Kalistan

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Kalistani News in Brief: Kalistanis get ready for elections;
Empress orders 1st Fleet to stand down; Van Alvarez inks 3 year extension at Reed
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
September 20, 5700


Van Alvarez, Face of Reed Jewelers, has renewed her exclusive contract with the Royal Jeweler

Kalistanis get ready for Elections
Kalistan's most competitive elections in decades will be held on January 2nd of 5701. This race is shaping up to be a very hard fought campaign, as candidates across the Empire have accepted invitations from Civil Society Organizations to attend candidate forums and debates. One such debate, to be held in early October, and sponsored by the Kaliburg Socialist Club, will feature Michael Johnson, who is running for his seat as a socialist incumbent from Kaliburg. They expect to host him and four other candidates who are vying for two seats in the Free City.

"This is an opportunity for us to talk with the voters directly," said Minister Johnson, who is Her Imperial Majesty's Minister of Transportation and is currently overseeing the construction of roads in Vrassa. "As I understand it, since spending is so curtailed working with the Civil Society Organizations is the intention of both Her Imperial Majesty and the new Chancellor. This will give us the opportunity to not only meet the voters, but to meet the activists and gain their support. This way, if we have lower turnout, the turnout we do have is expected to be among those who are already the most engaged anyway."

In polls, the election is leaning heavily toward moderates, who are running about even in most contests with the Nationalists. The Socialists, like Mr. Johnson, are running in a distant third in the at-large Duchy elections, but are running well ahead of the pack in both Kaliburg and Sulari, where, if the election were held today, all four seats could be expected to go to Socialists.

Empress orders 1st Fleet to Stand Down
In a sign of decreasing tension in the Northern Anantonese Ocean, Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina has ordered the 1st Regular Fleet to stand down from its alert posture and resume normal operations. For most of the fleet, this means garrison operations, whether at Bozo River CAGTC, or Luncasi Naval Logistics Center.

"Her Imperial Majesty believes that the most accute danger has passed, and cooler heads have prevailed on both sides of the ocean," said Her Imperial Majesty's Defense Minister Lt. Commander Jane Smith said. "We haven't had contact with Egelion to date, but the anticipated tension in the area has not materialized. We think Egelion had better things to focus on and Kalistan most certainly did."

The Lt. Commander said contributing factors to the tension were Kalistan's concern over Egelion's activity in New Verham, and Kalistan's diplomatic protest which involved recalling diplomats and asking Egelian diplomats to leave as well. "There was a lot of terse words in the press as well, but at the end of the day, the protest and its response were held without resort to arms, and I think more than anything this was the preferred outcome of both governments." The Defense Minister also said that Army Group North was being pulled off of alert and the 2nd Regular fleet was returning to patrols south of the Southern Limit.

Van Alvarez inks 3 year extension at Reed
Model and public face of Reed Jeweler Vanessa Alvarez has signed a new 3 year exclusive deal with Reed Jeweler, said her agent in Sulari. "Ms. Alvarez is thrilled to continue working for Reed," said Grant Wilfing, who represents Alvarez with Kauffman Modelling Agency. "She feels that the company has always treated her very well, it allows her to work at her own pace and always makes her feel like she is the most important person in the world when she walks in the store. They oughtta-- Van has made them a lot of money over the last two years."

Wilfing said the new deal includes a significant raise for Alvarez. "Let's just say, she's working because she like to work," he said with a smile. The deal contracts the model to do six campaigns a year and will now include more public appearances for the Model. "Reed doesn't show up to fashion week," said Wilfing. "But they do want to do some in store things, and help the Company open a new branch in Eshar in a couple years." This will involve a larger commitment from her in terms of time, but will also make her face somewhat ubiquitous in Kalistan over the next three and a half years. "Van will be everywhere, on billboards, busses, and television... This is a major marketing investment from the Royal Jeweler and they are putting a lot of money into Ms. Alvarez."

When asked to compare Alvarez' salary in the new contract to someone like Alice Bjorksdattir, Wilfing demured, "I don't like talking about that stuff in public. Van's salary is competitive. We are happy with the deal we were able to negotiate with Reed. That's all there really is to say about that. She's gonna earn all of it. And then some, I think." Reed's stock, 35% of which is owned by Miramar, is up more than 13% year over year, and news of Alvarez's contract renewal sent the stock climbing by 1.5% on the day.

@TheRepublic