Jump Start with Miles Van Val-de'Ijsdr'k

Friday, July 21st - Dwemmernacht + More

MILES vV, Host: Good morning! I'm Miles, here with my guest, Hardi Byr'dordt.

HARDI: Morning!

MILES: And this is Jump Start.

[Jump Start theme begins]

MILES: Half-Stout Bakery, a pre-Traveller staple of every mall in the Empire, closing its doors this weekend. What to get at the end of a legacy.

HARDI: Also in the business sector, Foothills Engineering, closing their domestic offices - what does returning to import-only do to the vehicle market and the market at large?

MILES: And lastly, a frank discussion with my guest to go over the newest decree and it's impact on Dwemmernacht - does this target the minority dwarf populations in the Empire?

MILES: All that and more ahead. Let's get a Jump Start on the weekend.

[Jump Start theme fades]

MILES: Half Stout Bakery closes its doors this Sunday. The Halfling owned franchise is another in a recent string of similar regional chain restaurants now settling for bankruptcy.

HARDI: This rash of closures comes on the tail of a controversial set of future rulings presented by the Depart of Prophecy. This is something several family restaurants, large chains, and private fortune telling entities are looking to contest in the next coming months.

MILES: The closure of this neighborhood staple comes with a particular sting as it also means the conclusion of their food bank and charity, Stout Hearts.

HARDI: How-wever, if you would like a piece of memorabilia, you can now bid on your local Stoutie! In a last hurrah, the bakery has announced that the iconic statuettes outside each location will be auctioned off by the Stout Heart foundation. Check with your local Half Stout for more.

MILES: I'm picking up a few dozen of the Thresher breads while I can!

HARDI: [chuckling] Really?

MILES: Of course! Always loved them, best thing Half Stout serves.

HARDI: [chuckling louder] Not the Drake Baked Biscuits? Not the Stout Bread? The Stout Bread, Miles!

MILES: [Laughing] Well, we can agree to disagree there!

[Transition Music as laughter fades out]

HARDI: Also in the business sector, Foothills Engineering unexpectedly announced the closure of nearly all of their Empirical offices. The announcement cites better manufacturing opportunities elsewhere and promises that most customers will not notice the difference.

MILES: However, experts are warning that this will have immediate effects in the job market and cause long term ripples throughout the domestic industrial community. Here's economics correspondent Pyre Elemental with more.

[Grainy audio of an early commercial fades in with "Engineering done right. From the mountains to the foothills to you.", then fades out.]

PYRE: That was the beginning of the very first FE commercial to air in the Empire. It marked the beginning of an age in automobile and automaton production. Wilson Burred, the first CEO of FE-Empirical, brought a new age of marketing high tech magic craft to the middle and lower classes, shaping the desires of the average citizen to a taste in luxury and quality.

PYRE: In the centuries since, Foothills Engineering has gone through many periods of change, including the infamous Djinni Djrivers and their experimental dalliances into nuclear technology.

PYRE: Once upon a time, every car, automaton, and flying carpet would have that "Hills and Hammer" logo, but those days have long gone. In more recent years, FE has lost their foothold on the average consumer thanks to cheap imports and stiff competition, such as the Empirical Fjords, and a well run dry for breakthroughs in home appliances.