the changes could not be expected to finance themselves. The report recommended reducing service frequencies after 10 p.m. on certain routes in order to offset the increased costs. |
The Commission agreed to the expanded service, but could not stomach the elimination of so many routes. Instead, they chose to retain all existing routes despite the cost, creating a 23-route night system. |
Until this time, with the exception of buses that replaced subway lines, it had been understood that overnight transit was provided by regular routes that happened to have 24-hour service. Night services retained the same route names and numbers as their daytime counterparts, perhaps with a suffixed letter if there was a variation in the exact routing. But now a marketing decision was made to treat the overnight service as a new, distinct set of routes, even in those cases where the day route was identical. |
The name Blue Night Network was adopted, and with it the 300-series route numbers described above, and a new color-coding for bus and streetcar stops. The existing standard TTC-stop sign had a red square or stripe at the top and bottom; now, for all stops with 24-hour service, this was changed to red and blue, with the legend "24 hr" added. Those stops used only for the Blue Night Network, mostly for night routes paralleling the subway, received the standard sign with red changed to blue (and a notice of the limited hours). The Blue Night Network debuted in February 1987. |
In the 1990s, the TTC suffered major funding cuts and service on many low-traffic routes was reduced; the Blue Night Network lost three routes in February 1992, selected from those proposed for elimination in 1986. But other routes have been extended or added over the years, including one case (312 St. Clair in 2000) that required a mode conversion from streetcar to bus. In February 2003, two Blue Night routes were extended to reach Toronto Pearson International Airport. |
Then in 2005, several routes were added so that east–west service would run on every grid street instead of alternate ones in much of the city. This has brought the Blue Night Network up to a total of 24 routes, serving 97% of the city's population within a 15-minute walk. |
In the fall of 2015, the TTC expanded the Blue Night Network program, with 16 new or revised routes incorporated into the network as part of a $95 million investment made by Toronto City Council. This included the restoration of streetcar service on King Street as the 304 King and on Spadina Avenue as the 310 Spadina, operating entirely with low-floor Flexity streetcars. , the 310 Spadina, 306 Carlton, 304 King, and 301 Queen operate using accessible Flexity streetcars, with the remaining routes converted to the Flexity streetcars by the end of 2019 in line with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. |
= = = Kenta Kobayashi = = = |
, is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performs under the mononymous ring name Kenta (stylised in all capital letters), and is a member of the Bullet Club stable. |
He is known for his time in Pro Wrestling Noah where he was a one-time Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and one-time GHC Tag Team Champion; once was the inaugural reign with longtime partner and rival, Naomichi Marufuji, which saw the two hold the title for almost two years, as well as a reign with protégé Taiji Ishimori. He was also the winner of the 2012 Global League and the 2013 Global Tag League tournaments. |
He is also well known for his tenure in American promotion WWE where he worked under the name Hideo Itami in the company's developmental territory NXT and later in their cruiserweight exclusive brand 205 Live. A former amateur kickboxer, Kobayashi's wrestling style is based upon strong kicks and strikes. Kobayashi started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), before moving to Pro Wrestling Noah; through Noah's involvement in the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance (GPWA), a global organization of cooperative promotions that allow their competitors to travel abroad to other companies, he has wrestled extensively in American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH). |
Kobayashi was born on March 12, 1981, in Sōka, Japan. He trained under Kenta Kobashi and Yoshihiro Takayama. |
Prior to wrestling professionally, Kobayashi had a variety of athletic backgrounds, practicing baseball and kickboxing; the latter came to be a strong foundation in his wrestling style often referred to as shoot style. Kobayashi made his professional wrestling debut on May 24, 2000 against future ally and rival, Naomichi Marufuji, in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) to compete in their junior heavyweight division. He did not remain in the company long as Mitsuharu Misawa, acting president of AJPW, decided to secede from the company following a dispute with other forces, thus leading to Misawa forming his own company, Pro Wrestling Noah. |
One of Misawa's focuses in his new promotion was the junior heavyweight division, which never was treated with high regard in AJPW despite the successes in other promotions. Being sidelined with injuries for the majority of Noah's first year of operation, Kobayashi made his return in July 2001, simply named Kenta. |
Kenta's first involvement in a championship situation came when Naomichi Marufuji was forced to vacate the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship after suffering a knee injury; Kenta entered into the tournament held to determine a new champion. He advanced to the finals by defeating Kotaro Suzuki and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi before losing to Yoshinobu Kanemaru on the "Navigation with Breeze Tour" in June 2002. Following his relative success in the tournament, Kenta had an increase in his popularity, and he joined his mentor, Kenta Kobashi, in the faction Burning. |
March 1, 2003 saw Kenta team with Naomichi Marufuji for the first time against Makoto Hashi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a winning effort. They began teaming regularly as the two entered into a tournament to christen the first GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions during the company's "Accomplish Our Third Navigation tour"; they went to win the tournament by defeating junior heavyweight veterans Jyushin Thunder Liger and Takehiro Murahama in the finals on July 16. While defending the tag team title, Kenta continued his venture in hopes of winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight title once again on November 30, 2003, in an unsuccessful bid against Takashi Sugiura. |
As part of a reward for the way Kenta performed, he earned himself a trial series of seven matches going into the next year, seeing Kenta able to challenge more established stars in an attempt to elevate his status. Kenta began his trial series on the "First Navigation" tour, beating Juventud Guerrera. This was followed by defeats to Yoshinari Ogawa and Jun Akiyama. The final match of the series was a loss against Marufuji in October. While the series was taking place, Kenta and Marufuji continued defending their title against a number of challengers: El Samurai and Ryusuke Taguchi, Yoshinari Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki, Suzuki and Ricky Marvin, Marvin and Suwa and, on Noah's first Tokyo Dome show, against Kendo Kashin and Takashi Sugiura. Their reign as champions came to an end in June 2005 after almost two years by Kanemaru and Sugiura after the latter pinned Kenta. |
Kenta's first major rivalry in singles competition began in March 2005 following a dispute with SUWA, which led to a series of confrontations between the two, including a violent match that ended in his opponent getting disqualified for assaulting the referee. This led to Kenta getting one more chance to challenge for the Junior Heavyweight title against Yoshinobu Kanemaru at Destiny on July 18, which saw him win the title. He made his first defense two months later against Suwa, then against Kotaro Suzuki as his alter ego, Mushiking Terry. Simultaneously, Kenta began teaming with Katsuyori Shibata as The Takeover, challenging for the GHC Tag Team Championship, the heavyweight version of the company's tag team title. |
On March 5, 2006, Kenta faced a major challenge in Kenta Kobashi, which saw him lose following a "Burning Hammer". This was followed by a loss of the Junior Heavyweight title on June 4 to Takashi Sugiura. This saw Kenta shift his attention to the GHC Heavyweight Championship, challenging Naomichi Marufuji, losing in a match which won numerous awards and accolades from the wrestling media. |
Kenta spent the majority of his 2007 time in Noah wrestling a variety of tag team and six-man tag team matches with protégé Taiji Ishimori and Akitoshi Saito as partners. He saw most of his success with Ishimori as the two had critically acclaimed matches against a wide variety of competitors, including Ring of Honor (ROH) competitors on loan to the company due to the talent exchange agreement, the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance (GPWA), between ROH and Noah: the Briscoe Brothers, Davey Richards, and Bryan Danielson. As Kenta and Ishimori progressed as a unit, they entered the first NTV Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Tournament; in the finals they beat Marufuji and Kota Ibushi to win the tournament. They later challenged the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Dragon Gate wrestlers BxB Hulk and Shingo Takagi, in a winning effort before losing them to Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Kotaro Suzuki, only to defeat the team to win the second NTV Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League Tournament. |
Following his loss of the tag title, Kenta returned to competing in singles competition by defeating Bryan Danielson for his second GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, which led to a match with Marufuji, who had won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, to attempt to unify the titles; the match ended in a sixty-minute draw, keeping the titles in the hands of their respective holder, while gaining favorable reviews for their efforts by the media with some claiming it to be a "Match of the Year". Kenta lost the title in February 2009 to rival in their interpromotional rivalry with another member of the GPWA in the Kensuke Office, Katsuhiko Nakajima, only to win it back in the next month. In October, Kobayashi was forced to vacate the title after suffering a knee injury, which would keep him sidelined for over seven months. |
Kobayashi made his return from injury on June 6, 2010, losing to Naomichi Marufuji in a GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship number one contender's match. On October 30, 2010, Kenta and Atsushi Aoki defeated Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards in the finals of a tournament to win the 2010 Nippon TV Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League. As a result, Kenta and Aoki received a shot at the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the champions, New Japan Pro Wrestling representatives Koji Kanemoto and Tiger Mask, on November 23, 2010. On January 29, 2011, Kenta turned heel and join the Disobey stable with members Muhammad Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Genba Hirayanagi. Kenta would change his look and attitude. Then on March 5, he turned on Yone, removing him from the group. One week later, he renamed the stable No Mercy. On May 25 Kenta and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Atsushi Aoki and Kotaro Suzuki of the ANMU stable to win the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. After months of trying to persuade his mentor Yoshihiro Takayama to join No Mercy, on June 26 Takayama turned on his partner Takuma Sano during a tag match against Kenta and Kanemaru and became the fourth member of the group. Kenta and Kanemaru would then make it to the finals of the Junior Tag League on July 30. They lost to Atsushi Aoki and Kotaro Suzuki. Then on August 18, 2011 Kenta and Yoshihiro Takayama won the Noah 2 Day Tag Team Tournament. On August 24, Kenta and Kanemaru successfully defended their tag title against Aoki and Suzuki, who got the shot due to their victory in the Junior Tag League. On September 23, Kenta confronted GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki after he defeated Takayama to retain the title. Kenta got a number one contender's match with Takashi Sugiura, which he won on October 10. Kenta and Kanemaru lost the GHC Junior Heavyweight tag title to Aoki and Suzuki on October 16. |
At Noah's Halloween show on October 31, 2011, Kenta challenged the NJPW team Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Yoshihiro Takayama. The match was set for 2012, but never happened due to injury. In November, Kenta entered Noah's Global Tag League and developed a new submission move he called "Game Over" to help him dispatch heavyweights. Kenta would make it to the finals on November 20, but would lose to Takeshi Morishima. On November 27, he lost to Go Shiozaki in his GHC Heavyweight title shot. In December 2011, Kenta tore his ACL again, forcing him to undergo another surgery to repair it. It was announced that he would be out of action for six to seven months. Tokyo Sports named Kenta the 2011 Technical Wrestler of the Year. Despite his injury, Kenta would stay in Noah and manage No Mercy during his injury. On February 14, 2012, Kenta recruited Shuhei Taniguchi as the fifth member of No Mercy and change his name to Maybach, becoming his mouthpiece and talking for him. |
Kenta made his in-ring return on July 22, 2012, losing to Naomichi Marufuji. On October 8, Kenta and Maybach Taniguchi defeated Magnus and Samoa Joe to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the first time. However, they lost the title to Akitoshi Saito and Go Shiozaki just eighteen days later. On November 23, Kenta won the 2012 Global League. |
On January 27, 2013, Kenta defeated Takeshi Morishima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at Great Voyage 2013. On February 9, Maybach Taniguchi turned on Kenta and stole his Heavyweight Championship belt. The following week, Kenta took part in a South American tour with the Alianza Latinoamericana de Lucha Libre (AULL) promotion, during which he won the Torneo Latino Americano de Lucha Libre, defeating Super Crazy in the finals. On March 10, Kenta defeated Maybach Taniguchi for his first successful defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On April 28, Kenta and Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kensuke Sasaki in the finals to win the 2013 Global Tag League. On May 11, Kenta took part in Kenta Kobashi's retirement match at Final Burning in Budokan, where he, Go Shiozaki, Maybach Taniguchi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru were defeated by Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, Keiji Mutoh, and Kensuke Sasaki. The following day, Kenta made his second successful defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Takashi Sugiura. On June 2, Kenta defeated New Japan Pro Wrestling representative and reigning GHC Tag Team Champion Toru Yano for his third successful title defense. Six days later, Kenta was pinned by Yano in a GHC Tag Team Championship match, where he and Yoshihiro Takayama unsuccessfully challenged Yano and Takashi Iizuka. On July 7, Kenta made his fourth successful defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Naomichi Marufuji. Kenta's fifth successful title defense took place on August 4, when he defeated Muhammad Yone. Next Kenta defended his title against the reigning GHC Tag Team Champions, first defeating Shane Haste on September 7 and then Mikey Nicholls on September 16. On October 5, Kenta defeated Diamond Ring representative Katsuhiko Nakajima for his eighth successful title defense. With the win, Kenta became the first wrestler to successfully defend the GHC Heavyweight Championship eight times during a calendar year. On December 7, Kenta defeated New Japan representative and winner of the 2013 Global League, Yuji Nagata, for his ninth successful title defense. Kenta's near one-year long reign ended on January 5, 2014, when he lost the title to Takeshi Morishima in his tenth defense. |
On February 3, 2014, Kenta and Maybach Taniguchi's long rivalry culminated in a No Disqualification match, where Kenta was victorious. After Yuji Nagata had defeated Morishima to become the GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kenta received the first shot at the new champion, but was defeated in the title match on February 22. On April 30, Noah held a press conference during which Kenta announced his resignation from the promotion. Kenta wrestled his farewell match on May 17, where he and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima and Takashi Sugiura. |
While still under WWE contract, Kenta made a one-off return to Noah under his WWE ring name of Hideo Itami on September 1, 2018, losing to Naomichi Marufuji at Marufuji's 20th Anniversary show. |
Aside from competing in Pro Wrestling Noah, Kenta has been able to compete abroad in the United States with other participating members of the GPWA. His first appearance in the country was with Ring of Honor at Final Battle 2005, as a fan favorite, defending the GHC Junior Heavyweight title against Low Ki. He returned to the company the following year for Best in the World in New York City on March 25 where he and Naomichi Marufuji defeated the team of Samoa Joe and ROH World champion Bryan Danielson after Kenta connected with his finishing strike, the Go 2 Sleep, on Danielson. Kenta returned for "In Your Face" featuring him in a three-way match against Joe and Danielson, which ended in similar fashion. |
Kenta's first loss in the company came in the form of a tag team match, which saw his partner, Davey Richards, get pinned in a match against the Briscoe Brothers. This led to a series of matches with the two against each other, as well as reluctant partners. At "Glory by Honor V: Night 2" Kenta received another match against Danielson for the ROH World title, which saw him submit to Danielson's signature hold, the Cattle Mutilation. |
Kenta made his return to Ring of Honor on May 11 of the next year against Delirious in a winning effort. Ring of Honor made its pay per view debut with the show, Respect is Earned, teaming with Nigel McGuinness against Danielson and Takeshi Morishima in a losing effort, after which Kenta spent several months with the company competing against rival, Davey Richards and his contingency, the No Remorse Corps. Kenta made his next appearance on the "Glory By Honor VI" tour; the first night had him team with the GHC Heavyweight Champion Mitsuharu Misawa against Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji, with the match ending in a thirty-minute time limit draw. The following night, Kenta wrestled Misawa for the GHC Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. |
Kenta made his return in 2009 against ROH World Champion, Nigel McGuinness in a losing effort at the company's seventh anniversary show. He returned a few weeks later to challenge Davey Richards once more, as well as make his second pay per view appearance for Take No Prisoners teaming with Tyler Black against Katsuhiko Nakajima and Austin Aries. Kobayashi was scheduled to return to ROH in November 2009, but was forced to cancel the appearances after suffering a knee injury. |
On January 27, 2014, Kenta, with Noah's blessing, entered WWE's Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for a tryout. In a press release, Kenta claimed that he was not after a WWE contract, but only wanted to fulfill a dream and take part in a WWE workout. On June 27, Tokyo Sports reported that Kenta had signed with WWE. His signing was officially announced during an in-ring segment on July 12 in Osaka. Kobayashi relocated to Orlando to resume training at the Performance Center, while also working for WWE's developmental territory NXT. |
Kobayashi debuted on September 11 at , introduced by William Regal, where he announced his new ring name, "Hideo Itami", meaning "Hero of Pain", and fended off The Ascension when they interrupted the segment to confront Regal. Itami made his in-ring debut at the following day's tapings of "NXT", defeating Justin Gabriel, after which he was attacked by The Ascension. During the following weeks, Itami kept engaging The Ascension in brawls, but continually lost due to the numbers disadvantage; the storyline was that as a newcomer in NXT, Itami did not have any friends in the locker room to help him. This continued until November, when Finn Bálor debuted as Itami's new partner. After weeks of feuding with The Ascension, Itami and Bálor defeated them at on December 11. Itami then participated in an NXT Championship number one contender's tournament, defeating Tyler Breeze in the first round, starting a feud between the two. He suffered his first defeat in NXT on January 15, 2015, when he was defeated by Bálor in the semi-finals, thus eliminating him from the tournament. At , Itami defeated Breeze in a rematch. They continued to exchange victories over each other until Itami lost a two-out-of-three falls match to Breeze on the April 1 episode of "NXT" to end the feud. On March 27, Itami won the WrestleMania Axxess NXT tournament by defeating Adrian Neville and then Finn Bálor to get a spot in the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the pre-show of WrestleMania 31, where he was eliminated by eventual winner Big Show. |
On May 20 at , Itami was scheduled to face Finn Bálor and Tyler Breeze in a triple threat match to determine the number one contender for the NXT Championship; however, Itami was ruled out due to injury after an attack he suffered before the event started. This was made as Itami had suffered a legitimate shoulder injury, which required surgery and was expected to sideline him for six months. In January 2016, it was reported that Itami had suffered complications with his shoulder and was "nowhere close to being able to return". |
After over a year of inactivity, Itami returned to the ring on June 30, 2016, at an NXT live event, teaming with TM-61 to defeat Samoa Joe, Blake and Tino Sabbatelli in a six-man tag team match. On August 3, Itami made his televised return, defeating Cruiserweight Classic competitor Sean Maluta. At , Itami confronted Austin Aries, following the latter's match with No Way Jose, exchanging blows before attacking Aries with a "GTS". On October 12 at an NXT live event, Itami suffered a neck injury after a botched powerslam from Riddick Moss and would not be able to team with Kota Ibushi in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in which he was scheduled to compete in. In a video announcement published on October 18, Itami vowed to return to in-ring competition at NXT's first show in Japan on December 3. However, at the event, Itami did not compete but was instead in an in-ring segment alongside William Regal where they talked to the crowd. |
Itami made his televised return on April 19, 2017, where he confronted NXT Champion Bobby Roode, before slapping him and executing a "GTS". This led to a match at , in which Itami was unsuccessful in winning the title from Roode. On the June 7 episode of NXT, furious after his loss to Roode, Itami faced Oney Lorcan, which ended in a no-contest after Itami performed three "GTS"s on Lorcan until Kassius Ohno attempted to save Lorcan, teasing a heel turn and a feud between the pair. On the July 5 episode of NXT, Itami teamed with Ohno in a tag team match against Sanity (Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe), but lost after Itami refused to tag in Ohno. On the July 26 episode of NXT, Itami faced Ohno in the main event, which ended after Itami intentionally disqualified himself with a low blow to Ohno before viciously attacking and laying him out after two "GTS"s, followed by a third onto the steel steps, cementing his heel turn. On the August 2 edition of "NXT", Itami cut an in-ring promo, demanding respect from the fans. He was interrupted by Aleister Black, who was scheduled to face Kyle O'Reilly in the night's main event. After a stare down between the two, Black hit Itami with "Black Mass". Itami attempted to assault Black following the event, but the two were separated by fellow talent. At , Itami was defeated by Black. In his last NXT match, Itami defeated Fabian Aichner at a live event on December 16. |
On November 21, 2017, it was announced that Itami would be moving to the main roster as part of the cruiserweight division on "205 Live". On the December 18 episode of "Raw", Itami would make his main roster debut, aiding Finn Bálor to fend off and face Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas in a tag team match, which Itami and Bálor would win. On the December 25 episode of "Raw", Itami would defeat The Brian Kendrick, in which Kendrick would suffer an injury following a Go to Sleep by Itami. This would lead to Itami entering a short feud with Kendrick's tag team partner, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, where Gallagher would challenge Itami to a match on the December 26 episode of "205 Live", which Itami would win. On the January 2, 2018, episode of "205 Live", Itami would be challenged to a rematch by Gallagher, however, Gallagher attacked Itami with an umbrella and a pipe before the match. On the January 23 episode of "205 Live", Itami would defeat Gallagher, ending their feud. |
On the February 6 episode of "205 Live", Itami would be defeated by Roderick Strong in the first round of the WWE Cruiserweight Championship tournament. After that, Itami began teaming up with fellow Japanese wrestler Akira Tozawa and they started a feud with Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado, which ended when they lost a tornado tag team match on the April 17 episode of "205 Live" after Tozawa accidentally kicked Itami. After a tag team loss to The Brian Kendrick and Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Itami shoved Tozawa, signaling their break up. The following week on "205 Live", Itami defeated Tozawa to end the feud. On the June 5 episode of "205 Live", he attacked both Buddy Murphy and Mustafa Ali during their match, causing a disqualification and resulting in Itami being suspended from the following week's episode. |
Soon after, he began a feud with Ali, Murphy, and Cedric Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship. On the June 19 episode of "205 Live", Itami defeated Ali and Murphy in a triple threat match, thus earning a championship match. On the July 10 episode of "205 Live", Itami unsuccessfully challenged Alexander for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. On the July 24 episode of "205 Live", Itami failed to win a number one contender's fatal four-way match also involving Ali, TJP, and the eventual winner Drew Gulak. On the August 7 episode of "205 Live", Itami defeated Ali in a singles match after which Ali collapsed. On the September 25 episode of "205 Live", Ali and Itami wrestled to a double count out. This led to a Falls Count Anywhere match on the October 24 episode of "205 Live", which Itami lost. |
Since November 2018, Itami formed an alliance with Ariya Daivari. On the January 8, 2019 episode of "205 Live", Itami defeated Cedric Alexander to qualify for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship fatal four-way match involving champion Buddy Murphy, Kalisto, and Tozawa at the Royal Rumble, where he lost after being pinned by Murphy. |
On January 29, it was reported that Itami requested and was granted his release from the company after a five year run. That same day, after a loss to Tozawa on "205 Live", Daivari turned on Itami. This was followed by multiple members of the roster saying goodbye to Itami on social media. On February 4, 2019, the WWE Performance Center YouTube channel that documents the Superstars travel and backstage life released a video chronicling Itami's last week in WWE. The video features Itami working with Daivari and talking about his struggles with learning to speak and understand English. The end of the video sees Hideo walking back to gorilla position and being given a standing ovation from those in the backstage area. On February 22, Kobayashi was officially released by WWE, as the company formally acknowledged his departure on Twitter. |
Kenta made his surprise debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on June 9, 2019 at the Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall event, with Katsuyori Shibata as his manager, announcing his participation in the 2019 G1 Climax tournament. Kenta made his in-ring debut for NJPW on July 6, defeating Kota Ibushi as a part of the tournament. Kenta, competing in the A Block of the tournament, stayed undefeated in singles matches for over a month and a half, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi, Lance Archer, and Evil before suffering his first defeat against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada on July 27, as part of the tournament. Kenta would then lose his next four matches against Sanada, Bad Luck Fale, Will Ospreay and Zack Sabre Jr., failing to win the tournament with a final tally of 8 points. |
On the final night of the tournament, Kenta competed in a six-man tag team match alongside Chaos members Tomohiro Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi against Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa, only to turn on them in the closing moments of the match and assisting the Bullet Club for the victory. As Kenta was going to explain his actions, Katsuyori Shibata rushed into the ring and attacked Kenta until the rest of the Bullet Club members ambushed Shibata. At Royal Quest on August 31, Kenta defeated Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Championship, his first championship in NJPW. The match was criticized because Kobayashi suffered a concussion after a back suplex by Ishii, getting knocked out in the process. However, both continued the match without referee stoppage. He was sent to the hospital after the show. At Destruction in Kagoshima on September 16, Kenta unsuccessfully faced Kota Ibushi for the Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate. |
At Power Struggle, Kenta retained his title against Ishii in a rematch. Later in the night, he interfered in the main event between Jay White and Hirooki Goto helping White, a fellow Bullet Club member, retain the title while also once again assaulting Shibata. Kenta lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Goto at Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5, 2020, ending his reign at 127 days with two successful defenses. Later that night, after the main event for both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship between Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito (which Naito won), KENTA attacked Naito and hit him with the GTS, and sat on top of him posing with both of Naito's newly won belts. |
= = = Bioswale = = = |
Bioswales are linear channels designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution. Bioswales can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater. |
Bioswales are typically vegetated, mulched, or xeriscaped. They consist of a swaled drainage course with gently sloped sides (less than 6%). Bioswale design is intended to safely maximize the time water spends in the swale, which aids the collection and removal of pollutants, silt and debris. Depending on the site topography, the bioswale channel may be straight or meander. Check dams are also commonly added along the bioswale to increase stormwater infiltration. A bioswale's make-up can be influenced by many different variables, including climate, rainfall patterns, site size, budget, and vegetation suitability. |
It is important to maintain bioswales to ensure the best possible efficiency and effectiveness in removal of pollutants from stormwater runoff. Planning for maintenance is an important step, which can include the introduction of filters or large rocks to prevent clogging. Annual maintenance through soil testing, visual inspection, and mechanical testing is also crucial to the health of a bioswale. |
Bioswales are commonly applied along streets and around parking lots, where substantial automotive pollution settles on the pavement and is flushed by the first instance of rain, known as the first flush. Bioswales, or other types of biofilters, can be created around the edges of parking lots to capture and treat stormwater runoff before releasing it to the watershed or storm sewer. |
Bioswales work to remove pollutants through vegetation and the soil. As the storm water runoff flows through the bioswale, the pollutants are captured and settled by the leaves and stems of the plants. The pollutants then enter the soil where they decompose or can be broken down by bacteria in healthy soil. |
There are several classes of water pollutants that may be collected or arrested with bioswales. These fall into the categories of silt, inorganic contaminants, organic chemicals and pathogens. |
Bioswales can be implemented in areas that require stormwater management to regulate the runoff velocity and decontaminate the runoff. Bioswales are created to handle the first flush of pollutants during the event of rain, therefore, locations that have high areas of impervious surface such as roads, parking lots, or rooftops can benefit from additions of bioswales. They can also be integrated into road medians, curb cutouts, sidewalks, or any public space. |
Bioswales are useful low-impact development work to decrease the velocity of stormwater runoff while removing pollutants from the discharge. They are extremely beneficial in protecting surface water and local waterways from excessive pollution from stormwater runoff. The longer the runoff stays within the bioswale, the better the pollutant removal outcome. It is also beneficial in removing standing ponds that could potentially attract mosquitos. Bioswales can also be designed to be aesthetically pleasing and attract animals and create habitats. Bioswales can also be beneficial for groundwater recharge. |
Improper maintenance can lead to high restoration costs to address inefficient bioswales. An accumulation of large sediments, trash, and improper growth of vegetation can all affect the quality and performance of bioswales. It is beneficial at the planning stages to set apart easements to allow for easier maintenance of biowales, whether it be adequate space to locate machinery or safety to those working. Different types of filters can be used to catch sediments. Grass filter strips or rock inlets can be used to filter sediments and particulates; however, without proper maintenance, runoff could flow away from the bioswales due to blockage. Structural inlets have become more common due to the ease of maintenance, use, and its effectiveness. Avoiding the use of floating mulch and selecting the best fit low-maintenance plants ensure better efficiency in the bioswales. Depending on a community's needs for a bioswale, a four step assessment program can be developed. Visual inspection, capacity testing, synthetic runoff, and monitoring are the four steps that can be used to evaluate performance and maintenance of bioswales. |
Routine inspection is required to ensure that the performance and aesthetics of bioswales are not compromised. Time and frequency of inspections vary based on different local governments, but should occur at least once a year. Various aspects of inspection can take place, either visually or mechanically. Visual observation of the vegetation, water, and inlets are all crucial to ensure performance. Some organizations utilize checklists to streamline the visual inspection process. |
There are different methods to determine if a bioswale needs maintenance. Bioswales are benchmarked to meet a specific level of infiltration to determine if maintenance is required. A staff gauge is used to measure the infiltration rate. Soil chemistry testing is also required to determine if the soil has a certain off-level of any pollutant. Phosphorus and high levels of salinity in the soil are two common pollutants that should be attended to. Analysis of inflow and outflow pollutant concentration is also another way to determine the performance level of bioswales. |
Maintenance can span to three different levels of care. Aesthetic maintenance is required to remove weeds that affect the performance of the other plants and the bioswale itself, clean and remove trash, and maintaining the looks of the vegetation. Partial restoration is needed when the inlet is blocked by sediments or when vegetation needs to be replaced. Full restoration is required when the bioswales no longer filter pollutants adequately and overall performance is severely lacking. |
Bioswales experience short, potentially intense, periods of rain, flooding and pollutant loading followed by dry seasons. It is important to take into account how the vegetation selected for the bioswales will grow and understanding what types of plants are considered the best fit. |
There are four types of bioswales that can be constructed based on the needs of the location. |
Bioswales require a certain soil composition that does not contain more than 5% clay. The soil itself before implementation should not be contaminated. Bioswales should be constructed with a longitudinal slope to allow sediments to settle. Maximum slope of bioswales is 3:1. A minimum clearance is required to ensure that other infrastructure would not be damaged. The overfill drain should be located at least 6 inches above the ground plain to allow for maximum concentration time of stormwater runoff in the bioswales. Rocks can also be used to slow down the runoff velocity. The use of filters is important to prevent inlets from becoming blocked by sediments or trash. |
Two early examples of scientifically designed bioswales for large scale applications are found in the western US. In 1996 for Willamette River Park in Portland, Oregon a total of 2330 lineal feet of bioswale was designed and installed to capture and prevent pollutant runoff from entering the Willamette River. Intermittent check dams were installed to further abet silt capture, which reduced by 50% suspended solids entering the river system. |
A second example of a large scale designed bioswale is at the Carneros Business Park, Sonoma County, California. Starting in 1997 the project design team worked with the California Department of Fish and Game and County of Sonoma to produce a detailed design to channel surface runoff at the perimeter of a large parking area. Surface runoff consists of building roof runoff, parking lot runoff and overland flow from properties to the north of the project site. A total of two lineal miles of bioswale was designed into the project. The purpose of the bioswale was to minimize runoff contaminants from entering Sonoma Creek. The bioswale channel is grass-lined, and nearly linear in form. Downslope gradient is approximately 4% and cross-slope gradient is approximately 6%. |
A relatively recent project established was the Seattle, Washington Street Edge Alternatives project, completed in 2001. Rather than using traditional piping, SEA's goal was to create a natural landscape that represented what the area was like before development. The street was 11% more pervious than a standard street and was characterized with evergreen trees and bioswales. The bioswales were planted on graded slopes with wetland and upland plants. Other landscaping also focused on native and salmon-friendly plants. SEA provided a strong benefit for stormwater runoff mitigation that helped continue to protect Seattle's creek ecology. The project street also created a more inviting and aesthetically pleasing site as opposed to hard landscaping. |
= = = Bachelor Island = = = |
Bachelor Island is a small barren rock just off the northeastern coast of Naushon Island in Massachusetts. The rock is southeast of South Shore Road on Naushon Island and southwest of Monohansett Island. It is part of the Town of Gosnold, in Dukes County and the Elizabeth Islands. |
= = = Selected Shorts = = = |
Selected Shorts is an event at New York’s Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, in which screen and stage actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience. The stage show began in 1985 and continues today at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharp Theater. |
The annual season of the live events at Symphony Space begins in the mid-fall and ends in mid-spring. There is a theme to each Selected Shorts episode and performance. Several stories are presented around each theme. The stories are always fiction, sometimes classic, sometimes new, always performed by actors from stage, screen and television who bring these short stories to life. Evenings are often co-hosted by writers, literary producers, and other interesting characters. |
Selected Shorts was originally created by Kay Cattarulla, who in 1995 went on to create another successful literary program in Dallas, Arts & Letters Live, which is sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art. |
Symphony Space's Artistic Director Isaiah Sheffer formerly hosted the live events, although many Selected Shorts also feature guest hosts, often well-known writers, who also choose which stories will be read. Mr. Sheffer died on November 9, 2012 at age 76. Actor BD Wong acts as the host of the live events since the fall of 2012. |
The readings are recorded live and become the basis of a one-hour radio program, hosted by actors, authors, and entertainers such as David Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Cynthia Nixon, Wyatt Cenac, and Jane Kaczmarek, with literary commentator Hannah Tinti of One Story Magazine, and are produced in conjunction with WNYC. The programs are distributed by Public Radio International and air on PRI-affiliated public radio stations in the United States. The radio program airs weekly throughout the year. |