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Piaggio’s next electric scooter, the Piaggio ONE, is designed with young riders in mind. And in case that wasn’t already clear by the fact that Piaggio first teased their upcoming scooters on TikTok late last month, then the new designs should hammer the message home.

Gone are the classic Vespa lines. In their place is a much more modern, city-centric scooter design.

Unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show, the new Piaggio ONE electric scooter is the company’s first follow-up to the Vespa Elettrica scooters.

The scooter line actually consists of three models, each of which is targeted at a younger, more urban audience. By designing scooters with lower power and that are intended purely for urban use, Piaggio was also able to lower the entry cost of the scooters to match the spending level of younger riders.

The three models in the Piaggio One family include the entry-level ONE, the ONE+, and the ONE Active.

The entry-level Piaggio ONE includes a 1.2 kW electric motor and a top speed of just 45 km/h (28 mph). That will qualify it under moped laws in most countries and prevent riders from needing a motorcycle license.

The ONE’s battery is a 48V and 25Ah unit for 1,200 Wh of capacity, which Piaggio claims is enough for 55 km (34 miles).

The next step up to the Piaggio ONE+ retains the same motor and top speed, but boosts the battery capacity to 2,300 Wh. That results in a maximum range of 100 km (62 miles).

Some motorcycle media outlets have incorrectly reported this model as having a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). However, the Piaggio ONE+ has the same speed rating as the base-level Piaggio ONE and is outfitted with the same motor. Such a small motor (just 1.6 hp) would of course not be possible of powering a 100 km/h (62 mph) scooter.

To get a real speed boost, riders will need to upgrade to the Piaggio ONE Active. That is the flagship model of the bunch and sports a more powerful 2 kW motor. That higher power motor enables a faster top speed of 60 km/h (36 mph). Because the scooter has a higher power motor but retains the same 2,300 Wh battery as the Piaggio ONE, it gets a slightly lower range of 85 km (53 mi).

All versions of the scooter claim a charging time of six hours, and the batteries are removable for remote charging.

Piaggio recently joined a removable battery design consortium intended to standardize electric motorcycle and scooter batteries across the industry, but the group has yet to reveal any new battery designs.

There is no indication that these batteries found in the Piaggio ONE models are part of any new standard.

The new Piaggio ONE scooters are first available in China where they carry an MSRP of 17,800 RMB (approximately USD $2,785).

via: moto.it


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Filmmaker Jeff Baena, husband of actress Aubrey Plaza, dies aged 47

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Filmmaker Jeff Baena, husband of actress Aubrey Plaza, dies aged 47

Filmmaker Jeff Baena, the husband of actress Aubrey Plaza, has been found dead aged 47.

The US director and writer was known for films including Life After Beth and The Little Hours, in which Plaza starred.

He died on Friday, according to Los Angeles medical examiner records, viewed by E! News.

According to Deadline, the filmmaker’s family “is devastated and asks for privacy at this difficult time”.

The circumstances of his death are not yet clear.

Plaza, 40, who is known for TV series including Parks And Recreation and The White Lotus, and films such as Emily The Criminal, had been in a relationship with Baena since about 2011, and the pair married in 2021.

The pair frequently collaborated on his films. While working on his last movie, Spin Me Around, released in 2022, Plaza confirmed they had wed.

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“So proud of my darling husband,” she wrote on Instagram in May 2021, “for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble”.

Baena was a graduate of New York University’s film school and became a production assistant for filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, known for films including Back To The Future and Forrest Gump, after moving to Los Angeles.

He also worked as an assistant editor for writer-director David O Russell (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook), with whom he co-wrote the 2004 indie comedy I Heart Huckabees, starring Jason Schwartzman, Naomi Watts, Jude Law, Mark Wahlberg, Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin.

In 2014, Baena made his directorial debut with Life After Beth, a horror comedy, followed by Joshy, in which Plaza also appeared, in 2016. Both films were nominated for the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize.

His other credits included Horse Girl and the TV series Cinema Toast.

Plaza’s representatives have been contacted for comment.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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Creatives having to be even more creative as National Theatre overhauls how it stages productions

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Creatives having to be even more creative as National Theatre overhauls how it stages productions

The National Theatre is overhauling how it stages productions – as its ambitious climate targets mean creatives are having to be even more creative.

After setting itself the goal of achieving net zero as an organisation by 2030, off-stage quietly radical changes are under way.

Pic: Reed Watts
Image:
Pic: Reed Watts

Sky News was invited to see how the theatre, based in Southbank, central London, has gone about overhauling its approach to staging productions, meeting with some of those who’ve worked on its adaptation of the much-loved children’s classic Ballet Shoes.

While critics have been full of praise for the visual spectacle on-stage, how the whole look was created required a fundamental shift in approach.

“All of the team have had to be on board with reinventing, recutting and reimagining items rather than just making them from scratch,” costume designer Samuel Wyer said.

A new resource they had to work with was the National Theatre Green Store in Bermondsey, southeast London.

The warehouse has more than 131,000 items of costume and almost 22,000 props now housed under one roof so that designers can repurpose items from previous productions to try to cut their carbon footprint.

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It’s a surprisingly satisfying challenge.

Mr Wyer said they were able to “dip and cut clothes… which meant I was finding things even outside my imagination that were more perfect than I could have drawn on a piece of paper”.

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Trying to lead by example, the theatre hopes to demonstrate how the industry needn’t take a fast fashion approach to making sets, props and costumes from scratch.

“I think if it’s demonstrated that we can do things in this way that helps all of us imagine a world where we can use what we’ve got rather than new, new, new, because we need that balance,” Mr Wyer said.

“Theatre is where we come to imagine who we could be.”

Pic: Reed Watts
Image:
Pic: Reed Watts

‘Every piece has its own little quirks’

Last year, the National set itself targets of 50% of the materials used in its productions having had a previous life, and 65% being repurposed at the end of each production.

For set designer Frankie Bradshaw, hitting those targets has meant working with a lot more repurposed furniture.

“Lots of second-hand cabinets, bookshelves,” she said. “Ordinarily [carpenters] would have been used to building from scratch following a drawing and this has been quite different.

“Every piece has its own little quirks, and they’ve had to adapt their processes to fit that way of working.”

While it’s by no means straightforward, the process is proving rewarding.

“It requires everyone to be a little bit more flexible, a little more patient, but it does mean you can end up with a product you’re a lot more proud of,” Ms Bradshaw added.

Ballet Shoes runs at the National Theatre until Saturday 22 February.

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Neil Young confirmed as Glastonbury headliner – days after saying he was pulling out

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Neil Young confirmed as Glastonbury headliner - days after saying he was pulling out

Neil Young has been confirmed as a headliner at this year’s Glastonbury – despite saying he was dropping out due to the BBC’s involvement in the festival.

The 79-year-old Canadian musician wrote on his website earlier this week that both he and his band, The Chrome Hearts, were pulling out because the BBC’s involvement was a “corporate turn-off”.

He has now said in a statement that this decision was down to “an error in the information I received”.

Emily Eavis, the organiser of the Glastonbury Festival, posted on Instagram on Friday: “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury.

“He does things his own way and that’s why we love him.

“We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”

Glastonbury, which takes place at Worthy Farm in Somerset in the summer, has worked closely with the BBC – its exclusive broadcast partner – since 1997.

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Posting on Neil Young Archives, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer wrote in his initial statement: “The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs.

“We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.

“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”

Young performing at Glastonbury in 2009. Pic: AP
Image:
Young performing at Glastonbury in 2009. Pic: AP

Young, who headlined the festival’s Pyramid stage in 2009, added: “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be.

“Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour.”

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In an updated statement, he wrote: “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved.

“Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there!”

Young, who is married to US actress Daryl Hannah, was booked to play Glastonbury in 1997 but pulled out after cutting his left index finger while making a ham sandwich.

Glastonbury, one of the UK’s largest music festivals, is set to take place between 25 and 29 June, with Sir Rod Stewart booked for the Sunday teatime legend slot.

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