Latest news with #Vespas
Hindustan Times
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Mere paas paa hai
They don't make fathers like that any more. So every generation would like to believe. Season 2025 brings yet another marketeer-mounted consumerist narrative, parading as Fathers Day. All these special days seem like another super-hyped season of a drama-dripping OTT series. Bigger. Bolder. Better or Battier. Narratives of Father's Day have changed. Sentimental subtexts may still be the same. Our generation didn't wait to celebrate a calendar date as Fathers Day or Mothers Day. Madaaris to marketeers It was Fathers Day whenever dads used to spruce up vintage Vespas or loud orange Lambrettas, boasting even louder carburettors, to trundle kids to the Gemini circus come to town. Now, the only circus that Pops and progeny get to watch is a Kapil chat show or 'chaat' show, an Arnab lion roar of a circus, or a Trump-Elon Musk verbal gymnastics trending on Twitterverse. It was Fathers Day whenever dads used to bundle off kids to sweat it out in nearby playgrounds over a Sunday kabbadi, kho-kho or cricket session. Now, new-age Sundays see a cushioned childhood, OTP-dishing dads and OTP-demanding kiddos lounging in the air-conditioned allure of multiplexes or malls, loading calories over cokes, kebabs and 'Krrish'. It was Fathers Day whenever dads whisked away offspring on weekends, to the lake for a date with the ducks or down a neighbourhood nukkad to witness a 'madaari's' monkey show. Now, what fathers and sons of a Digital India partake of is the entertainment dished out by new-age 'madaaris' -- many a gaming app, web series, social media influencers' Reels and such crap. Commercials get candid Nothing mirrors the paradigm shift in narratives better than some father-centric commercials. Who can forget that cult commercial of a cooking oil we grew up on, with a punchline that resonated our own heartbeats, 'My Daddy Strongest!' This Fathers Day, some commercials, in paying an ode to dads, voice a vocabulary belonging to the new digital age while being rooted in emotions that are age-old. There is visa processing platform Atlys's ad that salutes the clockwork punctuality of Papas. There is a Myntra ad shaping fatherhood into a fashion influencer, with a cheeky take on the term 'FD'. Dettol's #DadsCanToo ad is an ode to changing roles and shared parenting. Swiggy too swings into ready-to-jingle mode with its parody on a breaking news-addicted dad who is dished out a 'primetime menu'. One ad that evocatively mirrors the contrast as well as confluence of newer and ancient narratives is this season's Zomato ad. It paints a portrait of Papa as the original service provider. It projects Pop as the omnipresent, multi-tasking presence in our lives who delivers 24x7, without even a call or push of a phone button. Be it late night meals, ferrying for school or sports, fetching favourite fruits or goodies and all that. The ad's storytelling climaxes with a catchphrase that truly resonates with old-school parenthood -- 'For Appa, Who Works Harder Than a Hundred Apps.' Newer lenses, newer narratives. Fathers Day now comes all dressed up in Sunday best. The curious case of 'Honey, I Splurged The Kids.' chetnakeer@
Vancouver Sun
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Why is the NHL tilted in Florida's favour? Lightning, Panthers hold six-year run on Eastern Conference dominance
Coral Gables, Fla. — It's Sunday night, and the arena parking lot is filled with people lugging hockey bags towards the main doors. But we're not in a small town in Canada. We're in Coral Gables, Fla., where hockey leagues are very much alive and well at the Panthers IceDen. There are three games going on three sheets of ice. But one stands out — the Panthers Warriors are on the wrong end of a 10-3 drubbing, but the team is notable. Its players are all veterans or people who support American vets, and the program is supported by the NHL club. 'It's the hardest sport I've ever played in my life,' said Ryan Teems, a 32-year-old U.S. army veteran. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Three years ago, Teems didn't even know how to properly tie up skates. But, now, he's playing regularly. 'I got out of the army in 2020 and somebody took me to a hockey game,' said Teems, who spent six years in the infantry. 'I'd never been to one. I watched it and fell in love. Then I bought Panthers' season tickets. And then I was going to the bathroom at one of the games, and right above the urinal, it said, $500 to learn to play, full equipment and all that. So that's when I got into it.' That learn to play clinic was sponsored by the Panthers. In 1998, the Panthers moved to what's now known as the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., about a 40-minute ride on the expressway from Miami, if the traffic goes your way. It is the definition of a suburban arena, close to the freeway and surrounded by thousands of parking stalls. The team relocated its training facility to nearby Coral Gables, taking what was a two-sheet community hockey facility, adding a third rink with a dressing room, and re-christening it as the Panthers IceDen. But that wasn't enough. In 2023, construction was completed on a new $65-million dedicated Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. The team and municipal officials put together a plan for an arena with two ice sheets. The adjoining War Memorial Auditorium was renovated. It's got a food court, stage, and the Panthers even held their 2024 Stanley Cup ring ceremony there. It has a team shop, and Stanley Cup parties are hosted there. Most of the players live close to the IcePlex, and many ride bikes or Vespas to practice. The team also has golf carts on standby for players if they want to zip home and back. And like the IceDen, the IcePlex is open for community hockey and skating. Panthers' general manager Bill Zito has heard the complaints. He's heard sniping from different corners of the league, that Florida teams have unfair advantages over their NHL counterparts. The 2025 Cup final between the Panthers and Oilers marks the sixth consecutive season that a Sunshine State-based team has won the Eastern Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning took three in a row, and now it's the Panthers' turn to threepeat in the East . These two are divisional rivals to the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, so this is what these Canadian franchises are fighting, year after year. The rub? The fact that Florida has no state income tax. But that's not all. There's no inheritance tax, nor does Florida collect taxes on personal investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and the like. Compare that to Quebec, where the provincial tax rate is 25.75 per cent on those making $129,590 a year or more. Or Alberta, where it is 15 per cent on taxable income over $362,961 a year. Tax is a complicated thing for professional athletes. They pay based on where they play. So, for home games, the Lightning and Panthers players pay no state tax. But, if the Panthers are in Montreal for a day to play the Canadiens, they pay Quebec tax based on one day of their salaries. Still, for the majority of the season, Florida-based players are in the state and take advantage of a tax regime that is favourable. In fact, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly admitted ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final that noise has been made to make the tax disparities an issue for the next collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires at the end of next season . But Daly said there is very little the league can do to mitigate tax differences. 'Certainly it's an issue that some of our franchises have raised as a concern,' said Daly. 'What I'd say at this point is that we don't share the level of concern that they have, and what I'd say on top of that is that these imbalances have existed forever. There's nothing new here.' Zito said the tax issue is 'marginal at best.' That's not to say that Zito doesn't think the Panthers have a competitive advantage, but it has to do with the spending to make the team's facilities the class of the NHL, and not to be afraid to spend on players in order to be a contender year in, year out. He said when management asked owner Vincent Viola to greenlight a new practice facility, it was done. 'And it's beautiful, and it allows us the flexibility to try to do the things that we think are necessary to try to win and to try to have an excellent organization,' said Zito. 'I think the players feed off it. They know that if the chicken isn't right, we're going to get a new chicken. And it all sort of transcends all that we do. It sounds silly, but it's true and it's real.' It has to be noted that Viola is not a stranger to the courts. In 2017, the Panthers reached a confidential settlement with Raphael Estevez, who once wore the Stanley C. Panther mascot costume. He sued for wrongful dismissal and claimed more than 1,000 hours of unpaid overtime. He claimed the job damaged his mental health. Viola and his son, Michael, are also named in class-action lawsuit launched by an iron workers' pension fund. It is alleged that the Violas were part of a scheme to buy back US$400 million out of the company they control, Virtu Financial, and steering it away from other investors. In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched legal proceedings against Virtu Financial and its subsidiary, Virtu Americas. The allegations were that Virtu Americas did not adequately protect information about its customers and their trades. 'Virtu Americas' failure to safeguard this information created significant risk that its proprietary traders could misuse it or share it outside Virtu Americas,' states the SEC's complaint. The allegations of security issues with Virtu have also led to a class-action lawsuit. Virtu pleaded to dismiss that case earlier this month. In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Viola to be his Secretary of the Army, but the Panthers' owner later pulled himself out of the running for the job. There is an area where Florida's tax advantage is having an indirect effect on the hockey culture in the state. Since the COVID-19 pandemic got more people working from home, Florida's population has boomed. It is to the United States what Alberta is to Canada, the hotspot for in-country migration. Since 2020, almost one-quarter of America's intra-state migrants are choosing Florida. U.S. census stats show Florida's population is now at about 23.4 million, that's two million more people than lived in the state in 2020. A lot of those domestic migrants are coming from hockey-loving, northern states. Teems said the combination of the Panthers' build-it-and-they-will-come mentality is bringing more people to games, and more rec hockey players to the IceDen and IcePlex. 'Hockey started getting big, and the Panthers started making the playoffs, making those runs, and it got bigger and bigger,' he said. His Panthers Warriors teammate, Keegan Brown, agrees. He learned to play hockey when he was six years old at the IceDen. He's 29, and he started playing again four years ago. 'It's really picking up,' said Brown. 'Back in the day, I feel like no one is talking about hockey. It's really blowing up down here. I like it a lot.' And the Panthers' success is what is galvanizing it all. 'I feel like a lot of people like a winning team. Obviously, the Panthers weren't always like that. It was a tough beginning for them. Going from the roots back in the day, being nobodies where you could pay $30 and sit on the glass. Now, there's no way you can do that. 'They're fighting, they're dogs, they're shooting goals, everyone likes that.' Matthew Tkachuk was the key piece in a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames . It was a deal reminiscent of the NBA's sign-and-trade transactions. Tkachuk signed an eight-year, US$76-million deal with Calgary, and then was sent to Florida. Tkachuk said the pull of the Panthers is that players around the league know the team has a commitment to excellence. 'We've got such great ownership in the Violas,' he said. 'We've got great GM in Bill and the coaching staff, led by Paul (Maurice), is awesome, and it's all about winning. Winning and having fun. So I think that's what creates the culture, but I was just one of the lucky ones. I got to step into it a few years ago.' Carter Verhaeghe said it was the Tkachuk trade that signalled to every player in the league that the Panthers were pulling out all stops to win. Add to that the lack of relative media scrutiny, so players feel relaxed. 'I think when you come here, everyone puts you in an opportunity to be yourself, and I think that really benefits some guys who come here,' said Verhaeghe. 'It starts with the coaching staff, they give you the opportunity to be yourself and play in the position to succeed, and that's what we built here over the last little bit. Bringing in guys like Chucky here made a big impact, and everyone buys in and just is not expected to be something they're not.' And then there's the players who want to play for Maurice, who has finally been able to unleash his high-forecheck up-tempo game, of which he's always dreamed. Defenceman Nate Schmidt played for Maurice in Winnipeg, and signed a one-year deal to join the Panthers. 'He gives you a blueprint of all he wants you to play. And he moulds that around your strength as a player and doesn't ask you to do more than what you should be doing, right? And so I think he's done a great job of helping us discover ourselves and understanding what we need to do. 'But he expects a certain level out of each guy. If you give that to him, there's no problems, right? And that's something that I find it was freeing for me.' The closing argument is maybe the most powerful when it comes to tax vs. team culture. If the tax advantage was so meaningful, how come Florida teams aren't dominating the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball like they do the NHL? ssandor@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
Ottawa Citizen
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Why is the NHL tilted in Florida's favour? Lightning, Panthers hold six-year run on Eastern Conference dominance
Coral Gables, Fla. — It's Sunday night, and the arena parking lot is filled with people lugging hockey bags towards the main doors. Article content But we're not in a small town in Canada. We're in Coral Gables, Fla., where hockey leagues are very much alive and well at the Panthers IceDen. Article content Article content There are three games going on three sheets of ice. But one stands out — the Panthers Warriors are on the wrong end of a 10-3 drubbing, but the team is notable. Its players are all veterans or people who support American vets, and the program is supported by the NHL club. Article content Article content 'It's the hardest sport I've ever played in my life,' said Ryan Teems, a 32-year-old U.S. Army vet. Article content Article content Three years ago, Teems didn't even know how to properly tie up skates. But, now, he's playing regularly. Article content 'I got out of the Army in 2020 and somebody took me to a hockey game,' said Teems, who spent six years in the infantry. 'I'd never been to one. I watched it and fell in love. Then I bought Panthers' season tickets. And then I was going to the bathroom at one of the games, and right above the urinal, it said, $500 to learn to play, full equipment and all that. So that's when I got into it.' Article content In 1998, the Panthers moved to what's now known as the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., about a 40-minute ride on the expressway from Miami, if the traffic goes your way. It is the definition of a suburban arena, close to the freeway and surrounded by thousands of parking stalls. The team relocated its training facility to nearby Coral Gables, taking what was a two-sheet community hockey facility, adding a third rink with a dressing room, and re-christening it as the Panthers IceDen. Article content Article content But that wasn't enough. In 2023, construction was completed on a new $65-million dedicated Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. The team and municipal officials put together a plan for an arena with two ice sheets. The adjoining War Memorial Auditorium was renovated. It's got a food court, stage, and the Panthers even held their 2024 Stanley Cup ring ceremony there. It has a team shop, and Stanley Cup parties are hosted there. Most of the players live close to the IcePlex, and many ride bikes or Vespas to practice. The team also has golf carts on standby for players if they want to zip home and back. Article content Article content Panthers' general manager Bill Zito has heard the complaints. He's heard sniping from different corners of the league, that Florida teams have unfair advantages over their NHL counterparts. The 2025 Cup final between the Panthers and Oilers marks the sixth consecutive season that a Sunshine State-based team has won the Eastern Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning took three in a row, and now its the Panthers' turn to threepeat in the East. These two are divisional rivals to the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, so this is what these Canadian franchises are fighting, year after year.
Calgary Herald
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Why is the NHL tilted in Florida's favour? Lightning, Panthers hold six-year run on Eastern Conference dominance
Coral Gables, Fla. — It's Sunday night, and the arena parking lot is filled with people lugging hockey bags towards the main doors. Article content But we're not in a small town in Canada. We're in Coral Gables, Fla., where hockey leagues are very much alive and well at the Panthers IceDen. Article content Article content There are three games going on three sheets of ice. But one stands out — the Panthers Warriors are on the wrong end of a 10-3 drubbing, but the team is notable. Its players are all veterans or people who support American vets, and the program is supported by the NHL club. Article content Article content 'It's the hardest sport I've ever played in my life,' said Ryan Teems, a 32-year-old U.S. Army vet. Article content Article content Three years ago, Teems didn't even know how to properly tie up skates. But, now, he's playing regularly. Article content 'I got out of the Army in 2020 and somebody took me to a hockey game,' said Teems, who spent six years in the infantry. 'I'd never been to one. I watched it and fell in love. Then I bought Panthers' season tickets. And then I was going to the bathroom at one of the games, and right above the urinal, it said, $500 to learn to play, full equipment and all that. So that's when I got into it.' Article content In 1998, the Panthers moved to what's now known as the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., about a 40-minute ride on the expressway from Miami, if the traffic goes your way. It is the definition of a suburban arena, close to the freeway and surrounded by thousands of parking stalls. The team relocated its training facility to nearby Coral Gables, taking what was a two-sheet community hockey facility, adding a third rink with a dressing room, and re-christening it as the Panthers IceDen. Article content Article content But that wasn't enough. In 2023, construction was completed on a new $65-million dedicated Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. The team and municipal officials put together a plan for an arena with two ice sheets. The adjoining War Memorial Auditorium was renovated. It's got a food court, stage, and the Panthers even held their 2024 Stanley Cup ring ceremony there. It has a team shop, and Stanley Cup parties are hosted there. Most of the players live close to the IcePlex, and many ride bikes or Vespas to practice. The team also has golf carts on standby for players if they want to zip home and back. Article content Article content Panthers' general manager Bill Zito has heard the complaints. He's heard sniping from different corners of the league, that Florida teams have unfair advantages over their NHL counterparts. The 2025 Cup final between the Panthers and Oilers marks the sixth consecutive season that a Sunshine State-based team has won the Eastern Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning took three in a row, and now its the Panthers' turn to threepeat in the East. These two are divisional rivals to the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, so this is what these Canadian franchises are fighting, year after year.
Sinar Daily
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Sinar Daily
Vespa love affair: Indonesians turn vintage scooters electric
JAKARTA - When Indonesian executive Heret Frasthio takes his antique 1957 VL Vespa for a ride, its white paint peeling off, the usual fumes and hum of the free-spirited scooters cannot be seen or heard. The two-wheeler is just one of the vintage models converted by his company as it tries to turn a love for the Italian icon into an environmentally friendly pursuit. Indonesia has long suffered from air pollution partly driven by its addiction to inefficient, old cars and scooters, including nearly one million Vespas as of 2022, according to the country's Vespa Club. "Vespa has a unique design. It has a historical and nostalgic value. It's not just a vehicle, it's also fashion," said Frasthio, chief executive of Elders, which converts the older bikes into electric vehicles. The country's leaders are pushing for more EVs on its roads, with a target of 13 million electric motorcycles by 2030 -- ambitiously far from the current number of 160,000, according to transport ministry data. But Elders is playing its part in what the government hopes will be the early stages of an electric vehicle revolution. Frasthio says the firm has converted and sold around 1,000 Vespas across the country since its founding in 2021 and one day aims to develop its own electric scooter. Once converted, a Vespa's fully charged electric battery can last 60-120 kilometres (37-74 miles), and up to 200 kilometres for an upgraded battery. "This electric Vespa can be a solution for countries that require low emissions from motorcycles," Frasthio said. - Clean contribution - Yet pricing remains a major stumbling block in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. Frasthio's proud but humble Vespa cost $34,000 to buy before conversion. A brand-new Vespa Elettrica imported from Italy can cost 198 million rupiah ($11,750) and the European company already sells a range of electric scooters in the continent. But for those who want to stay retro, there are kits to convert to vintage scooters to electric that cost between $1,500 and $3,900, Frasthio said. The chance to switch is attracting customers who want a fashionable ride without contributing to noise and air pollution. One of them is Hendra Iswahyudi, who bought a converted Vespa from Frasthio's firm, remembering the effort of riding an old model as a student. "You would turn on the ignition and take a shower while waiting for the engine to be ready," the 56-year-old said. Riding an antique Vespa from the 1960s without the pollution and the noise in Jakarta's heavy traffic has also earned him curious looks. "People who like Vespa came to have a closer look and told me that my scooter was very cool," he said. The civil servant supports the niche industry for converting scooters, despite government plans to put a new fleet of electric vehicles on the road. "I feel comfortable riding the Vespa. I feel like I've contributed to the clean air," he said. - Nostalgia - But a yearning for the nostalgia of an original Vespa is keeping some from taking the cleaner option, instead choosing to keep the roar of an older engine. "I prefer the authentic Vespa with its original noise because it's what makes it unique. You can hear it coming from afar," said Muhammad Husni Budiman, an antique Vespa lover. "It's classic and nostalgic." The 39-year-old entrepreneur fell in love with antique Vespas when he was young and started to collect some from the 1960s and 70s. In 2021, he established a Jakarta-based club for Vespas produced in the 1960s that now boasts hundreds of members. Despite trying an electric Vespa, Budiman's club is mainly for those who love original models. Frasthio is conscious that some Vespa lovers like Budiman will be hesitant about the EV uptake. But he was quick to dispel the theory that his company was putting the conventional scooters they adore in a bad light. "We are not trying to lecture anyone about pollution issues," he said. "We are just offering, for those not used to manual motorcycles, that electric motorbikes can be a solution." - AFP
