The co-author of Chick, Chick 1, 2, 3 and other titles taught in Ukraine on a Fulbright scholarship before moving to Warsaw, where he now helps resettle Ukrainian refugees.

It was another sleepless night for children’s author Michael Sampson. These days, he jumps with every text message and remains agitated with worry and guilt.

Michael Sampson’s friend sent him a photo of himself, his wife and cat in an air-raid shelter. All photos courtesy of Michael Sampson

“I have a warm apartment with food and water, and I shudder to think of the children and parents in Ukraine who may not have gas or electricity and are surrounded by the noises and the hammering of war and Russian forces,” Sampson wrote in an email to SLJ from an apartment in Warsaw, Poland, where he was transferred from his Fulbright Scholar assignment in Dnipro, Ukraine. “I wake up with every text message, frightened by new negative developments in the war. All my Fulbright colleagues report the same. We worry about our friends back home and feel guilty for not being there to support them. »

Sampson had spoken with SLJ the day before. But come morning he had more to share – more thoughts on the war, more news from those who are still in Ukraine or who have just fled, more hope that telling these stories might somehow help. ‘another one.

The author, who has co-authored numerous books with Bill Martin Jr., including Chick Chick 1, 2, 3, Bill Martin Jr’s Big Book of Poetryand the next armadillo antics— chose Ukraine as a Fulbright location because his wife’s family is from there. She and their 12-year-old daughter joined him in Dnipro.

Sampson on his first day at Dnipro National University of Ukraine.

In Ukraine, Sampson taught a course at Dnipro National University. As part of his research project, he also worked with teachers and children in grades two through eight to teach English with new strategies he developed using children’s books. Throughout his time in Ukraine and now in Poland, he has also taught an online course at St. John’s University.

In November, Sampson grew concerned when the US State Department issued warnings about Russian troops assembling along the Ukrainian border. But the Ukrainians he knew were not concerned. Troops had been there since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, they told him; nothing would happen.

But the US State Department thought otherwise and on January 24 withdrew Fulbright scholars from Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine about a month later. Now Sampson spends his time in Poland doing whatever he can to help Ukrainians.

The Fulbright group teaching in Ukraine had the option of returning home or going to Poland to do what they could to help Ukrainians. Only one of the 18 scholarship recipients chose to return home, according to Sampson, whose wife and daughter returned to New York. He and his wife often talk and text, as he tries to update her on the situation from there and calm her fears. While her mother is no longer in Ukraine, her brother remains as part of the Ukrainian effort to fight Russian forces.

“The citizens are all determined to repel the Russian invasion, so everyone is participating and helping so he is there, so she has a lot of worries,” he said.

People kiss on the border between Poland and Ukraine.

In Poland, Sampson is responsible for helping refugee families settle. He rents a car, drives the four hours to the border and then brings them back to Warsaw, installs them in an apartment, takes them shopping and puts them in contact with local resources. The people he sees have all arrived safely in Poland, but there is no celebration.

“They feel guilty, because family and friends are there and they’re here,” Sampson says. “They’re safe, but they think they should be. [in Ukraine.] And so it’s just, it’s really a nightmare in terms of the feelings that they have and how they deal with it. And you know, and some people [tell them] “You should have stayed here and helped the war effort. It’s hard.”

So far, Sampson has helped five or six families get from the border to Warsaw. He continues to teach his class virtually at Dnipro National University, but the course format is not the only difference.

“The boys are actually in the army to fight the Russians, and the girls – a lot of them go to the hospital to be nurses and so on, because there are so many wounded soldiers,” he says. .

But it’s there on the other end of the Microsoft Teams connection for anyone who can show up and wants to learn or just talk.

“I think I work more as an advisor,” Sampson says.

He spends much of his time texting and emailing people he knows who remain in Ukraine. His communications with elementary school teachers are heartbreaking, while offering hope for normal times to come when they can meet in peace. (The names of the educators in the text exchanges below have been changed.)

Sampson with students in Ukraine before the war.

A teacher stopped responding days before Sampson spoke with SLJ. As he worries about her and others, he continues to teach his online course at the National University of St. John’s and Dnipro, as well as work on his books, which now include a project on Martin’s life, something Sampson had wanted to do for years. but did not have time.

As he works on new titles, he can’t help but think of the stories of the people around him and those still in Ukraine. In a recent conversation with a history professor at Michigan State University, they discussed a book about children and war.

“What would that look like? How to make it positive but realistic? Sampson said. “I’m sure there will be something that will come out of these experiences.”

Sampson’s Fulbright term ends on June 30, but he plans to return to the United States in April for an expected two-week term. armadillo antics book tour, including speaking at the Texas Library Association conference and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. In the meantime, Sampson is doing all he can to educate people in the United States about what’s happening in Poland and Ukraine in hopes that people will be brought in to help however they can.

“All I can do now is help raise money for Ukraine and write about the horrors of war and what they face,” he says. “I have a dream of peace and of returning to see the land and the people I have come to love.”

He gained notoriety thanks to his role in the series “7th Heaven”, which he began to perform at the age of 14. Some of his best-known works are “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “The Illusionist” and “The Sinner”, among others. Wife of singer and actor Justin Timberlake, the American actress wants to relaunch her career after a few years in the parking lot.

++ Over the past five years, his performing works have declined. Now, the actress is celebrating her 40th birthday and has a new series in the bedroom, “Candy”, in which she plays the assassin Candy Montgomery, whose case is well known in the United States.
++ Biel participated in films such as “Cellular”, “Blade: Trinity”, “Stealth”, “London”, “Elizabethtown”, “Home of the Brave”, “Next”, “Easy Virtue”, among others .
++ “I’ve had a great career and I’m very proud of it. And I feel very lucky,” said the actress, wife of singer and actor Justin Timberlake.

At only 14 years old, Jessica Biel started playing Mary Camden in the television series “7th Heaven”. She quickly combined her work on the small screen with roles in films, where she appeared in titles like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or “The Illusionist”. Over the past five years, however, her acting work has dwindled. Now the actress is 40 years old and has a new series in the bedroom.
“These are people from [estar al] outdoors,” the actress told Vogue in 2010 of her parents, “they rafted the Grand Canyon when they were in their twenties. They make an incredible couple. Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota, USA. She said of her father that he was “extremely driven and ambitious”.
As a teenager, according to the publication, the actress was already engaged in gymnastics, participated in local musicals, and one summer she received acting lessons for advertising. Later, she got her own agent and a scholarship to study acting.
“It was stressful, for sure,” she said of the early days when her parents had to make sacrifices so she could pursue her aspirations and audition in Los Angeles. “My mother had to leave my brother for months when he was still small, my father having to manage everything on his own. Sometimes I look back and think, God, you were crazy to let a twelve-year-old girl do whatever she wanted,” she added. “I mean, they did everything for me.”

At 14, she was chosen to play Mary Camden, the daughter of a pastor from a large family, in the series “7th Heaven”, which began broadcasting in 1996. The fiction lasted eleven seasons, but Biel got out of it before ships. “Yeah, you know, there’s a limit to what you can do with a particular character, especially a show like that,” she said on the Awards Chatter podcast in 2018, according to E! News. News.
“You really had to stay within the confines of a somewhat religious family and give lessons. And when you’re 14, 15, 16, you get to a point where you say I just want to do something different,” she said in the conversation. This something different materialized with a visit to the hairdresser. “I cut my hair and got in a lot of trouble because of it. I had to apologize to everyone, it’s just a problem in my experience on ‘7Th Heaven’. I m “I always apologized. After the haircut came a cover in Gear magazine that didn’t sit well with the team either.”
As the character faded from the show, Biel returned to school and went to the University of Massachusetts, but didn’t think about giving up her acting career. “She was always connected to the business,” she told W Magazine in 2012. “I came back to LA after a year and a half and auditioned for ‘The Texas Chainsaw Masscare.’ shook me up in a really good way.
After the aforementioned horror film, Biel participated in other films such as “Cellular” and “Blade: Trinity”, starting in 2004; “Stealth”, “London” and “Elizabethtown”, from 2005; “The Illusionist” and “The House of the Brave”, from 2006; “Next”, from 2007, and “Easy Virtue”, from 2008, among others.
“THE SINNER”, GOLDEN GLOBS AND EMMY NOMINATED.
Frustrated, according to Marie Claire in 2017, by the lack of meaningful roles, the actress set out to create them herself with her partner, Michelle Purple, through the production company Iron Ocean Films. Under this label, “The Tall Man”, from 2012, “The Book of Love”, from 2016, and the series “The Sinner”, from 2017, among others, were released.
“I just thought nobody would think of me for something like that,” the actress told Backstage of buying the rights to the book that “The Sinner” series is based on. “No one would offer me anything [así], no one would let me audition. And if they let me, they probably wouldn’t give me the part because that’s not what they’re used to seeing me do.

This work earned him good reviews and earned him a Golden Globe nomination and an Emmy nomination. “I’ve had a great career and I’m very proud of it. And I feel very lucky,” she told the outlet, recalling when, a few years ago, she sat down to review her work.” But we were looking at the titles of the movies I’ve done and I just couldn’t see myself there. ” She needed to do something different and she didn’t have the opportunity to do it. make.
Her most recent projects are “Shock and Awe” and “Limetown”, in 2019. According to various media, Bienne is immersed in the filming of the series “Candy”, in which she plays the murderer Candy Montgomery, whose case is known in the United States.
Along with her work as an actress and producer, Biel has also developed her business side. In 2016, with other partners, she opened a restaurant that was meant to be a space designed for families and children and which closed two years later, with complaints from employees in particular for keeping tips. “Restoration is much more difficult than being a producer,” she told the Jimmy Kimmel Show in 2017. Mother of two daughters, she has formed a large family since 2012 with the famous singer Justin Timberlake.
Matthew’s Castle.
EFE reports.

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The American actress enjoyed a career spanning over 60 years in film and television.

She was a regular in Altman films, appearing in 1970s Brewster McCloud, 1992’s The Player and 1994’s Ready to Wear.

Perhaps her most famous role is as Major Houlihan, a strict army nurse who is tormented by rowdy doctors during the Korean War in the military comedy film MASH.

In the film’s key scene, and its culminating moment of misogyny, a tent where Houlihan is showering is opened and she is displayed to an audience of cheering men.

“It’s not a hospital, it’s an insane asylum!” she shouts to her commander.

Kellerman said Altman brought out the best in her.

The film was nominated for five Oscars, but its best supporting actress was its only wink despite a cast that included Duvall, Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould.

The film would be made into a television series that ran for 11 seasons, starring Loretta Swit as Kellerman.

Kellerman was born in 1937 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of a piano teacher and an oil executive, moving to Los Angeles as a child and attending Hollywood High School.

She took an acting class at Los Angeles City College and appeared in a stage production of “Look Back in Anger” with classmate Jack Nicholson and several other future stars.

She worked primarily in television early in her career, with a starring role in Cheyenne in 1962 and guest appearances on The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Bonanza.

Her appearance in the original Star Trek pilot as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner earned her cult status among fans.

She would continue to work well into her 80s, with several acclaimed television performances during her later years.

In 2014, she was nominated for an Emmy for her recurring role on The Young and the Restless.

Kellerman was married to television producer Rick Edelstein from 1970 to 1972 and film producer Jonathan D Krane from 1980 until his death in 2016.

She is survived by her son Jack and her daughter Claire.

When the Hollywood version of David Lynch Dunes Opened theatrically in 1984, Universal Studios distributed a printed glossary to keep its audiences from being confused. They got mixed up anyway, partly because the film was hollowed out in editing, and partly because the complexity of Frank Herbert’s alternate reality poses potentially insurmountable challenges to a faithful adaptation. Even a lot of the original Dunes novel readers needed more help than a few pages of definitions could offer. Luckily for them, the same year that saw the release of Lynch’s Dunes also saw the publication of The dune encyclopediaauthorized by Herbert himself.

“Here is a rich background (and foreground) for the Dunes Chronicles, including scholarly crossroads and amusing sidelights,” Herbert writes in the book’s introduction. “Some of the contributions are bound to cause controversy, as they are based on dubious sources.” He couldn’t know how right he was. Today The dune encyclopedia bills itself as what Ryan Britt of Inverse calls “the most controversial Dunes never delivers”; Long out of print, it’s also perhaps the most expensive, with a current Amazon price of $1,300 in hardcover and $833 in paperback. (You can also find it online, at the Internet Archive.)

Always, The dune encyclopedia has his admirers, most notably the director of the last (and most successful) cinematic attempt to realize Herbert’s vision. As Brit recounts, “An anonymous (though previously reliable) source has stated that Denis Villeneuve is a huge fan of The dune encyclopedia. But when he tried to plant references to the book in the new film, his “hand got slapped by the estate.” “The reason seems to involve the Encyclopediaconflicts with the novels: not those written by Herbert himself but, according to the Dune Wiki, “the final two prequel trilogies and the sequel duology written after Frank Herbert’s death by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert’s son) and Kevin J. Anderson, who they claim completes the original series.

Although co-signed by the The dune encyclopediaThe work’s primary author, literary scholar Willis E. McNelly, the letter from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson declaring the work’s decanonization omit the fact “that the Encyclopedia is and always has been a fallible in-universe document that overtly distorts known history and adds historical embellishments. It is, in other words, a book about Dunes as well as part of Dunes. Not every book in our reality offers a perfectly true account of the story, of course, and the same goes for the reality created by Frank Herbert. This form implies the continuous possibility of expanding Dunesof the literary universe by writing the books that exist within it, not just encyclopedias and scriptures, but also epic science fiction novels. What fan, after all, wouldn’t want to read the Dunes of Dunes?

Related content:

Why should you read Dunes: An animated introduction to Frank Herbert’s ecological and psychological sci-fi epic

Rare book featuring concept art by Jodorowsky Dunes Goes to Auction (1975)

the Dunes Graphic Novel: Experience Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi saga like you’ve never seen it before

The Glossary Universal Studios Distributed to David Lynch’s Early Hearings Dunes (1984)

the Dunes Coloring and activity books: When David Lynch’s 1984 film created countless hours of special fun for kids

The Science Fiction Encyclopedia: 17,500 Entries on All Things Science Fiction Now Free Online

Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcaststs about cities, language and culture. His projects include the Substack newsletter city ​​books, the book The Stateless City: A Walk Through 21st Century Los Angeles and the video series The city in cinema. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Facebook.

SAN DIEGO, CA, Feb. 22, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ — How do we thrive in the unprecedented new world we find ourselves in now? The answer, according to Adam Markel, best-selling author, researcher and international speaker, is to build the resilience we need to meet the challenges we face, so that we become “change-proof”.

“Change Proof: Leising the Power of Uncertainty to Build Long-Term Resilience” is the title of Adam’s new book (McGraw-Hill, February 22, 2022). The book wins praise from leaders like Brian Halligan, co-founder and executive chairman of HubSpot and senior lecturer at MIT.

“Adam Markel’s Change Proof tackles complex subjects with simplicity and exceptional storytelling. It’s important reading for leaders building resilient teams,” says Halligan.

As part of ongoing research for “Change Proof,” Adam surveyed over 3,000 business leaders and executives about resilience and burnout using a proprietary tool he developed, the Resilient Leader Rating (resiliencerank.com). He studied how resilient leaders and organizations respond to existential crises and what differentiates those who succeed from those who fail.

“My premise is that the best way to deal with change is to embrace it – accept it, work with it, and benefit from it – personally and professionally,” says Adam, author of the #1 Wall Street Journal, states -United. Today, Los Angeles Times and the publisher’s weekly bestseller, “Pivot: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Your Life.”

Doing this requires “double down on your resilience rituals, engage on a deeper level to show up (mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually) and create a supportive environment for your leaders and teams,” Adam says.

More praise in advance for “Change Proof”:

“Adam has done it again with Change Proof. Resilience, actionable solutions to chaos, and practical ways to use them to learn and lead in your organization.
—Garry Ridge, President and CEO of WD-40 Company

“The first book about change that invites readers to be emotionally engulfed in dramatic uncertainty, then rationally given the tools to deal with it effectively. If this book were a movie, it would be like “Raiders of the Lost Ark “. Get ready for a wild ride.
—Chip R. Bell, author of “Inside Your Customer’s Imagination”

“Thinking about change often instills in us uncontrollable panic and sickening fear of the unknown. Adam Markel turns the tide with “Change Proof,” giving leaders the opportunity to confidently adapt to, and even pursue, change. Take the opportunity to build resilience for yourself, your relationships, and your business. A must read!”
—Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of “Triggers,” “Mojo,” and “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”

“How do you make sure your people crush it without getting crushed in the process? Adam Markel’s ‘Change Proof’ is a guide to building resilience into the very fabric of your team. It’s hard to imagine a most important book for our tumultuous times.
—Steve Farber, author of “The Radical Leap” and “Love Is Just Damn Good Business”

For a list of some of Adam’s key speaking topics and to see him in action, visit adammarkel.com/keynote-speaker.

About: Best-selling author, keynote speaker, and resilience researcher Adam Markel inspires leaders to master the challenges of massive disruption in his upcoming book, “Change Proof – Leaving the Power of Uncertainty to Build Long-Term Resilience” ( McGraw-Hill, February 2022). Adam is the #1 author of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and the publisher’s weekly bestseller, “Pivot: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Your Life.” Learn more at AdamMarkel.com.

For more information, please visit adammarkel.onlinepresskit247.com. For interview requests, contact publicist Michelle Tennant Nicholson at 828-749-3200 or [email protected].

—
Press release service and press release distribution provided by http://www.24-7pressrelease.com

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In the three months ended Dec. 31, 2021, Daily Journal Corporation (NASDAQ: DJCO) reported consolidated revenue of $11,528,000, compared to $10,420,000 a year earlier. This increase of $1,108,000 is primarily due to the increase in (i) Journal Technologies’ consulting fees of $1,517,000 and utility costs of $99,000, and (ii) net advertising revenue from the traditional business of $102,000, partially offset by decreases in (i) Journal Technologies’ license and maintenance fees of $553,000 and (ii) traditional business circulation revenue of $93,000.

Earnings before taxes for the traditional business decreased by $42,000 to $506,000 from $548,000 in the prior year period. The Journal Technologies segment’s pre-tax loss decreased to $413,000 to $450,000 from $863,000 in the prior year period. In December 2021, the Company sold a portion of its marketable securities for approximately $50,020,000, realizing gains on the sales of these marketable securities of $46,694,000, and simultaneously borrowed an additional $37,014,000 from its account. margin loan to purchase additional marketable securities with a total cost of approximately $87,125,000. The Company’s investments generated approximately $875,000 in dividend income for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, compared to $638,000 during the prior year period. For the three months ended December 31, 2021, consolidated pre-tax income was $11,438,000 compared to $81,450,000 for the prior year period. Consolidated net earnings were $6,878,000 ($4.98 per share) for the three months ended December 31, 2021, compared to $59,270,000 ($42.93 per share) for the prior year period.

The Company believes that the coronavirus pandemic has had, and together with the cases of the Delta and Omicron variants, will continue to have, a significant impact on the Company’s business operations. Governments may again take action in response to the pandemic, such as renewed closure or reduction of operations of courts and other government agencies that are clients of the Company. It could also include a certain degree of volatility in the value of the marketable securities of the Company. As of December 31, 2021, the Company held marketable securities worth $395,284,000, including net unrealized pre-tax gains of $208,005,000, and recognized a deferred tax liability of $56,175,000 for estimated income taxes due only on sales of net appreciated securities.

For the three months ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded an income tax provision of $4,560,000 on pre-tax income of $11,438,000. The tax provision consisted of a tax provision of $230,000 on operating income, a tax benefit of $91,000 for the deduction of dividends received and other permanent accounting and tax differences, a tax benefit of $9,747,000 on unrealized losses on marketable securities, a tax provision of $12,612,000 on realized gains on marketable securities and a tax provision of $1,556,000 for the effect of a change in the allocation of the State on the deferred tax liability at the beginning of the year. Accordingly, the overall effective tax rate for the three months ended December 31, 2021 was 40%, after taking into account taxes on realized capital gains and unrealized capital losses on securities of placement.

**********

Daily Journal Corporation publishes newspapers and websites covering California and Arizona, and produces several specialty news services. Journal Technologies, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary and provides case management software systems and related products to courts and other legal agencies.

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking” statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “should”, “believes”, “will”, “plans”, “estimates”, “may”, variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that these expectations will prove to be correct. Additional information regarding factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

# # #

Red Canary Collective is a nonprofit collective that provides creative and strategic support to communities working towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

They work with philanthropists, journalists, nonprofits, filmmakers and photographers to create media that helps promote a more sustainable future through their Red Canary Magazine.

Red Canary magazine background

Red canary magazine brings deeply reported journalism that is dedicated to highlighting existential issues of the environment, sustainability and social justice. Sponsored by the Red Canary Collective and edited by award-winning Los Angeles-area journalist Joe Donnelly, the magazine was launched at the height of the pandemic and has been swimming against the tide of conventional wisdom ever since.

Highlights include Erin Aubry Kaplan on the radical overhaul of police reform, Phuong-Cac Nguyen’s cross-generational conversation exploring the weight of culture and identityand essential reporting by Sam Slovic from Border between the United States and Mexico. here is a video chronicling more of this difference work from the Red Canary team.

Here are some more examples of the great work Red Canary Magazine has done over the past few months.

The Mission of Red Canary Magazine

Red Canary Collective’s mission is to help other nonprofits, philanthropists, journalists and others who do good work inspire their audiences. They use a full range of services including strategic consulting, social media marketing, video production and public relations to help our clients build the future world they want.

Red Canary Magazine creates a mix of media which may include:

• Print and digital marketing materials, such as direct mail, fundraisers, and websites

• Films and documentaries with strong messages

• Photographic projects to capture important stories from around the world

• Films to use on social media to inspire action

• Social media content, such as videos, infographics, memes, and other graphics designed to be shared on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter

If you are a non-profit leader, philanthropist, or changemaker, Red Canary Magazine can work with you to create media that amplifies the stories of people who are making positive change. Their creative team is made up of creatives from across the country to bring their decades of combined experience in social equity and environmental issues. They have a genuine connection with the people doing the advocacy. Want to know more about how they can help you with your initiative? Contact Red Canary Collective and work together to bring about positive change.

So earlier this year, the Naperville, Illinois native, who was the 2008 WNBA No. 1 draft pick and played his first 12 seasons in the league with the Sparks, signed as a free agent with the hometown team: the Chicago Sky. Now she is two wins away from winning another WNBA title.

On Sunday, Parker had 16 points and eight rebounds in the Sky’s 99-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the Finals. The Sky trailed early in the game, but Parker set up his teammates and sparked a 17-0 run in the second quarter.

“I think everyone was nervous in the first game besides Candace,” Kahleah Copper said after the win. “She was this calm for us.”

Game 2 of the best-of-five series takes place on Wednesday.

The Sky had finished the 2020 season as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, but were eliminated in a first-round knockout playoff. Sky head coach James Wade felt last year’s squad lacked a top player who could open up shots for sharp shooting guards Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley.

Adding the 6-foot-4 Parker was just what the Sky needed. It was also exactly what Parker needed.

“It means so much. Look into the stands and see some familiar faces. I grew up playing in front of these people. Parker said Last week.

It hasn’t been an easy season for Parker, however.

She injured her ankle in the season opener and Sky lost seven of the eight games she missed during that streak. After Parker returned to action, the team rebounded to finish the regular season with a 16-16 record. They qualified for the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, but had to survive playoff games against the Dallas Wings and Minnesota Lynx, before knocking out the No. 1 seed Connecticut Sun 3- 1 to qualify for the final.

“We were missing one piece, and that was Candace Parker,” Vandersloot said after the series-deciding win over the Sun. “She changed this franchise.”

In the Game 4 win over Connecticut in the semifinals, Parker flashed his all-around game, compiling 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. During one streak, she grabbed a rebound and led the Sky in transition forward throw a blind pass to her teammate Azura Stevens for an easy lay-up.

“I sent Allie [Quigley] and slot [Vandersloot] a text message in January when I decided to go home, I said “We are here”. Like, we have it right there. We can make our dreams come true. And it’s been special,” Parker said.

Wade credits Parker for handling the pressure of coming home and being a player the team can lean on in the big moments.

“She accomplished everything. It’s funny to say, but she’s probably one of the most underrated basketball players of all time,” Wade said. “We finished the season 16-16. If Candace isn’t in this locker room, is [the players] have believed as they believe? She certainly carried us.

Write to Jim Chairusmi at jim.chairusmi@wsj.com

Over the past year, a Los Angeles-based fintech has relied on the kindness of strangers to power a peer-to-peer mobile lending platform that it hopes will drive consumers away from high-interest payday loans while making them more creditworthy in the future.

SoLo Funds specializes in small loans with a cap of $1,000, allowing consumers to act as both lender and borrower. This is a market generally considered underserved as banks typically shy away from small loan amounts due to compliance issues. Travis Holoway, co-founder and CEO of SoLo, launched the company last year after seeing the relatively high fees and interest rates charged by many payday lenders.

“I quickly realized there needed to be more affordable access to small dollar loans,” Holoway said in a recent interview with American Banker.

Through the company’s website, SoLo users can apply to borrow money from others on the site. Those who lend money cannot charge interest, but can receive money in the form of tips. Borrowers also set the repayment date. If lenders are feeling particularly generous, they can waive the repayment requirement for a loan.

Borrowers have the option to tip a lender up to 10% for funds received, and also to donate to SoLo for providing the service. Holoway said 99% of users tip the lender while 97% donate.

“What we’ve realized is people on our platform don’t want handouts and I think that’s an unfair assessment of millennials and underbanked people,” he said. he declares. “I think we prove that daily on our platform.”

SoLo wants to provide a cheaper option to traditional payday lenders and serve as a way for financially underserved consumers to show their creditworthiness to traditional lenders, according to Holoway.

To that end, SoLo is in talks with one of the major credit bureaus to provide data on its users to show their ability to repay loans in full and on time. The fintech uses a proprietary credit scoring model for borrowers that lenders on the platform use to determine creditworthiness. SoLo calculates the score using a machine learning algorithm to analyze a borrower’s checking account data to find recurring payments like a cell phone bill, as well as direct deposit information.

Holoway said the goal of partnering with the credit bureau is for the bureau to eventually integrate that data into a traditional credit score. “We believe millennials and the underbanked community are more creditworthy than banks currently perceive,” Holoway said.

John Thompson, program director at the Center of Financial Services Innovation, said SoLo’s credit-scoring model could potentially help these borrowers access better credit over time. “If an organization like SoLo is able to grow sustainably and demonstrate positive outcomes for borrowers, that would be a point of proof from a market perspective,” he said.

To date, SoLo has facilitated over $2 million in loans to thousands of borrowers. When SoLo launched in June, the platform actually had more customers willing to lend than willing to borrow. Holoway said the fintech has ended the small amount of marketing it does through Google Ads and social media to attract lenders to the platform.

“We had an influx of lenders,” he said. “Lenders were coming into the market looking for borrowers and it was empty.”

When borrowers and lenders started balancing, SoLo found the average loan was $160. Holoway said that figure was skewed because the company had set a $200 cap on loans for the first six months. New SoLo users have an undisclosed cap and these borrowers must successfully repay their loans to increase their score and borrowing limit.

“On the other hand, we know that as we continue to mature as a business, our average loan size will likely increase to what is the average payday loan, which is $375. “, said Holoway.

He said default rates are minimal and says they are twice as good as companies like Lending Club and four times better than the payday loan industry.

Going forward, Holoway also wants SoLo to act as a sort of alternative credit bureau to banks to help them better understand financially underserved consumers.

“The data we collect on millennials and the underbanked is extremely valuable,” he said. “If we can provide this kind of data to help banks make more informed credit decisions in the future, everyone will win.”

At least one bank is intrigued.

“What they’re doing is admirable,” said Christopher Maher, president and CEO of OceanFirst Financial, a $7.5 billion asset in Toms River, NJ. “You have a growing population of people who haven’t been able to access traditional financial services and would like to.”

OceanFirst could theoretically offer smaller loans at a better rate than payday lenders. But Maher said that exposed the bank to criticism because interest rates would still be seen as high.

“There is a desire to be useful in this space, but there is an institutional concern,” he said. “If what we do is misunderstood, we run both reputational risk and compliance risk.”

Maher said he would welcome alternative borrower data to help banks make credit decisions about consumers who don’t have a strong credit profile, especially those who participate in the cash economy. OceanFirst recently launched a no-fee checking account called AmiGo that aims to appeal to these consumers and others who may be financially underserved.

“Until we can get them into a main checking account and you start to see evidence of how they manage their financial relationships, it’s going to be difficult to serve them effectively,” Maher said.

In the meantime, SoLo is forging ahead with app improvements based on user feedback. The fintech has added push payments to debit cards through partnerships with Mastercard and Visa. SoLo officially kicked off the Mastercard deal on Thursday.

“People on the platform were looking for the money as quickly as possible,” Holoway said of the push payments. “We knew if we wanted to disrupt the credit industry, we had to be faster.”