December 22, 2020 14:15 ET | Source: Corcoran Global Living

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CERRITOS, CA, Dec. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corcoran Global Living, a franchise affiliate of Corcoran Group, LLC, announced that it has welcomed the Better Choice Real Estate Team, helmed by industry veterans, Jana Goncalves and Mauricio Montealegre. Corcoran Global Living continues to advance the firms reach across Southern California and the West Coast. Unifying thirteen independent brokerages and teams in its first year, Corcoran Global Living is recognized as the fastest growing real estate brokerage servicing clients across California and Nevada. The firm encompasses nearly 1,500 associates across 43 offices, with annual combined sales of 6.1 billion.

"Weve built a strong network of like-minded, successful associates across the most in-demand communities in Southern California, Northern California and the Reno/Lake Tahoe region, and those partnerships are the reason weve had such stratospheric success this year, commented Michael Mahon, CEO and Founder of Corcoran Global Living. Ive had the pleasure of knowing and working with Jana, Mauricio and their team for many years now. Our shared vision of fostering a collaborative culture, empowering and elevating top talent, and providing the highest level of service comes together to make a powerful difference in peoples lives in the communities we call home.

Corcoran Global Livings reach now extends across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego and Riverside counties with more than 15 offices across Southern California and more on pace for 2021. In Northern California and Northern Nevada, the firm has offices in San Francisco, Marin, the East Bay, and Napa and Sonoma Wine Country, and in both the north and south side of Lake Tahoe as well as Reno and Truckee. From sea to ski, CGL has coverage across the West Coast market.

As part of CGL, the Better Choice Real Estate team will have access to myriad resources, staff support, leading-edge technology and marketing platforms, robust networking and referral opportunities, and broad brand recognition among industry peers and the public. The team leaders, Jana Goncalves and Mauricio Montealegre, will join as partners in Corcoran Global Living leading the Cerritos office.

Aligning with a firm that has a demonstrated commitment to growth, for the company as a whole as well as for each individual agent, is really important to us, commented Jana Goncalves. We are excited about the opportunities were able to offer our team by joining Corcoran Global Living under the leadership of Michael Mahon. The expanding network of offices in the region and the referral opportunities that affords us as well as ongoing education that helps agents meet and exceed their personal best are key ingredients to unlimited success.

About Corcoran Global Living

Founded on the principle of putting people first, Corcoran Global Living, an affiliate of The Corcoran Group, serves the California and Nevada markets with 43 strategically located offices in Northern California, Southern California and Reno/Lake Tahoe. Corcoran Global Living is well positioned to provide exceptional service to its very loyal customer base, with nearly 1,500 dedicated, professional agents and gross annual sales of $6.1 billion. With a forward-thinking leadership team and deep roots in real estate and notable private investment backing, Corcoran Global Living is poised for exponential growth into additional metro areas in the states where they operate. From luxury homes and income properties to vacation getaways and first-time homes, Corcoran Global Living has the experience, insight and expertise to achieve and surpass clients highest expectations. For more information, visit CorcoranGL.com.

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Corcoran Global Living Welcomes Better Choice Real Estate Team in Ongoing Southern California Growth - GlobeNewswire

ONTARIO and PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Dec. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Mozzaz, 2019 Microsoft Healthcare Partner of the Year Finalist, and Giupedi LLC, SaaS development and marketing organization for patient care in medical litigation, announced a first of its kind platform. Used by lawyers focusing on workers compensation, personal injury, and medical malpractice, this platform will support client coordination. This collaboration will be delivered through Mozzaz's platform, built on Microsoft Azure.

"We're extremely impressed with the Mozzaz technology for digital engagement and their client roster including CVS Health, United Healthcare Group, and Anthem," stated Dr. Gerard Foti, Giupedi CEO.

Rini Gahir, Mozzaz CEO, explained, "Law firms in the US have few choices for managing client's care coordination. Providing patient-centered solutions for collaboration will drive efficiencies and proactive support across claims. We're excited to introduce this cloud-based platform to a growing market."

Utilizing machine learning, the platform will identify clinical terminology from medical-legal documents. Resulting, abstracted, and granularized data will optimize care coordination for clients and provide monetization opportunities for stakeholders.

Success in workers compensation and personal injury cases in the US is indicated by a large financial settlement. Edward Bukstel, Giupedi CTO, stated, "Our collaboration with Mozzaz will allow lawyers to maximize their financial settlements while also ensuring quality care for their clients."

Today, few law firms have dedicated legal cloud systems for storage, except DropBox, and smart analysis of medical information about clients. This new SaaS application will change the way lawyers do business, helping their clients and physician networks manage care.

About Mozzaz

Mozzaz delivers virtual care solutions for personalized engagement and remote patient management. With Mozzaz, healthcare organizations can model clinical programs based on unique workflows from a single engagement platform. Mozzaz is built on the trusted Microsoft Azure Cloud for enterprise-ready digital health. Visit our website.

About Giupedi, LLC

Giupedi provides digital health and machine learning solutions for medical litigation cases including workers compensation, personal injury, and medical malpractice. Giupedi's cloud-based SaaS applications create a 360-degree healthcare POV for lawyers, clients, and physicians. Visit our website.

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Mozzaz and Giupedi, LLC Sign Strategic Partnership for Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Clinical Care Coordination - The Wellsboro Gazette

In this country, we have a longstanding peaceful transfer of power for the executive office, even in the wake of the hardest-fought elections. Certain circumstances have led many to question whether the tradition will continue come January 20. Despite his very vocal protestations, however, the current president has agreed to step aside, should all of his legal maneuvers fall short (something that seems all but a certainty at this point).

There is, of course, nothing in the Constitution that offers guidance the peaceful transition of passwords strangely, the forefathers of this country didnt possess the foresight to predict Twitter. The service has already outlined what happens to Trumps account when he leaves office. Namely, he loses the protections that come with being a political figure.

CEO Jack Dorsey noted this at last months congressional hearings, stating, If an account suddenly is not a world leader anymore, that particular policy goes away. But what of the incoming president? What will the transition look like for Biden? And what happens if Trump doesnt willingly give up the official @Potus account as has also been suggested?

He hasnt exactly been eager to accept the results of this election and hes not the sort to willingly give up a platform particularly one with 33 million followers (admittedly a fraction of Trumps main account).

Nick Pacilio, of Twitters Communications, Government & News team, offered TechCrunch the following statement, on the matter: Twitter has been in ongoing discussions with the Biden transition team on a number of aspects related to White House account transfers.

The company, perhaps understandably, didnt answer the question directly, but working with the incoming team is a simple enough way to circumvent any issues transferring more than one dozen accounts, as The Wall Street Journal notes. As has been reported, existing tweets will be deleted and the incoming administration will start from scratch a net positive for the Biden team, given thepolarizing nature of the previous presidents feed.

According to Bidens digital director, the POTUS and White House accounts will also reset to zero followers, marking a change over the Obama to Trump transition. Donald Trumps personal Twitter account has already lost one prominent follower. Earlier this week, CEO Jack Dorsey unfollowed the president, along with other prominent politicians, including Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

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Twitters POTUS account will reportedly be reset to zero followers when Biden takes over - TechCrunch

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Deerfield, IL December 17, 2020-Personal Trainers can no longer sit back and wait for clients to come to them or expect repeat business to fall into their lap. Fitness Professionals must now explore the best methods to attract and retain clients, develop new training techniques, andimplement their best practices to survive in the fitness industry. SCW Fitness Education has come to the rescue and developed their first ever Personal Training Apex designed to take the PT professional to new heights. This is the weekend to advance your career, network with other professionals, and ensure long-term success for both you and your clients!

Personal Trainer Apex (www.TrainerApex.com) offers:

*50 Activity and Lecture Sessions

*28 Top Industry Presenters

* 12-15 CEUs/CECs from NASM, ACSM, ACE, AFAA, AEA, SCW and more

For only $149, SCW Personal Trainer Apex takes place over two full days, January 23-24, 2021 on an intuitive and sophisticated Zoom platform.12-15 hours of CEUs/CECs are available over the 2-day event with even more CECs offeredfrom seven different pre-conference certifications, such asNutrition Coaching for Fitness Professionals, Marketing & Sales for Personal Trainers, Social Media Strategies and more. If trainers are unable to participate both days, sessions will be recorded and attendees who register at the All-Access level ($179), will have the ability to view all 50 recorded sessions for 30 days after the event.$1 per day for 30 days provides hours of education enjoyed at your own pace and convenience.

Great variety of topics and presenters, great value for money, highly recommended! said Maria G., SCW Live Stream Attendee Keep up the great work! Customer service is exceptional.

One of the many benefits ofthePersonal Trainer APEXis the ability to interact with the Presenter throughout the session.With 28 Presenters composed of industry elite Personal Trainers such as Giovanni Roselli, Keli Roberts, Peter Twist, and Fabio Comana, MA, MS, questions will be answered, and programming will be through the roof. Attendees receive live one-on-one feedback directly from the Presenter and networking from the other participants to build a strong web of allies.

Earlier this year I spent double the amount of money to attend another virtual conference and I kind of regret it. said Katie L., Live Stream Attendee I got so much more out of the virtual SCW conference, there were more activity sessions, better topics and presenters who are all fantastic.

I love you guys! Thank you for how youve helped me become a better Trainer and Educator. - Tracy H.

Prepare to further your knowledge and climb higher in your personal training profession with the exclusive SCW Personal Trainer APEX Conference. Navigating this new terrain takes strategy and style and Personal Trainer APEX will get you there. Register for two full days of education, inspiration, and innovation - all conveniently Live Streamed directly to your home, office, or fitness space. For more information visit the websitewww.trainerapex.com.

SCW is an internationally recognized educational organization that provides hands-on certifications, continuing education courses and conventions to fitness professionals in multiple disciplines nationwide. For the past 35 years, Personal Trainers, Group Exercise Instructors, Small Group Training Leaders, Aquatic Exercise Professionals, Cycling Instructors, Mind-Body Experts, Sport-Specific Training Educators, and many more have obtained their certifications through SCW. This outstanding Family of Leaders also supports Managers, Directors, and Owners of clubs and facilities nationwide with our Business Leadership Summit and sessions. As the largest conference leader in the world, MANIA offers seven Professional Training Conventions annually in Washington, D.C., California (San Francisco), Florida (Orlando), Atlanta, Dallas, Midwest (Chicago), and Boston - and now, online too! SCW serves over 8,000 health and wellness professionals at our events, and we reach more than 300,000 virtually through our SCW OnDemand program, Online Certifications and Continuing Education Credit (CEC) programming options. Watch for our FREE Webinars that continue to drive the business of fitness forward http://www.scwfit.com.

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Apex: Focused on the Personal Trainer | ClubIndustry - Club Industry

Whether returning to school to explore a new career path, or attending college for the first time, every student attending South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) has a unique journey leading to their enrollment at the college. And woven into that journey for many students, are scholarships and financial assistance offered by the South Puget Sound Community College Foundation. Awarding over a half million dollars in financial assistance each year, the SPSCC Foundation works to support students academic and career goals.

For SPSCC student, Laura Nixon, the college has served as a turning point in life, offering opportunities for additional education and a renewed career path. Previously employed in the human resources field, Nixons job matched her prior experience, but Nixon says she did not find the work fulfilling. Wanting to change course, Nixon worked with support from a mental health worker to reflect on her path in life.

During this time of reflection, Nixon rediscovered her childhood dream of becoming an architect. To evaluate if the architecture and design field was right for her, Nixon took a first step by signing up for an AutoCAD course at a technical school in Bellingham. While completing the course, Nixon determined that building design was indeed the path she wanted to pursue.

After learning that the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Technology program at SPSCC aligns perfectly with her goals, Nixon decided to move to Olympia, start over and enroll in the program. As a current SPSCC student, Nixon has received several scholarships from the SPSCC Foundation, which has been a great help in her new educational path.

The scholarships Ive received have alleviated a tremendous amount of financial stress from my shoulders, says Nixon. Together with a frugal lifestyle, they have allowed me to only need a work-study job in order to get by each quarter.I believe that without any financial assistance from SPSCC I would not be completing my program as quickly, or at all.

One particular scholarship holds special meaning for Nixon is the Chehalis Tribes Friendship Scholarship, which, for her, serves as a reminder of the generosity within the community. The most memorable scholarship I received was The Chehalis Tribes Friendship Scholarship, which was open to all students not eligible for their tribal scholarship, explains Nixon. It helped me to realize that my community was supporting my education through their kindness, and it was a very touching moment for me.

With two application cycles per academic year, the SPSCC Foundation provides over $450,000 in scholarships for students studying a wide range of subjects. With almost 400 scholarships available this year, many award amounts range from $500 to $4,000.

Students applying for scholarships from the SPSCC Foundation fill out a single application to be considered for a range of Foundation scholarships, submitting a personal essay, transcript, course of study and letters of recommendation.

For Nixon, the application process was straightforward, turning in the proper paperwork, including her personal essay in which she shared her story leading up to her studies at SPSCC. The hardest part of the process for me was the personal essay, explains Nixon. I have always been an independent person, so writing about myself in a way that showed my financial vulnerability was hard. I had to constantly remind myself that life is tough and its ok to ask for help when you need it.

After an application has been submitted, a team of faculty and staff volunteers review each students personal essay and academic history. A pair of volunteers grade the applications, following standardized criteria to determine the applications quality. Then, a computer program determines specific scholarships for which a student might qualify. The scholarships available through the SPSCC Foundation are funded by a mix of donors, including individual community members, local businesses and nonprofit organizations. Scholarships may be specific to students studying a particular pathway, like nursing or the arts, or awards may be available to students studying any subject.

Scholarships from the SPSCC Foundation are generally applied to tuition, but can also help to fund additional college expenses like books and fees, depending on a students financial aid package. In addition to scholarships, the SPSCC Foundation also awards over $120,000 in Student Success Grants, a type of emergency funding to help students continue their education, despite an unforeseen financial hardship. A student can apply for a Student Success Grant if they have an emergent financial need that will help to ensure student success, including for transportation, learning technology or healthcare expenses.

I have received a Student Success Grant from the Foundation to cover an unexpected dental cost, says Nixon. The tooth extraction was not covered by my dental insurance and came at a time when I was simultaneously struggling with a severe gut infection and entering the final weeks of the Winter 2020 quarter. The financial assistance they provided with the grant took a huge weight from my mind and helped me to focus on healing my body and successfully completing my winter courses.

Pursuing a degree in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Technology program at SPSCC, Nixon is learning vital skills for employment in the building construction and design field. After graduation, Nixon hopes to become a virtual design and construction coordinator, working with subcontractors to create detailed models from proposed building plans.

I am looking to enter the VDC/BIM field as a virtual modeler for a mechanical contractor, says Nixon. A position like this would allow me to continue enhancing my virtual modelling skills, help me to better understand the workings of a buildings mechanical systems, and would be a great step in my desired direction.

To learn more about the scholarships available, or the application process, visit the South Puget Sound Community College Foundation website.

Sponsored

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Scholarships from the SPSCC Foundation Help to Ensure Student Success - ThurstonTalk

2020 has been a year where truth has often seemed stranger than fiction. With more time at home, many of us turned to books to either escape or confront the harsh realities at hand.

As we look ahead to the new year, here are ten standout books from female voices in 2020 that I recommend elevating to the top of a reading list if youre seeking inspiration or comfort in the company of a great read. Whether you need a push to pursue a professional ambition, youre looking to navigate a career pivot, or could benefit from the lessons of women whove courageously accelerated progress, each of these books offers a slice of powerful insight and motivation.

Eve Rodsky

Put more simply: If you read any one of these top books, youll head into 2021 better prepared to conquer the inevitable challenges at hand and seize the opportunities they present.

As we grapple with a year of unrest and the desire to address some of the worlds most pressing issues with an urgent sense of action, Novogratz shares her playbook for activating solutions that uplift all. The founder and CEO of Acumen, a non-profit venture fund that uses an entrepreneurial approach to tackle the most challenging poverty issues, Novogratz draws on decades of experience to distill salient leadership practices for those seeking to harness their changemaker potential.

Despite heartbreaking setbacks and obstacles, she and her teams have never settled for the status quo and have achieved extraordinary successes in struggling areas worldwide. With unwavering courage and compassion, Novogratz has proven that one person can make the impossible possible. This book offers powerful hope coupled with practical insight around the role each of us can play in bettering the world.

Despite her narrow gubernatorial loss in 2018, Stacey Abrams emerged as a powerful political force heading into this Novembers election. InOur Time Is Now,Abrams lays out a blueprint to push for progress through her voting rights advocacy organization Fair Fight Action and encourages others to tap into the power of their voice. As #100 on our Most Powerful Women List this year, Abrams represents the continued shifts in political influence and the new forms of collective power outside of traditional structures.

As we look for ways to emerge from this moment toward a more equitable future for all, Abrams stresses the opportunity presented when we combine forces around a shared mission. In her own words, Our combined power shows that progress is not only possibleit is inevitable.

If we hope to achieve a more equitable future, according to Eve Rodsky, we first have to solve for the centuries-old burden of caregiving and domestic responsibilities that women still shoulder despite having careers outside of the home. The pandemic has only exacerbated these demands, making the invisible, unpaid labor women struggle with finally visible. For anyone who feels like theyre drowning in domestic workload or wants to say goodbye to arguments set off by whos supposed to empty the dishwasher, Rodsky offers a fresh, compelling guide to tackling these inequities. Rodsky draws on her Harvard Law School training and years of organizational management experience to end the gendered division of labor at home by sharing her gamified system to split household labor and rebalance families at this critical juncture.

Part memoir, part primer on how to navigate success, Archambeau encourages women to embrace their ambition in pursuit of their career goals and, ultimately, to lead with confidence across all life arenas. As one of the few black women to have risen to the highest ranks in Silicon Valley, Archambeau takes you through her compelling career journey and how she learned to chart a course that was uniquely her own. Hers is a story not just of breaking barriers but one that offers practical advice on turning your differences into a competitive advantage, unabashedly owning your personal and professional ambitions, and harnessing the power of your voice to create opportunities for others.

[Disclosure: Shellye Archambeau is a contributor to Forbes.]

While Kondos first book centered around the joy of objects in our lives, her second offers tools for organizing your professional life and strategies to achieving a joy-sparking career. Joy at Work came out just as the pandemic shuttered offices and when the lines between our professional and personal lives blurred forever. But the tidying-experts message around organizing your workspace and taking greater control of your digital life resonates all the more now that weve traded open floor plans and quiet offices for makeshift desks in noisy homes.

If youre feeling overwhelmed with endless Zoom meetings, messy papers, and unnecessary tasks, applying the KonMari method to your work life will not only declutter your space but also boost productivity and free up your mind to set clear goals and spark success.

In Untamed, beloved author and activist Glennon Doyle chronicles the latest chapter in her journey of self-awakening, including the breakdown of her marriage and finding love with her now-wife, soccer legend Abby Wambach. Doyles memoir isnt a doctrine of saccharine self-improvement. Instead, she encourages readers to shed the social constraints and expectations of the should dos, and embrace our most authentic self, including the raw imperfections. When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself, writes Doyle. Untamed is a story of what happens when women find their inner voice, the bravery required to listen to it, and the power thats unlocked when we tap into and trust it.

I may look like a show pony, writes Dolly Parton in her latest memoir, but I'm a workhorse. Songteller: My Life In Lyrics spotlights Partons signature sense of humor and unparalleled hustle in celebration of six decades of songwriting and storytelling. With never-before-seen photos and memorabilia from Partons archives, she chronicles the backstory behind her career-defining songs such as Jolene and 9-5 that propelled her to pop-culture icon status just as much for their catchy lyrics as they did for their ability to give voice to the experiences of women that traditionally went overlooked.

In full disclosure, Ive been a Dolly-devotee since childhood. Even if youre not currently a fellow fan, you will be after learning more about the legends extraordinary story of hardship, perseverance, and triumph.

Megan Rapinoes memoir is just as much about her rise to becoming one of the most celebrated sports figures of her time as it is about her journey from athlete to influential activist. Rapinoe delves deep into the experiences that shaped the grit and fortitude essential to her success on and off the field and how she strengthened the muscles needed to become an effective force for change. From taking a stand against racial injustices to fighting the pay inequities within her sport, she candidly discusses the backlash she faced when using her voice to address systemic social issues and how she learned to hone and harness that voice to champion change. Rapinoes memoir helps inspire anyone looking to take a stand and the hard work and tenacity required to face critics, fight for your beliefs, and press for progress.

If the other books on this list offer literary comfort food, there is perhaps no person who's better known for the actual kind than Ina Garten, beloved host of the Emmy Award-winning show Barefoot Contessa and bestselling author. In these anxious and uncertain times, Garten offers a treasure-trove of familiar culinary escapes. Shes made it easyeven for those of us who were cooking illiterate before the pandemicto master the beloved favorites we cant run to the restaurants to secure right now (think recipes like creamy tomato bisque, truffled mac and cheese, and Boston cream pie.)

While Inas latest book makes it easy instead of exhausting to eat from the confines of your home during quarantine, her career journey should also offer inspiration to anyone looking to make a pivot in the new year. I was 50 years old, and I thought that the best years of my career were over, recalled Garten after selling her catering business. Instead, she added an acclaimed Food Network show and best-selling cookbook franchise to her bio, proving that new successes can come at any age.

In a year of reckoning around race and culture, this groundbreaking cookbook plays a critical role in expanding the conversation around cuisines often overlooked or conflated by the U.S. food industry. Hawa Hassan spoke with bibis, or grandmothers, from 8 countries both to learn their recipes and to provide a journalistic account of the diverse cultures of the East African coast. Through their stories and anecdotes, Hassan also shines a light on the African immigrant experience in America and the power of food to forge community at home and abroad.

Despite being the backbones of family and culture, womens voices and particularly black womens voices, have too often been left out of the food space. In speaking with the 16 matriarchs within her book, Hassan celebrates their influential role in the kitchen and our cultures.

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The Best Books Of 2020, According To Moira Forbes - Forbes

Deciding what to pursue --and, just as important, what not to pursue --is one of the toughest choices you can make.

That's whySteve Jobs believed in the power of saying no, so much so thatJobs askedthen Apple head of design Jony Ivethe same question just about every day:"How many times did you say notoday?"To Jobs, saying nocreated focus. He didn't see being "busy" as a proxy for output, or seriousness, or productivity.

That's why, when asked to describe what sets successful people apart,Warren Buffett said,"The difference between successful people andreally successful peopleis that really successful people say no to almost everything."

Problem is, sometimes you do need to say yes. So how can you decide when an idea or goal is truly worth pursuing?

Ask yourself, "Is this trombone oil?"

In The Ride of a Lifetime, Bob Iger's excellent book about his 20-year career as Disney CEO, Igerdescribes a lesson he learned from his longtime bossDan Burke:

I can't recall exactly what it was in response to, but in one of our conversations about some initiative I was considering, Dan handed me a note that read: "Avoid getting into the business of manufacturing trombone oil. You may become the greatest trombone-oil manufacturer in the world, but in the end, the world only consumers a few quarts of trombone oil a year."

He was telling me not to invest in projects that would sap the resources of my company and me and not give much back.

I still have that piece of paper in my desk, occasionally pulling it out when I talk to Disney executives about what projects to pursue and where to put their energy.

Before you say yes to an idea, before you decide to put time and energy and resources into the pursuit of a goal, make sure the return is more than worth it. That return may be financial. Or philanthropic. Or personal.

After all, you get to define "success."

But since your effort, energy, and resources are finite -- since any time and moneyyou put into one projectcan't be put into another project -- make sure the outcome will more than matchinput.

Because if it doesn't,you'remanufacturing trombone oil.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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It Took Disney's Bob Iger Only 1 Sentence to Give the Best Advice You'll Hear Today - Inc.

By Jesus Garza and Catherine Morse | Austin American-Statesman

Over the past two decades, Austin has emerged as a global destination for job creation while maintaining its roots as a community known for live music, art and culture. This has been accomplished under a council-manager system of government, that while imperfect, has been successful. Recently, however, a group called Austinites for Progressive Reform has called for dramatic upheaval in our citys governance structure by proposing a change from our current council-manager governance to a system that would place more executive power in a strong mayor.

Their proposal is offered up as a panacea to fix the challenges our city faces. However, in reality, it will simply consolidate power into the hands of the politicalelite while limiting the agency of Austinites to participate in local government.

Our council-manager form of government divests power and provides checks and balances that safeguard all people of Austin. If voters next year approve the charter amendment for a strong mayor," Austin will have an elected mayor operating independent from the council with vast spending authority on personal initiatives, veto authority over council decisions and the power to dole out political favors and critical city jobs to supporters. The mayor would not even be required to attend council meetings, relegating council members to positions of old-school ward representativesessentially silencing many voices across the city that we fought so hard for in the adoption of the 10-1 system.

Austin has had mayors who worked with the City Council, the community and the city manager to continuously improve thequality of life. To be sure, these mayors did not always get it right none of us do during our personal or professional lives but they got it right more often than not.Their success in the current system can be attributed to:

Real partnership between the mayor, the City Council and the city manager

Encouraging transparency through robust citizen participation and open access to elected leaders and professional staff

Vigorous debate between elected leaders as they formulate policy and approve ordinances to execute those policies

Allowing management to execute policy direction in a professional manner without bias or political interference

A strong and committed City Council that focuses on the needs of the city and all who live here

Universal embraceof the concept that we are a city of ideas, and although we are not a perfect city, we can all work together and accept constructive criticism when it helps improve the city

As a result, Austin is one of the most highly regarded cities in the nation. We are ranked as the Best Place to Live in the USA by U.S. News and, according to the Wall Street Journal, Austin has the Best Job Market in the country. This recognition has not been achieved by accident. The mayors, city councilsand professional city managers have worked together with all members of our community to strengthen Austins position as a global leader.

The council-manager form of government has proven to be the most prudent path to affect positive change. Itis the best system of government to protect the people, and the city, against the potential of an out-of-control executive.

We felt it necessaryto speak out because so far no one else has pushed back against the proposals. Our hope is that our community will come together to face our citys challenges and avoid the distractions by those seeking a complete overhaul of our local governance.

Garza served as Austin city manager from 1994-2002 and retired in 2017 as CEO of the Seton Healthcare Family. Morse is a partner atEnoch Kever PLLC and has served in numerous community organizations.

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Opinion: A 'strong mayor' is not the answer to Austin's challenges - Austin American-Statesman

Around this time last year, we saw Taylor Swift appear in Catsand she was preparing for the world premiere of her documentary Miss Americana at Sundance. This year, the pop star sees continued success in a pandemic no less with the releaseof not one, but two albums with the latest,evermore debuting at the top of the Billboard 200, making it her second No. 1 album of 2020.

The December release of evermoretook audiences by surprise and according to Billboard, earned 329,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending December 17. The album is a companion to Swiftsfolklorewhich dropped earlier this year in August.

Evermoremarks Swifts No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 and, as mentioned, the second No. 1 album of 2020. Swift is the first woman to score two No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart in 2020. BTS also scored two number ones with Be and Map of the Soul: 7 (March 7).YoungBoy Never Broke Again also scored two No. 1s with Top and 38 Baby 2.

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Taylor Swift Scores Second No. 1 Album Of 2020 With Evermore - Deadline

Even in a non-hell year, running a successful startup is a tremendous lift. After the events of 2020, however, no doubt many already lean businesses are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. For every company that saw increased interest in their offerings during the pandemic, there were several that simply couldnt make it through the finish line.

Weve put this list together for several years now. Its not a fun task, but it seems worthwhile to commemorate the startups that have closed up shop over the past 12 months. (Some of them were acquired by larger companies before shutting down, but all of them began their life as startups, and it still felt worthwhile to mark the end of their stories.) It also offers an opportunity to examine those issues from a bit of distance to see if there are any broader takeaways for the community at large.

This years list is among the most diverse weve done, ranging from standard smaller-name closures to big blockbuster crashes like Quibi and Essential. For some, the pandemic was the final nail in the coffin, but in many cases, cracks in business models were already starting to surface well before COVID-19 ground the global economy to a screeching halt.

Atrium (2017-2020)

Total Raised: $75 million

Atrium, a 100-person legal tech startup founded by Justin Kan, shut down in March after failing to find an efficient way to replace the arduous systems of law firms. The startup even returned some of its $75.5 million in funding to its investors, including Andreessen Horowitz.

The shutdown comes after the platform had pivoted just months earlier, laying off in-house lawyers and turning into a clearer SaaS play. Ultimately, Atriums failure shows how difficult and unprofitable it could be to disrupt a traditional and complicated system.

The closure came just three years after it launched with the goal to build software for startups to navigate fundraising, hiring, acquisition deals and collaboration with their legal team.

Essential (2017-2020)

Total Raised: $330 million

Image Credits: Darrell Etherington

Big plans, big names and a boatload of money should have been enough to buy Essential a lengthy runway. Sure, Essential was entering a mature and oversaturated market, but the Playground-backed startup was doing so with $330 million in funding, a team of top industry executives and some genuinely innovative ideas.

When I spoke to the company at launch, an executive outlined a 10-year plan to become a major player in both the mobile and smart home categories. Ultimately, the company was able to eke out just under three years of life after coming out of stealth. And while it did give the world a promising handset, its connected home hub never arrived.

Timing, broader marketing issues and troubling allegations of sexual misconduct were all contributing factors that stopped Essentials big plans dead in their tracks.

HubHaus (2016-2020)

Total Raised: $11.4 million

Image Credits: HubHaus

HubHaus, founded by Shruti Merchant, was a long-term housing rental platform rooted in the belief that adult dormitories would take off. The startup targeted working professionals in cities, and raised only around $11 million in known venture capital. When it came to raising a Series B, Merchant says the company struggled to close and lost investor interest due to WeWorks failed IPO.

After then pivoting to a self-funded company, HubHaus was just finding footing when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the United States, drastically hurting the rental market (as shown by Airbnbs public struggles, as well). The housing company eventually decided to close down in September, leaving landlords, members and vendors in limbo and bringing on a fresh sweep of critique and controversy.

Affordable housing continues to be an issue in the Bay Area, and HubHauss departure from the scene underscores this truth.

Hipmunk (2010-2020)

Total Raised: $55 million

Image Credits: Hipmunk

Hipmunk, founded by Adam J. Goldstein and Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman, was one of the first travel aggregation platforms on the market. The company put together information on flights, hotels and car rental all into one place so consumers could compare and contrast prices with ease.

The focus was enough for the platform to get acquired by Concur, but now after four years, the travel startup shut down. Notably, the travel startups closure wasnt necessarily tied to the coronavirus pandemic. The site officially went dark on January 23, months before lockdowns came to the United States.

IfOnly (2012-2020)

Total Raised: $51.4 million

Photo: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

IfOnly had created a marketplaces of exclusive events such as goat yoga a business that faced obvious challenges during the pandemic. The startup was actually acquired by one of its investors, Mastercard, late last year, but the acquisition wasnt announced until IfOnly revealed over the summer that it was shutting down.

Mastercard also said IfOnlys team and technology are still part of its Priceless experience marketplace: The IfOnly platform will continue to help advance our Priceless strategy and our combined team will be even better positioned and equipped to deliver exclusive experiences for cardholders globally.

Mixer/Beam Interactive (2014-2020)

Total Raised: $520,000

Image Credits: Microsoft

Microsoft shut down its Twitch competitor Mixer this year, handing off its partnerships to Facebook Gaming. The service had its roots in the software giants acquisition of Beam Interactive shortly after the startup won TechCrunchs Startup Battlefield in 2016.

Before giving up, Microsoft made some big investments in Mixers success, most notably signing streaming superstars Ninja and Shroud to exclusive deals. (They became free agents after the shutdown.) However, Microsofts gaming chief Phil Spencer said the company suffered from starting out pretty far behind the biggest players in the streaming market.

The Outline (2016-2020)

Total Raised: $10.2 million

Image Credits: The Outline

Despite a busy year of innovation and venture for news media platforms, The Outline, which branded itself as the next generation version of the New Yorker was shut down. The media site was started by Josh Topolsky and had an explicit focus on serving millennials with a digital-first news media brand.

The shutdown was part of a broader layoffs at Bustle Digital Group, which acquired the publication in 2019. Pre-acquisition, The Outline had already scaled back its editorial staff and refocused on freelance articles. (Input a tech site that Topolsky founded for BDG continues to publish.)

Periscope (2015-2020)

Periscope went out with more of a whimper than a bang. The startup was acquired by Twitter before it had even launched a product. With Meerkat bursting on the scene that year at SXSW, Twitter went on the offensive, buying the startup to build out its own live video offering.

Periscopes run was decent as far as these things go, and its technology will live on as part of Twitters video offerings, even after the app is officially discontinued next March. But in the end, Periscope was a shell of its former self. In fact, this is a rare instance where the pandemic may have actually delayed its shutdown.

The company notes, We probably would have made this decision sooner if it werent for all of the projects we reprioritized due to the events of 2020.

PicoBrew (2010-2020)

Total Raised: $15.1 million

Image Credits: PicoBrew

The company made beer-brewing machines that used coffee pod-style PicoPaks, then expanded into other categories like coffee and tea, but never quite attracted enough customers to make the business viable. It sold its assets earlier this year to PB Funding Group a group of lenders recruited by then-CEO Bill Mitchell in 2018 to keep it afloat.

Its possible that PicoBrew will live on in some form, as PB Funding Group says its seeking buyers for the companys patents and other intellectual property, and that it will keep the website running in the short term so that the machines dont stop working.

Quibi (2018-2020)

Total Raised: $1.75 billion

Quibi CEO Meg Whitman speaks about the short-form video streaming service for mobile Quibi during a keynote address January 8, 2020 at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

More so than any tech company in recent memory (with the possible exception of Theranos), Quibis existence feels like a fever dream. $1.75 billion in funding later and what do we have to show for it? Fierce Queens, a nature documentary about female animals. The HGTV-style program, Murder House Flip. And, of course, The Shape of Pasta. A show about pasta.

Early reports of the services demise seemed premature if only because there was seemingly no way a company could burn through that much capital that quickly. By late-October, however, it was over. All that is left now is to offer a profound apology for disappointing you and, ultimately, for letting you down, founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman wrote in an open letter.

Sometimes startup failures are bad timing. Sometimes its just plain bad luck. With Quibi, the diagnoses of what went wrong can be summed up in one word: everything.

Rubica (2016-2020)

Total Raised: $15 million

Image Credits: Rubica

Rubica spun out of security company Concentric Advisors with the aim of offering tools that were more advanced than antivirus software, while still remaining accessible to individuals and small businesses. CEO and co-founder Frances Dewing said that when customers cut back on spending during the pandemic, the company tried to shift its focus to larger enterprise, but it failed to convince investors there was a business there.

We were all really surprised given how relevant and needed this is right now, she said. Investors didnt agree with that or see it in the same way.

ScaleFactor (2014-2020)

Total Raised: $104 million

Businessmans hands with calculator and cost at the office and Financial data analyzing counting on wood desk. Image Credits:Sarinya Pinngam/EyeEm / Getty Images

ScaleFactor was a startup claiming to offer artificial intelligence tools that could replace accountants for small businesses; it blamed the pandemic for cutting its revenue in half and forcing the company to shut down.However, former employees and customers told Forbes a different story that ScaleFactor actually relied on human accountants (including an outsourced team in the Philippines) to do the work.

While its hardly unprecedented for a startup to fudge the truth about their level of automation versus human labor, this reportedly resulted in error-filled accounting for ScaleFactor clients. (Responding to a fact-checking email, former CEO Kurt Rathmann said the email was filled with numerous factual inaccuracies and misrepresentation and declined to comment further.)

Starsky Robotics (2015-2020)

Total Raised: $20 million

Self-driving trucks startup Starksy Robotics began with this first, and problematic truck. Image Credits:Starsky Robotics

In 2019, our truck became the first fully-unmanned truck to drive on a live highway, Starsky Robotics co-founder and CEO Stefan Seltz-Axmacher wrote in a Medium post in March. And in 2020, were shutting down. After five years and $20 million in funding, the autonomous trucking company shut its doors that month. It wasnt for lack of ambition or demand it seems safe to assume theres still a bright future for self-driving trucks.

Ultimately, however, Starsky wont be along for that ride a fact Seltz-Axmacher blames largely on timing. A crowded market is certainly at play, as well, with countless companies currently pushing to bring autonomous technology to the road.

Stockwell/Bodega (2018-2020)

Total Raised: $10 million

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

Founded in 2018 by ex-Googlers, Stockwell AI shut down after being unable to find business for its in-building smart vending machines that stocked everything from condoms to La Croix. The company blamed the current landscape (also known as the global pandemic we are experiencing) for its closure.

Stockwell AI, formerly known as Bodega, was well-funded and well-known, with more than $45 million in funding from investors that included NEA, GV, DCM Ventures, Forerunner, First Round and Homebrew. Still, even venture capital couldnt make vending machines work well enough.

Trover (2011-2020)

Total Raised: $2.5 million

Image Credits: Trover

Another travel-focused startup bites the dust as the coronavirus limits the chance to safely explore the world (let alone your neighborhood). Trover, a photo-sharing hub for travelers acquired by Expedia, shut down in August. The startup was founded by Rich Barton and Jason Karas and was meant to connect people travelling to the same places. The startup had quite the life: it began out of the remains of TravelPost, a travel review site, and got scooped up by its parent company when it only had $2.5 million in funding. Unfortunately, its nine-year journey is over for now.

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Remembering the startups we lost in 2020 - TechCrunch