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Happy Thursday and welcome to a late-in-the-day roundup of notable news items. Below are a few need-to know stories as we head into the first weekend of June

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) in Maine has announced an international design competition calling on architects and design teams to submit qualifications for a 60,000-square-foot expansion of the museums current footprint, which comprises several historic buildings in downtown Portland. Over the last decade the cultural institution has seen record attendance and is looking to double the size of its campus to house new collections, exhibitions event and performance venues, and office space, as well as a rooftop restaurant and sculpture garden.

We are excited to invite experts from around the world to internalize the goals of The PMA Blueprint and turn them into physical spaces that bring them to life, said Mark Bessire, the Judy and Leonard Lauder Director of the Portland Museum of Art. This is no easy task, as our communities have made their expectations clear for open and innovative spaces that enable a flexible range of programs, exhibitions, and art. Beyond that, architects must understand the unique characteristics of Portland and of Maine, while displaying enthusiasm and reverence for this projects long-term impact.

The competition will be carried out in two phases with the winning team and design proposal unveiled in December 2022 and plans to open its doors to the public in 2026.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based office furniture heavyweight Steelcase and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation have teamed up to launch the Frank Lloyd Wright Racine Collection. Using the Foundations archives and Wrights seminal design principles, the series will include chairs, desks, textiles, and wallcoverings, all of which reinterpret Wrights vision with updates for modern comfort. Steelcase has a longstanding working relationship with Frank Lloyd Wright that began in 1939 when the company fabricated original designs for the SC Johnson Administration Building in Racine, Wisconsin.

The Foundation is delighted to work alongside Steelcase in carrying Wrights legacy forward, said Stuart Graff, president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. While people know Wright for his work in architecture, his passion for creating equitable, inspiring work environments was visionary. We are proud to partner with an organization like Steelcase that shares these values with the Foundation, helping to inspire designers, managers, and associates through Wrights ideas, which have only become more relevant over time.

The collection will be on show at NeoCon in Chicago June 1315.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama is slated to speak in a moderated conversation during the closing session of the 2022 AIA Conference on Architecture. The event will take place in Chicago at the McCormick Place Convention Center on June 24. This is not the first time an Obama has made an appearance on the AIA stage; in 2017, Michelle Obama spoke on equality and diversity in the design industry at the event.

Other scheduled headlining speakers include AIA EVP/CEO Lakisha Ann Woods in conversation with Madame Architect founder Julia Gamolina, and Jeanne Gang, Vishaan Chakrabarti, Rene Cheng and Jeanne Gang in conversation with photographer and architecture critic Lee Bay. A full list of speakers can be found here.

The 2022 AIA Conference will span four days running from June 22 to 25.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund heralded the first class of its Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program. The program, launched in February 2022, supports women of color practicing landscape architecture, providing mentoring and assistance with navigating the licensure process. It derives from the ASLAs 2020 Racial Equity Action Plan.

The inaugural class comprises 10 women who identify as African American, Latin, Asian, and Native Hawaiian, the most statistically underrepresented groups in the landscape architecture field. They hail from across the United States, including Hawaii, California, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, and Florida.

Each woman will receive a scholarship of up to $3,500 to cover costs of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE), along with exam preparation courses, resources, and mentoring from a licensed landscape architect.

Leaders at Buc-ees are breaking ground next week on a store thats set to be tied for the Texas-based rest stop chains largest location.

The Johnstown, Colorado center at 5201 Nugget Road will be Buc-ees first store in the state. Like other Buc-ees, it will be heavily beaver-themed, and serve food favorites including Texas barbecque, homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver nuggets, jerky and fresh pastries. Patrons driving between Denver and Fort Collins will get to enjoy the worlds cleanest bathrooms, as well.

With 115 fueling stations and 74,000 square feet of interior space, the Johnstown store will be the same size as a location under construction in Sevierville, Tennessee. When the latter is complete, it will take the crown as the worlds largest travel center. (For motor vehicles, at least. Airports apparently dont count.) The groundbreaking is set for June 7, 2022.

H/t to GlobeNewswire

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Daily digest: Obama to speak at AIA Conference on Architecture 2022, the Portland Museum of Art launches expansion competition, and more - The...

Sen. Eric Lessers Obama-era colleagues are getting back together Tuesday evening for a virtual fundraiser in support of the state lawmakers bid for lieutenant governor, an event Lesser described as getting the band back together.

The gathering of Lessers former White House and campaign bosses comes as his campaign has raised over $648,000 between January and the end of May for a total of $1.07 million in cash on hand, according to the states Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

On the ticket for Tuesday evening: former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, David Axelrod; former economic policy advisor Austan Goolsbee; former White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Alyssa Mastromonaco; and former Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe.

Lesser said he has turned to the group for advice on state policy and during campaigns for state Senate and lieutenant governor. Lesser said he looked to Goolsbee for guidance as his legislative team helped craft a COVID-19 recovery bill earlier in the pandemic.

Austan, who is one of the most well-regarded economists in the country, actually helped and did a call with my team when we were writing that legislation, Lesser told MassLive. Its an inspiring team that, frankly, helped change the world with the election of Barack Obama. So really, really excited to get everybody back together.

Following his time at Harvard, Lesser joined Obamas 2008 presidential campaign where he traveled across the country during the primary and general elections. The senator then joined Obamas White House staff, first as a special assistant to Axelrod and later at the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

A clearer picture of the lieutenant governors race is set to emerge later this week at the Democratic Partys convention in Worcester where candidates must secure the support of 15 percent of delegates to make the ballot.

Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll raised $259,087 through the end of May, Bret Bero hauled in $234,850, Rep. Tami Gouveia raised $159,089, and Sen. Adam Hinds raised $126,730, according to the states campaign finance office.

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Sen. Eric Lesser is getting the Obama-era gang back together for virtual fundraiser - MassLive.com

Former President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.Photo: Carolyn Kaster (AP)

A teacher at a Michigan private school has been placed on leave after showing students pictures of animals with a picture of former President Barack Obama. They asked the class to identify the primate, per USA TODAYs report.

Reports say the teacher (who has not been named) worked at the Birmingham campus of the Roeper School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The campus holds the schools middle school and high school. Per USA TODAY, the assignment showed students images of different animals including monkeys and then a random picture of Obama.

Which of the following are primates, read the assignment. It was given to 30 biology students.

Read the schools response from USA TODAY:

The school in a statement to USA TODAY said, On behalf of Roeper Schools leadership, we want to acknowledge the disturbing racial offense contained in an assignment with an upper school class last week.

The choice to use this piece of curriculum was completely inconsistent with our Schools philosophy and mission and we sincerely apologize for its use and the harm it has caused. While the teacher has taken responsibility and admits the mistake of not properly vetting the resource, we know that is not enough and she has been placed on administrative leave until further notice, the statement continued.

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A concerned parent sent a letter to the school the day after the assignment was given out. Carolyn Lett, Roepers director of diversity, said this behavior wasnt acceptable, per The Detroit News.

The following morning, we were alerted that this went out, we discussed it ourselves and immediately spoke with the teacher. This is not anything weve seen before and nothing were used to, said Lett, whos worked at the school for 29 years.

Per The Detroit News, the school will be reviewing curriculum and working on professional development for staff and faculty focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion. Hopefully, this entails training more rigorous than a powerpoint presentation.

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Teacher Shows Picture of Obama with Monkeys and Asks Students to Identify the Primate - The Root

Theyre also providing travel and networking opportunities!

The Obamas have teamed up with the CEO of Airbnb to launch a $100 million scholarship, Bloomberg reports.

Barack and Michelle Obama have partnered with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky to launch The Voyager Scholarship. Focused on offering support to college students looking to start a career in public service, the fund will provide financial aid to students as well as stipends for travel and networking opportunities. Chesky donated $100 million to the Obama Foundation to kick off the scholarship.

The scholarship will support 100 students in their first year, available to college students entering their junior year of college at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States. Students must be US citizens, permanent residents, or DACA recipients and demonstrate a financial need.

Scholarship recipients will receive $50,000 in financial aid for their junior and senior year of college along with a Summer Voyage work-travel experience that includes a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing. Upon graduating, Airbnb will provide students with an additional $2,000 travel credit every year for 10 years, with participants gathering every fall for an annual summit to meet with President Obama, Chesky, and their peer Voyagers.

So many people have a passion for public service, but they dont go into public service because they cant afford to. They have too much financial burden looming over themWe need a generation of leaders who are willing to cooperate and build bridges, but its hard to build a bridge if you haven't seen the other side of the river, said Chesky.

The CEO, worth $9.45 billion, is part of 40 of Americas wealthiest people who signed the Giving Pledge by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates, committed to giving away most of their fortune to tackle societal issues. The goal of the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service is to help alleviate the burden of college debt so that people will be able to serve their community and expand their perspective on the world.

Applications for the Voyager Scholarship are currently open. The deadline for submissions is June 14 with students expected to be notified in September. To learn more about the scholarship, click here.

Photo Courtesy of Jim Young/AFP/Getty Images

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The Obamas Have Teamed Up With Airbnb CEO To Launch $100M College Scholarship - Because of Them We Can

Former President Obama is urging Americans not to get frustrated by the slow pace of progress, while discussing the federal government and showing off his sandwich-making skills in a new Netflix show he produced.

Heres the thing that we have to remind ourselves: By design, change is hard in this country, Obama told host Adam Conover in the sixth and final episode of Netflixs The G Word.

The limited series premiered Thursday on the streaming site and pulls back the curtain on the surprising ways the US government impacts our everyday lives, from the mundane to the life changing, according to a promotional site. The documentary-style comedy show is produced by the Obamas company, Higher Ground Productions, as part of the multiyear Netflix deal the former first family inked in 2018.

I guarantee you that theres no president who was ever elected who doesnt at some point think, Ah, make me king for a day and I can just issue my edicts, Obama said during a discussion with Conover about change taking time.

We dont want a situation where an all-powerful, all-knowing individual or small set of individuals are able to make decisions for everybody. So were going to disperse power, which means things happen slower, Obama said.

The only thing we cant do is lapse into cynicism and say, well, because this hasnt changed at the pace that it should, theres nothing we can do about it.

Conover pressed the ex-commander in chief after he said that when a president is elected, theres a window of opportunity for us to make some changes.

Typically its not going to be 100 percent of what you want, but if we make things 10 percent better Obama said, before Conover interjected, Yeah, but 10 percent for climate change isnt enough.

When you ran in 08 you were the change guy, Conover told Obama. You didnt run on, Hey, if we made things 10 percent better.'

Thats completely fair, Obama replied.

It turns out [former Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell [(R-Ky.)] was elected, too. Precisely because the country is a big, diverse, complicated place.

Obama advised Americans to find the thing that youre passionate about, that angers you, that frustrates you, and you try to get some like-minded citizens to start changing.

You also have to remind yourself that government isnt just the federal government government is state government, government is city government, government is county government. So a whole bunch of decisions that are being made, arent being made by the president, theyre being made by somebody whos probably elected by 1,000 [or] 10,000 voters.

Obamas chat with Conover came after the pair crafted a snack suggested by the 44thpresident: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Im very particular about how you make PB&J, Obama said during the lighthearted segment. You have to get every corner, he advised as he spread the ingredients on the bread.

Originally posted here:
Obama discusses why change is hard in this country - The Hill