U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF Announce $500,000 Project Safe Neighborhoods Federal Grant
John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and William Temple, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Dallas Field Division, joined Ken Shetter, President of One Safe Place, and Joel Fitzgerald, Fort Worth Chief of Police, at a press conference this morning to announce a $500,000 federal grant that has been awarded to One Safe Place to implement the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative in two Fort Worth neighborhoods.
PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gang and gun crime in the U.S. by networking existing local programs that target gun and gang crime and providing these programs with additional tools for success. PSN’s strategic approach brings more “science” into criminal justice operations by leveraging innovative applications of analysis, technology and evidence-based practices to improve performance and effectiveness while containing costs.
The grant is one of only seven half-million dollar grants awarded by the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance and funded under the 2016 Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction/Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. This grant also addresses domestic violence, which, according to many statistics, is a major contributing factor for the increase in gun and violent crimes. Continue reading
Smith & Wesson’s Battenfeld Technologies to Acquire UST Brands
Acquisition Will Add Survival and Camping Brands to Accessories Platform – Closing Expected November 2016
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation, a leading manufacturer of firearms and provider of quality accessory products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast, today announced that its Outdoor Products & Accessories segment, through a subsidiary of Battenfeld Technologies, Inc., will acquire the business of Ultimate Survival Technologies, Inc. (“UST Brands”), a provider of high quality survival and camping equipment, in an asset acquisition for $32.3 million in cash. In addition, up to $2.0 million will be due over a period of two years following the closing, contingent upon the financial performance of the acquired business.
UST Brands is a recognized provider of some of the finest survival and camping equipment on the market. The UST Brands line of personal safety and survival tools includes LED lights, patented all-weather fire starters, unbreakable signal mirrors, premium outdoor cutting tools, first aid kits, signal whistles, survival kits, camp kitchen products, and more. UST Brands’ products are sold through a variety of outdoor, sporting goods, and large retailers, as well as through online merchandisers. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, UST Brands operates from a 100,625 square foot facility.
James Debney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Smith & Wesson, said, “We are very excited to announce the acquisition of UST Brands. With its complete offering of survival gear, UST Brands is our first acquisition that is entirely focused on the outdoor market, which is a key part of our vision to become the leading provider of quality products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast. By expanding its product portfolio and retail presence, UST Brands delivered impressive compound annual revenue growth of 49% from 2012 through 2015. We believe that UST Brands’ broad distribution network, which includes strategic retailers, online retailers, and distributors, will create incremental opportunities for our existing accessories products. Moreover, we believe that the UST Brands product portfolio will benefit synergistically from the product innovation, distribution network, and efficient sourcing model that have contributed to the success of our Accessories Division under the leadership of its President, Jim Gianladis.” Continue reading
Legendary Outdoor Brands Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s to Combine
Merger Aims to Enhance Ability to Serve Outdoor Enthusiasts with Complementary Product Offerings and Geographic Footprints
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE:CAB), two iconic American outdoor companies with similar humble origins, and with a shared goal to better serve those who love the outdoors, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bass Pro Shops will acquire Cabela’s for $65.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of approximately $5.5 billion.
In addition, upon closing Bass Pro Shops will commence a multi-year partnership agreement with Capital One, National Association, a wholly-owned national banking subsidiary of Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF), under which Capital One will originate and service the Cabela’s CLUB, Cabela’s co-branded credit card, and Bass Pro Shops will maintain a seamless integration between the credit card program and the combined companies’ retail operations and deep customer relationships. All Cabela’s CLUB points and Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Rewards points will be unaffected by the transactions and customers can continue to use their credit cards as they were prior to the transaction. Capital One intends to continue to operate the Cabela’s CLUB servicing center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A driving force behind this agreement is the highly complementary business philosophies, product offerings, expertise and geographic footprints of the two businesses. The essence of both Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s is a deep passion to serve outdoor enthusiasts and support conservation. The combination brings together three of the nation’s premier sporting brands: Cabela’s, a leader in hunting; Bass Pro Shops, a leader in fishing; and White River Marine Group, a worldwide leader in boating, which is part of Bass Pro Shops.
Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and White River Marine Group represent the best of American entrepreneurship, innovation and devotion to customers. The combined companies will strive to provide a remarkably enhanced experience for customers, increased opportunities for team members and greater support for conservation activities.
Thompson/Center Arms Recalls The T/C Compass Bolt-Action Rifle
IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL NOTICE
Thompson/Center Arms has identified a condition that may exist in Compass rifles. We have determined that there may be some instances, depending on the height and position of the rifle and other factors, where a chambered round may fire if the firearm is dropped with the safety in the fire position. Safety is paramount to us, so we are taking this measure to further enhance performance and to meet our customer expectations, with the goal of reducing the chance of an accidental discharge should the rifle be dropped.
This recall applies to all COMPASS rifles manufactured by Thompson/Center Arms prior to September 16, 2016.
STOP USING YOUR RIFLE AND RETURN IT TO THOMPSON/CENTER AT ONCE.
Because the safety of our customers is our utmost concern, we ask that you stop using your rifle until corrective action can be taken.
To facilitate the inspection and repair of your rifle, please contact Thompson/Center at 855-512-5935 to receive instructions and a pre-paid shipping label for the return of your rifle to Thompson/Center. Thompson/Center will repair the rifle at no cost to you, and return it to you as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Additional information will be available shortly on our website at http://compassrecalltcarms.com. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this recall, please contact Thompson/Center at 855-512-5935.
September 11th Attacks: 15 Years Later
It really does not seem like it has been a decade and a half since 19 savages hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 innocent Americans, injure 6,000 more, and cause lingering physical health issues for an estimated 18,000 more in addition to the mental and emotional hurt that the attacks caused for all Americans and our friends around the world.
It is hard to believe that there are now people who are old enough to drive or go see a dirty movie who weren’t even born yet when the towers fell, or when the seat of our national defense was struck, or when a handful of brave Americans made the monumentally difficult decision to sacrifice their own lives and the lives of a comparatively small number of others to prevent more inevitably massive casualties.
I am actually writing this piece more than a month in advance of the 15th anniversary of the attacks and, even as I do, I possess a mix of sadness, anger, and deep, intensely burning hatred for the enemy who struck a blow on America that day. The same enemy who continues to strike similar blows on a smaller scale around the world and, indeed, right here on our own soil after either being welcomed with open arms or simply exposed to the sickness of radical Continue reading
From My Cold, Dead iPhone
Apple Changes Gun Emoji from Revolver to Squirt Gun, Twitter Snubs Olympic Events, Microsoft Trades Space Gun for Revolver
In an apparent attempt at political correctness, Apple is trading in their six-shooter for a squirt gun in their latest update, which also includes a plethora of diversity-minded updates to the emoji set used on iPhones, iPads, iPods, and other Apple devices.
According to this week’s release from Apple, “[t]his exciting update brings more gender options to existing characters, including new female athletes and professionals, adds beautiful redesigns of popular emoji, a new rainbow flag and more family options.” Thank goodness! Our Apple devices were barely usable with their misogynistic, homophobic emojis full of hatred and violence and cartoon guns. Continue reading
