Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other towns in the borough include Bushey, Elstree and Potters Bar; the borough borders the three north London boroughs of Harrow and Enfield, is located within the M25 Motorway. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the former area of Bushey Urban District and Potters Bar Urban District with Elstree Rural District and part of Watford Rural District; the name "Hertsmere" was invented for the new district by combining the common abbreviation of "Hertfordshire" with "mere", an archaic word for boundary. The name is doubly appropriate as the district straddles the historic county boundary between Middlesex and Hertfordshire and forms the administrative boundary between Hertfordshire and Greater London; the name is reflected in the council's coat of arms, which shows a hart upon the battlements of a boundary wall. The district was awarded borough status by Royal Charter in 1977.

The borough was in the Metropolitan Police District, despite being outside the modern Greater London boundaries. It was transferred to Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2000. Hertsmere is the location of Elstree Studios, which produces such shows as Strictly Come Dancing, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Dancing on Ice, is the location for the Big Brother house. Hertsmere is the location for BBC Elstree, the site of EastEnders, Holby City, the home to Top of the Pops, before its move to BBC TV Centre; the area was home to other TV and film studios, including MGM, until this was demolished for residential development, is now an area called Studio Way. In the 2011 census, Hertsmere polled as the second most Jewish local authority in the United Kingdom, with Jews composing of one in seven residents; the borough council consists of 39 elected councillors, with a third being elected at each election. As of the 2014 election there are 34 Conservative and 5 Labour councillors; until 1983 the borough was included in the parliamentary constituency of Hertfordshire South.

In 1983 the constituency was renamed Hertsmere. Hertsmere had been represented in Parliament by Conservative, James Clappison since 1992, he succeeded Cecil Parkinson, Member of Parliament for the area since 1974. It is now represented by Oliver Dowden; the borough contains five parishes: Elstree and Borehamwood Aldenham Ridge Shenley South MimmsFour parishes have parish councils Ridge, which has fewer than 200 electors, is governed by a parish meeting following the dissolution of its parish council. The areas of the former Bushey and Potters Bar urban districts are unparished

The Church of the Holy Ascension known as the Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, is a prominent landmark in Unalaska, the major community of the western Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska. The current church was built in 1894 on the site of an 1826 church, using timbers and other elements from the older church, it is one of the oldest churches in Alaska, is significant as the site from which missionaries brought their religion to the local Aleut people. This evangelization effort was so successful that today's Aleut population is still Orthodox; the church was declared a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, for its role in the history and culture of Alaska. It is the second cathedral church of the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of Alaska, after St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka; the Church of the Holy Ascension is located in Unalaska, a community of about 4,000 on the north side of Unalaska Island, the largest of the western Aleutian Islands. It stands midway on a peninsula dividing the Ililiuk River and Ililiuk Bay, west of the main part of the community.

The church stands on a property known as the "Russian Greek Mission Reserves", a 1.5-acre area on which the bishop's residence stands. The church is cruciform in shape, with a belltower at its western end; the tower is 52 feet tall, starting as a square structure, which rises to a cornice with shallow center gables on each cornice, an octagonal cupola topped by a green onion dome, capped by an Orthodox cross. The tower is connected to the nave of the church by a gable-roofed narthex; the nave is rectangular, with a hip roof capped by a cupola similar to, but smaller than, that on the tower. Hip-roofed wings containing chapels extend north and south from the near the eastern end of the nave; the apse is at the far eastern end of the structure, with a hip roof that rises only to the level of the cornice of the nave. All of the roofs are covered in wooden shingles painted red; the interior of the church has a uncomplicated layout. The first floor of the tower acts as a vestibule, while the narthex area provides spaces for storage and stairs leading to the choir loft and the belfry, the latter occupying the tower's second level.

The floors of the church are wooden, painted red throughout. A red carpet leads through the nave to the eastern end of the building, where the main iconostasis and altar are located; the chapel to the north is dedicated to Saint Innocent of Irkutsk. The structure has undergone only modest alterations since its construction in 1894-96, underwent a major restoration in 1998; the bishop's house stands several hundred feet from the church. It is a modest two-story wood-frame structure, 28 feet by 32 feet, clad in shiplap siding. Single-story wings extend to the west of the main block; the cornices of the second story roofline have elaborately carved friezes and carved wooden corbel blocks. The Aleutian Islands were discovered by Russian fur hunters in the mid-18th century, a Russian establishment existed at Unalaska as early as 1778, when British Captain James Cook explored the area; the first known religious building, a small chapel, was built in Unalaska in 1808, but there was no regular priest. The first significant effort by the Russian Orthodox establishment to evangelize the local Aleut population began in 1795, when a monk named Macarius arrived at Unalaska and baptized most of the native population.

In 1824 Reverend Ivan Veniaminov arrived in Unalaska as its first permanent priest, led the construction of a church not far from the site of the 1808 chapel. Veniamov canonized as Innocent of Alaska, was an energetic force in the growth of the church in western Alaska, he developed an alphabet for the Aleut language, established a school to teach the natives to read and write. Veniaminov spent ten years in Unalaska before being assigned to Sitka, where he engaged in similar activities with respect to the Tlingit people, he was, during his long career in Alaska, a significant ethnographic resource, noted by modern historians for the quality of his observations. By 1858 the church Veniaminov built was failing due to the harsh climate, a new church was built, using timbers from the older one. In the 1880s, after a period of decline in the church, Bishop Nestor commissioned the construction of the bishop's house after a visit to Unalaska in which his accommodations were in the living quarters of the local cannery workers.

As part of this work a school building was erected, to which the bishop's house was attached. The present church was built after the arrival of Reverend Alexander Kedrovsky. By this time Unalaska had achieved its place as the major port in the western Aleutians, had grown into a small town; the district Kedrovsky oversaw extended to include the Fox and Pribilof island groups, to communities on the Alaskan peninsula. It is believed that the north chapel of the present church is on the location of the original 1826 church, that timbers were used from the old structure in construction of the new one. There is evidence suggesting that the iconostasis in that chapel is Aleut craftsmanship dating to 1824. During World War II, the native population of the area was evacuated to southeastern Alaska; the valuables of the church were preserved, despite the use of the church facilities by the nearly 60,000 troops stationed

In 2014, Billboard magazine published two main charts ranking the top-performing country music songs in the United States. The Hot Country Songs chart ranked songs based on digital downloads and airplay not only from country stations but from stations of all formats, a methodology introduced in 2012; the Country Airplay listing, published for the first time in 2012, was based on country radio airplay, a methodology, used for several decades for Hot Country Songs. In 2014, 13 different songs topped the Hot Country Songs chart and 35 different songs topped Country Airplay in 52 issues of the magazine. Jason Aldean had the longest unbroken run at number one on the Hot Country Songs, spending 14 consecutive weeks in the top spot with "Burnin' It Down". Luke Bryan spent the most total weeks at number one during the year, however, his songs "Drink a Beer" and "Play It Again" totaled 14 weeks atop the chart and he spent a further six weeks in the top spot as a featured vocalist on Florida Georgia Line's chart-topper "This Is How We Roll" for a total of 20 weeks at number one.

Bryan and Florida Georgia Line were the acts with the most number ones during 2014, as each act had two chart-toppers in addition to their collaboration on "This Is How We Roll". No other act had more than one number one during the year. Bryan spent the most weeks at number one on the Country Airplay listing, but with a much smaller total of seven weeks; this figure included a run of four consecutive weeks with "Play It Again", which tied with Florida Georgia Line's "Stay" for the longest unbroken run at the top of the radio-based chart during 2014. Bryan and Florida Georgia Line were among a number of acts with two number ones on that chart, including Aldean, Frankie Ballard and Dierks Bentley. Blake Shelton, had the highest number of chart-toppers on the airplay listing, reaching the top spot with "Doin' What She Likes", "Neon Light" and "My Eyes". Several acts gained their first number ones during 2014, including Sam Hunt, whose "Leave the Night On" topped both charts in the same week in November.

Singer Cole Swindell reached the top of the Hot Country Songs listing with his debut single, "Chillin' It". Frankie Ballard achieved his first career number one when he reached the peak position on Country Airplay with "Helluva Life", went on to gain his second number one on the same chart in the year with "Sunshine & Whiskey". Former contestant on TV's The Voice Gwen Sebastian was a first-time chart-topper when she was featured on the song "My Eyes" by Blake Shelton, who had coached her on the show. "Where It's At" gave Dustin Lynch his first appearance at number one. Teenaged female duo Maddie & Tae reached number one for the first time with "Girl in a Country Song", a retort to the bro-country sub-genre associated with acts such as Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean, in particular the depiction of women in the style's lyrics. 2014 in music List of artists who reached number one on the U. S. country chart List of number-one country albums of 2014 List of number-one country singles of 2014