The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with average populations of 210,359; each district has one senator and two members of the New Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the legislature. Prior to the election in which they are chosen, senators must be a minimum of 30 years old and a resident of the state for four years to be eligible to serve in office. From 1844 until 1965, each county was an electoral district electing one senator. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years, changed to four years with the 1947 Constitution. Since 1968 the Senate has consisted of 40 senators. Senators serve a two-year term at the beginning of each decade, with the rest of the decade divided into two four-year terms; the "2-4-4" cycle was put into place so that Senate elections can reflect the changes made to the district boundaries on the basis of the decennial United States Census.

If the cycle were not put into place the boundaries would sometimes be four years out of date before being used for Senate elections. Rather, with the varied term, the boundaries are only two years out of date, thus elections for Senate seats take place in years ending with a "1", "3" or "7". Interim appointments are made to fill vacant legislative seats by the county committee or committees of the party of the vacating person; the office is on the ballot for the next general election if the other Senate seats are not up for election in that year. The sole exception to this is if the vacancy occurred within 51 days of the election, in which case the appointment stands until the following general election. Senatorial courtesy is a senate tradition that allows home county legislators to intercede to prevent consideration of a local resident nominated by the Governor for a position that requires Senate confirmation. Any of the senators from the nominee's home county can invoke senatorial courtesy to block a nomination, temporarily or permanently, without any obligation to justify the basis of their actions.

Governor Corzine nominated Stuart Rabner on June 4, 2007, to be the next Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, replacing James R. Zazzali, nearing mandatory retirement age. Shortly after the nomination, two members of the Senate from Essex County, where Rabner resides, blocked consideration of his confirmation by invoking senatorial courtesy. State Senator Ronald Rice had blocked the nomination, but relented on June 15, 2007, after a meeting with the governor. Nia Gill dropped her block on June 19, 2007, but did not explain the nature of her concerns, though anonymous lawmakers cited in The New York Times indicated that the objection was due to Rabner's race and Governor Corzine's failure to consider a minority candidate for the post. In June 2007, Loretta Weinberg used senatorial courtesy privileges to hold up consideration of a new term in office for Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli; until 2010, in the event of a gubernatorial vacancy, the New Jersey Constitution had specified that the President of the Senate would assume the role of Acting Governor and retain their role in the Senate.

An Acting Governor would assume the governorship while retaining the reins of power in their house of the legislature. The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey took office for the first time on January 19, 2010, following conjoint election with the Governor of New Jersey; the position was created as the result of a Constitutional amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution passed by the voters on November 8, 2005. While the amendment itself took effect as of January 17, 2006, made some interim changes to the succession to the governorship, the first lieutenant governor was not elected until November 3, 2009. District 1: Mike Testa District 2: Chris A. Brown District 3: Stephen M. Sweeney District 4: Fred H. Madden District 5: Nilsa Cruz-Perez District 6: James Beach District 7: Troy Singleton District 8: Dawn Addiego District 9: Christopher J. Connors District 10: James W. Holzapfel District 11: Vin Gopal District 12: Samuel D. Thompson District 13: Declan O'Scanlon District 14: Linda R. Greenstein District 15: Shirley Turner District 16: Kip Bateman District 17: Bob Smith District 18: Patrick J. Diegnan District 19: Joe F. Vitale District 20: Joseph Cryan District 21: Thomas Kean Jr. District 22: Nicholas Scutari District 23: Michael J. Doherty District 24: Steve Oroho District 25: Anthony M. Bucco District 26: Joseph Pennacchio District 27: Richard Codey District 28: Ronald Rice District 29: Teresa Ruiz District 30: Robert W. Singer District 31: Sandra Bolden Cunningham District 32: Nicholas Sacco District 33: Brian P. Stack District 34: Nia Gill District 35: Nellie Pou District 36: Paul Sarlo District 37: Loretta Weinberg District 38: Joseph Lagana District 39: Gerald Cardinale District 40: Kristin Corrado Committee chairs for the 2018-2019 Legislative Session are: Budget and Appropriations - Paul Sarlo Commerce - Nellie Pou Community and Urban Affairs - Troy Singleton Economic Growth - Nilsa Cruz-Perez Education - Teresa Ruiz Environment and Energy - Bob Smith Health

Rear Admiral David Ian Ledson, is a retired senior officer of the Royal New Zealand Navy and former Chief of Navy. He is the Chairman of the Board of Maritime New Zealand, was named a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2009, he attended Inangahua College and Christchurch Boy's High School and joined the Royal New Zealand Navy as a cadet midshipman in January 1967. He underwent training at Jervis Bay. From 1969-71 he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, he served in HMNZS Waikato between July 1973 and October 1975, followed by two years in HMNZS Otago. He attended warfare courses in the United Kingdom, specialising in navigation. After the course he returned to HMNZS Waikato as the Weapons Control Officer. In March 1980 he became the Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of Naval Staff before returning to HMNZS Waikato as the Operations Officer in April 1982. Between January and June 1984 he attended the Royal Australian Naval Staff College in Sydney. In October 1985 he joined the staff of the Chief of Naval Staff as the Director of Naval Operational Data Systems until October 1989 when he became Commanding Officer of HMNZS Waikato.

In November 1990 he was attached to Blohm & Voss, in Hamburg for eighteen months for duties with the ANZAC Ship project. In July 1992 he was appointed as Chief of Naval Development on the staff of the Chief of Naval Staff. Between July 1994 and June 1995 he was posted to the United States' Naval War College. After the War College he was appointed Director of Resource Policy for the Chief of Defence Force. In February 1998 he was posted as Captain Fleet Support and was promoted Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, with the rank of commodore, in April 2000, he became Chief of Navy and was promoted rear admiral on 8 April 2004

Cwmhir Abbey, near Llandrindod Wells in Powys, is a Welsh Cistercian monastery founded in 1176 by Cadwallon ap Madog. A spurious tale was recorded that the abbey was founded in 1143 by Meredudd ap Maelgwn at Ty-faenor, refounded at the present location near the village of Abbeycwmhir in 1176. There does appear to be a site movement from Ty-faenor, but Maredudd ap Maelgwn was prince of Maelienydd in 1215 under Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Gwynedd, who controlled the district; the charter to the abbey in 1215 caused the confusion and led to the belief that Maredudd had founded the abbey in 1143. The original lord of Maelienydd, a Welsh prince, Cadwallon ap Madog, was killed by the English Sir Roger Mortimer of Wigmore on 22 September 1179. Mortimer made a charter as lord of Maelienydd in 1200; the community subsequently suffered over many years due to the blood feud between the descendants of Cadwallon ap Madog and the Mortimers. The princes of Gwynedd gave the monastery their patronage, twice in the 13th century the abbey granges were burnt by English soldiers and in 1231 the abbot was fined £200 for aiding the Welsh cause in helping Llywelyn ab Iorwerth destroy an English force near Hay on Wye.

The headless body of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, last native Prince of Wales by direct descent, was buried in the abbey after his death in battle nearby in December 1282. In the early 13th century, the construction of what would have been a spectacular and spacious abbey church were embarked upon, equal in scale to many a cathedral by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, but this project was abandoned shortly after the completion of the 14 bay nave. The ongoing political and social troubles were undoubtedly the cause and the abbey fortunes diminished further during the significant damage inflicted during the uprising of Owain Glyndŵr from 1401; the monastery intended to support 60 monks at the outset, only had three in residence by the time of the dissolution. The abbey was closed in 1536 and became the possession of the Fowler family who built a house on the site. In 1644, during the English Civil War, the house and any surviving monastic structures were wrecked and destroyed in the fighting. What little remains was excavated in the 19th century and is open to the public.

Only fragmentary stretches of the nave of the church remain visible and a modern grave slab within such commemorates Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, killed in 1282 and was buried in the church. The ruined abbey is a grade II* listed structure. In the parish church of St Idloes, there are a series of 13th-century arches, other features, believed to have been taken from the abbey church and re-erected there in 1542. Remfry, P. M; the Political History of Abbey Cwmhir, 1176 to 1282 and the Families of Elystan Godrydd and the Princes of Gwynedd Anthony New.'A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales', pp. 132–33. Constable ISBN 0-09-463520-X Amazon. Www.elystan.co.uk – a website dedicated to the dynasty of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren: the Princes of Maelienydd & Elfael and Welsh Lords of Ceri, Buellt, Cwmwd Deuddwr & Radnor Abbeys and priories in Wales Abbey Cwmhir Hall Abbeycwmhir

HMS Alonzo was a ship launched at Shields in 1800 that the British Royal Navy purchased in 1801. During the Napoleonic Wars she served in the Baltic. At the end of the war she served as a hulk in various capacities prior to being scuttled off Leith in 1842. Alonzo entered Lloyd's Register in 1801 with J. Gardner and Brown, owner, her trade was London-Jamaica. That year the Royal Navy purchased her. 373 tons bm The Navy purchased Alonzo from John Dudman on 8 February 1801. She underwent fitting at Deptford until 25 March. Commander Robert Cathcart commissioned her in February for the Downs. Commander Hassard Stackpole replaced Cathcart before, in May 1802, Commander W. H. Falknor replaced him in turn. On 31 October Alonzo arrived at Portsmouth from Jersey with stores from Pomone, which had wrecked there. On 30 November Alonzo sailed to "open a rendezvous at Dublin, for the entry of seamen."In June 1803 Faulkner recommissioned Alonzo for service at Dublin for recruitment and impressement. In October 1803 Commander John Impey was in command.

That month, Alonzo was off Bognor when a three-day long gale resulted in her losing her masts and rudder, springing a dangerous leak, coming close to being lost. Midshipman James Hervey Price managed to get ashore with dispatches on the third day and convey them to a signal station, which transmitted news of Alonzo's plight to Portsmouth. On 10 March 1804 Alonzo came into Portsmouth. A few days earlier she had been driven aground at Chichester Park but assistance from the dockyard had gotten her off. At Portsmouth she was to undergo repairs for the damage. On 2 April Alonzo sailed from Deal with a British squadron, to escort some "stone ship' to Boulogne where they were to be scuttled to block the harbour; the attempt was abandoned and most of the squadron was back at Dungeness two or three days later. On 12 June 1804 Alonzo returned to Portsmouth from Selsey where she had been serving as a guard ship. In July 1804 Commander James Watson replaced Impey, with Alonzo serving on the Downs station.

Between May and August 1808 she was at Chatham undergoing fitting as a defence ship for Gibraltar. In May Commander Cuthbert Featherstone Daly recommissioned her, but in June Commander William Buckley Hunt replaced Daly, in July William Knight replaced Hunt. Alonzo never sailed to Gibraltar. Instead, she next underwent fitting, for service in the Baltic. In April 1809 Commander Edward Barker recommissioned her. In 1809 the ship James, master, ran aground in the Great Belt whilst on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to Stockholm, Sweden. Alonzo sent in her boats to set fire to James to prevent Danish gunboats capturing her. In early July 1810, during the Gunboat War with Denmark-Norway, HMS Dictator, in company with Alonzo and Edgar, sighted three Danish gunboats; the gunboats sought refuge in Grenå, on eastern Jutland, where a company of soldiers and their field guns could provide cover. However, the British mounted a cutting out expedition of some 200 men in ten ships’ boats after midnight on 7 July, capturing the three gunboats.

On 9 July Alonzo recaptured Jusfrow Frederica. Between April and May 1810 Alonzo was at Northfleet undergoing repairs. Alonzo, Gorgon and the gun-brig Martial shared in the proceeds of the capture on 24 October 1810 of the brig Hoppet. In November 1810 Commander James Veitch recommissioned Alonzo for the Channel Islands, he received promotion to post-captain on 12 August 1812. In September 1812, Commander John Baily, replaced Veitch. On 6 December 1813 Commander Thomas Dutton replaced Bailey. Alonzo was placed in ordinary at Deptford in 1814. Dutton remained at Plymouth after the end of the war on a three-year term of service with the Ordinary. Between September and March 1815 Alonzo was at Woolwich undergoing fitting for service as a hospital ship for convicts, she served in that role between 1817 and 1822. In October 1828 Alonzo was recorded as serving as a convict ship at Portsmouth. Between May and August 1835 she underwent fitting as a chapel ship; the Navy lent her to the Leith Seamen's Society between 1835 and 1840.

In February 1842 Alonzo was scuttled outside Leith harbour at 56°0′0″N 3°10′0″W. Notes Template:Citations" References Marshall, John. Royal naval biography, or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year 1823, or who have since been promoted... London: Longman, Rees and Brown. O’Byrne, William R. A naval biographical dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive.. Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.^ a b c Lloyd's Register, Seq. №.13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Winfield, p. 269. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 8, p.437. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 8, p.518. ^ O'Byrne 1849), Vol. 3, p.927. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 11, p.261. ^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 11, p.342.

^ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 12, p.161. ^ Lloyd's List, №4406, 10 November 1809. ^ "No. 16393". The London Gazette. 4 August 1810. P. 1162. ^ Naval Chronicle. Vol 14, pp. 255–6 ^ "No. 16578". The London Gazette. 25 February 1812. P. 385. ^ "No. 16424". The London Gazette. 13 November 1810. P. 1809. ^ "No. 16562". The London Gazette. 14 January 1812. P. 92. ^ "No. 16965". The London Gazette. 13 December 1814. P. 2452. ^ Marshall, Part 3, p.97. ^ a b Marshall, Vol. 4, Part 1, p.33. ^ Canmorth: HMS Alonzo: Firth

Azerbaijanis or Azeris are a Turkic people living in the Iranian region of Azerbaijan and the sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numerous ethnic group among the Turkic peoples after Turkish people and predominantly Shia Muslims, they comprise the largest ethnic group in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the second-largest ethnic group in neighboring Iran and Georgia. The world's largest number of ethnic Azerbaijanis live in Iran, followed by the Republic of Azerbaijan, they speak the Azerbaijani language. The Azerbaijanis of Iran are believed to be descended from various groups, including Mannaeans, an ancient people who lived in the territory of present-day northwestern Iran to the south of Lake Urmia at around the 10th to 7th centuries BC, spoke a dialect related to Hurrian, the Medes, an ancient Iranian ethnic group which, under the rule of King Cyaxares, established the Median Empire and came to dominate the region; the Median Empire is believed to have conquered and assimilated the Mannaeans by the 6th century BC.

Historical research suggests that the Old Azeri language, belonging to the Northwestern branch of the Iranian languages and believed to have descended from the language of the Medes gained currency and was spoken in the said region for many centuries. The Azerbaijanis of the Republic of Azerbaijan are believed to be descended from the inhabitants of Caucasian Albania, an ancient country located in the eastern Caucasus region, various Iranian peoples which settled the region. There is evidence that, despite repeated invasions and migrations, the aboriginal Caucasian population may have been culturally and linguistically assimilated, first by Iranian peoples, such as the Persians, by the Oghuz Turks. Considerable information has been learned about the Caucasian Albanians, including their language, early conversion to Christianity, relations with the Armenians and Georgians, under whose strong religious and cultural influence the Caucasian Albanians came in the coming centuries. Many academics believe that the Udi language, belonging to the Northeast Caucasian languages and still spoken in Azerbaijan, is a remnant of the Caucasian Albanians' language.

Following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1813 and 1828, the territories of the Sublime State of Iran in the Caucasus were ceded to the Russian Empire, the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders between Russia and Qajar Iran. The formation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 established the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan; the Azerbaijani language is related to Turkish, Gagauz and Crimean Tatar, sharing varying degrees of mutual intelligibility with each of those languages. Certain lexical and grammatical differences formed within the Azerbaijani language as spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran, after nearly two centuries of separation between the communities speaking the language. Additionally, the Turkish and Azerbaijani languages are mutually intelligible to a high enough degree that their speakers can have simple conversation without prior knowledge of the other, which prompted some Turkic linguists to classify their relationship as a Western Oghuz dialect continuum.

Azerbaijan is believed to be named after Atropates, a Persian satrap who ruled in Atropatene circa 321 BC. The name Atropates is the Hellenistic form of Aturpat which means'guardian of fire'. Present-day name Azerbaijan is the Arabicized form of Azarbaigān; the latter is derived from Ādurbādagān, itself from Āturpātakān meaning'the land associated with Aturpat'. The modern ethnonym "Azerbaijani" or "Azeri" refers to the Turkic peoples of Iranian Azerbaijan and Republic of Azerbaijan, they called themselves or were referred to by others as Muslims, Turkmens, Persians, or Ajams –, to say that religious identification prevailed over ethnic identification. When the Southern Caucasus became part of the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century, the Russian authorities, who traditionally referred to all Turkic people as Tatars, defined Tatars living in the Transcaucasus region as Caucasian or Aderbeijanskie Tatars in order to distinguish them from other Turkic groups; the Russian Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, written in the 1890s referred to Tatars in Azerbaijan as Aderbeijans, but noted that the term had not been adopted.

This ethnonym was used by Joseph Deniker: grouping coincide with the somatological grouping: thus the Aderbeijani of the Caucasus and Persia, who speak a Turkic language, have the same physical type as the Hadjemi-Persians, who speak an Iranian tongue. In Azerbaijani language publications, the expression "Azerbaijani nation" referring to those who were known as Tatars of the Caucasus first appeared in the newspaper Kashkul in 1880. Ancient residents of the area spoke Old Azeri from the Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. In the 11th century AD with Seljukid conquests, Oghuz Turkic tribes started moving across the Iranian Plateau into the

Vincent Valentine is an American football defensive tackle, a free agent. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, he played college football at Nebraska. Valentine was drafted by the Patriots in 96th overall, in the 2016 NFL Draft. Valentine entered training camp competing to be a backup defensive tackle with Markus Kuhn, Woodrow Hamilton, Joe Vellano, Anthony Johnson, he won the backup job and began the regular season as the Patriot's primary backup defensive tackle behind veteran starting defensive tackles Malcom Brown and Alan Branch. Valentine made his professional debut in the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals, where he recorded his first career sack against quarterback Carson Palmer. On February 5, 2017, Valentine was part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LI. In the game, the Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34–28 in overtime. On September 22, 2017, the Patriots placed Valentine on injured reserve after dealing with a knee injury.

The Patriots lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles. On September 1, 2018, Valentine was waived by the Patriots and was signed to the practice squad the next day, he was released on October 8, 2018. On October 31, 2018, Valentine was signed to the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, he was released on November 27, 2018. On December 4, 2018, Valentine was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad after a tryout the previous day. On December 11, 2018, Valentine was signed by the Arizona Cardinals off the Seahawks practice squad, he was waived/injured on August 7, reverted to injured reserve after clearing waivers on August 8. He was waived from injured reserve on August 30, 2019. In college, he was a journalism major, earned a spot on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in the spring of 2013. Valentine volunteered his time with Uplifting Athletes and part of team hospital visits while with the Huskers. New England Patriots bio Nebraska Cornhuskers bio