Project Producer, Blizzard Video – Temp (SFD/Cinematics)Blizzard EntertainmentIrvine California 92618 United States of America2 hours agoApplyTeam Name:Story & Franchise Development OperationsJob Title:Project Producer, Blizzard Video – Temp (SFD/Cinematics)Requisition ID:R025383Job Description:Blizzard Video is the video production arm of the Story & Franchise Development team. We exist to engage, inform, and activate the global Blizzard community through the creation of epic video content.Blizzard Video is looking for a talented Producer who is highly organized with outstanding communication, and project management skills . As Producer, you will be responsible for establishing schedules, tracking project milestones, and budgets for all production activities. Communication skills are essential as you’ll be interfacing with other departments company-wide, coordinating with them to fulfill requests and gather assets. You will be working in a cohesive team environment that’s focused on tight schedules, creative problem solving, and meeting the challenge of continually helping the team elevate their game.This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work-from-home. The potential home studio for this position is Irvine, CA.ResponsibilitiesManage all facets of production for videos and other assets across multiple IPs from kick off through to deliveryOversee production of multiple projects on similar and sometimes competing timelinesCreate project bids and manage budgets of various size and scope and execute within that budgetOrganize, schedule and lead kick-off, pitch and review meetings with various stakeholders across the companyBuild and manage project schedules to ensure videos are delivered on time and within budgetLiaise with different departments to facilitate communication and necessary approvals internally and externally (i.e. game teams, legal, localization, sound, marketing)RequirementsAt least 5 years of experience working within a video production environment, and familiar with file types and delivery specifications.Able to organize and prioritize projects in a fast-paced environment, and perform effectively under pressure of multiple deadlines and initiativesAble to create and manage detailed schedules of all production initiativesAble to execute productions in a timely mannerAble to work independently and within directed initiativesExperience in evaluating project viability against departmental resourcesAble to maintain and work within approval pipelineAble to work with various communications stylesExcellent teamwork skills with ability to maintain strong individual contributionsPolished interpersonal skills, with ability to effectively interact with all levels of managementApproaches challenges as opportunities for learning and growthUnderstanding the importance of maintaining confidentialityProficient with MS Office programsPlusesA passion for video games and video game cultureWorking knowledge of Adobe Premiere, After Effects, and PhotoshopCertificates or completed courses in project managementYour PlatformBest known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.Our WorldActivision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty ®, World of Warcraft® , Overwatch ®, Diablo ®, Candy Crush ™ and Bubble Witch ™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!Our ability to build immersive and innovate worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment. We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristicsRewardsWe provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered! Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company. You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/ .In the U.S., the standard base pay range for this role is $29.81 - $55.14 Hourly. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed. While we strive to provide competitive offers to successful candidates, new hire compensation is negotiable. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV is in Dolton, Illinois. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images 2025-05-22T21:22:22Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? The owners of Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Illinois are trying to sell it via private auction. The home was listed for $199,900 before the pope's appointment. Now, bids start at $250,000. The auction winner may not get to enjoy it because the local government wants to acquire the home. People bidding to buy Pope Leo XIV's modest childhood home in Illinois could face some stiff competition — from the local government.The innocuous three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in the Village of Dolton was thrust into the spotlight when Pope Leo XIV became the leader of the Catholic Church.The current homeowner purchased the property in May 2024 for $66,000, listed it for $219,000 in January, and dropped the price to $199,900 in February.After the pope's appointment on May 8, the owner, inundated with offers and new options, delisted the home until last week when it was put up for auction through Paramount Realty USA. The reserve price is $250,000, and potential buyers have until June 18 to bid."It's like a collectible car they only made one of," Steve Budzik, the homeowner's real estate agent, told BI earlier this month.Potential buyers, however, will be going up against the Village of Dolton, which has said through its attorney that it plans to acquire the home either through direct purchase or eminent domain laws. Eminent domain laws allow governments to make private property available for public use."If a direct purchase from the seller cannot be negotiated, the Village will cause Eminent Domain proceedings to be filed in Court and take the property through the legal process," Burton S. Odelson wrote in an email to BI. "The Village hopes a direct purchase is completed without court action."Odelson, who's been in contact with the listing broker, said the Village of Dolton is working with the Chicago Archdiocese to determine the best use of the space.Although relying on local eminent domain laws is an option, Odelson said it's a last resort. That process involves litigation, which means attorney fees, court costs, appraisal costs, and time.Under eminent domain laws, the Village of Dolton would have to compensate the owners for the home. Negotiations between the Village of Dolton and the current owner are ongoing.The hype around Pope Leo XIV's childhood home spurred immediate fanfare, prompting news trucks and curious locals to visit. One woman even told a local news outlet that she made the four-hour drive from Louisville, Kentucky, just to visit the impromptu holy site.Representatives for Paramount Realty USA and the homeowner did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

It’s been almost one year since Philadelphia’s University of the Arts (UArts) announced its abrupt closure, leaving students, faculty, and alumni bewildered, and outraged. There were a total nine buildings that went up for auction as part of the closure. Scout—a women-owned, Philadelphia-based development and design company—successfully acquired two of them: Dorrance Hamilton Hall, built in 1826 on Broad Street; and Furness Residence Hall, a Victorian masterpiece named after its architect, Frank Furness. Scout announced today public programming that will soon take place at the former UArts buildings it acquired, the first step in its adaptive reuse proposal for the 19th-century buildings. The longterm vision entails maintaining the Hamilton and Furness buildings as hubs for artistic activity in Philadelphia’s Center City. DIGSAU and AOS are helping Scout create a vision plan for the buildings, and ISA Architects is behind a temporary installation that will debut in June. Scout is likewise organizing a “Celebration of Life” to commemorate the Philadelphia mainstay founded in 1876, shuttered in 2024. Scout is partnering with local architects to activate former UArts interior and exterior spaces with public programming. (Mike Persico) “It didn’t feel right to start jumping into the next chapter without acknowledging the past, and allowing space for closure,” Scout founder and managing partner Lindsey Scannapieco told AN. This idea for a Celebration of Life, she noted, will “provide closure, and also cleanse the ground a bit before moving into its next iteration.” Grief and Memory Work At Hamilton Hall, the Celebration of Life for UArts will take place from June 4–8. There, former UArts students, faculty, and alumni will be welcomed back into the campus for performances and programming. Scout has also invited a death doula to guide visitors through “grief and memory work,” Scannapieco said. “Everyone was obviously devastated about the closure. There was a lot of pain and grief. It was very sudden, and very opaque. There were horror stories about enrolled students, professors with tenure. So many people were impacted by it,” Scannapieco added. “The question became, what happens to this real estate in the center of our city? And what does it mean to have this gap in creative, cultural, and student energy downtown?” “No institutions put in bids for the buildings, but people were still very interested in keeping these buildings art-centric,” Scannapieco continued. “We had an incredible outpouring of public support which inspired us to work our butts off to compete in the auction. It was a miracle, to be honest, that we were able to pull it off.” The buildings were left untouched after the bankruptcy auction, notice the flyers still on the walls. (Mike Persico) The Celebration of Life will be followed by more programming in mid-June at the Furness building with Frankie’s Summer Club, a seasonal outdoor hospitality space chock full of wine, ice cream, and more in partnership with local chef Michael Ferreri. ISA Architects is behind the setting inspired by an unbuilt design from Louis Kahn circa 1975 for the nearby Kimmel Center site. Bonafide Community Builders Scout has built a reputation for converting historic Philadelphia buildings into usable, modern spaces like the Bok Building, a former technical high school that now hosts workspaces for makers, businesses, nonprofits, and artists. The Bok has over 250,000 visitors a year and is “home to over 225 small businesses, artists, and makers,” Scannapieco said. “Everything from jewelry designers to architecture studios, interior designers, ceramic workers, glass blowers, a daycare, doggy daycare. A fourth of the building is nonprofits,” she noted, “like Black Star Film Festival, the Garces Foundation, and Girls Inc. There’s also Diadora, an Italian sneaker company, and Bowery Presents, a concert promoter.” Scout’s vision for the Hamilton and Furness buildings is similar to the Bok, although the former UArts structures are much more centrally located, and smaller. Scout will lease out spaces to a comparable group of artists, architects, designers, and nonprofits. Equipment is leftover from UArts, like the ceramics studio pictured above. (Mike Persico) A leftover metal foundry, ceramic workshops, and wood shops are still in situ at the Hamilton and Furness buildings, among other handy ephemera like kilns, so artists can pick up where they left off. There are also 45 dormitory units in the Furness building that Scout hopes to convert into artist housing, and residencies. “Something we’ve heard about over the years from the creative community is the lack of affordable housing access, specifically for artists,” Scannapieco said. “So we’ll be working over time to bring those online as affordable artist housing, and for artist-in-residency programs with nearby institutional partners. Visiting artists can come live and work alongside Philadelphia working artists. Just thinking about the energy exchange that can happen from that is something we’re really excited about.” A more detailed version of the vision plan will be announced in the coming months, Scout said. The first tenants are slated to move in this fall, and the project will be rolled out in phases. Public programming information for the upcoming Celebration of Life is listed on Scout’s website. There will also be opportunities for community driven performances via this sign-up link.

Looks like Ubisoft is giving Rayman an "AAA" revival after last year's "exploration phase" Never mind the Globox. Image credit: Ubisoft News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on May 21, 2025 Remember Ubisoft's announcement last October it was currently in the "exploration phase" of a new Rayman project? Well, it seems full development has now been given the go ahead, with a recent job listing indicating the publisher is currently staffing up on a "AAA" Rayman game. To rewind a bit, all this came about following reports last year that Ubisoft had assembled a small group of developers - including around a dozen members of its now-disbanded Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown team - to work on a remake of Rayman. Somewhat unusually, Ubisoft didn't immediately reach for the 'does not comment on rumours or speculation' button, instead confirming that, yes actually, it was sort of true. "We are pleased to confirm Ubisoft Montpellier and Ubisoft Milan have recently started an exploration phase on the Rayman brand," it said at the time. "The project is still in its early stages, and we will share more details later." There was a sense, then, that nothing might come of the project if that "exploration phase" didn't bring encouraging results. But it now appears those initial experiments showed sufficient promise, because Ubisoft Milan is currently seeking a 3D gameplay animator to work on a "prestigious AAA title for the Rayman brand." There's also a second, slightly less specific job listing searching for a senior game designer to "work on the Rayman brand", but it seems likely both positions are related to the same project. More of this sort of thing please Ubisoft.Watch on YouTube So that's some encouraging news for Rayman fans, particularly given Ubisoft Montpellier and Milan's historically stellar output. Between them, the studios have released the acclaimed likes of Mario + Rabbids, the beautiful Valiant Hearts series, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, plus Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends - two absolutely gold-standard 2D platformers. The only troubling element of Rayman's revival is last year's controversial admission by Ubisoft that original Rayman creator Michel Ancel had been drafted in as a consultant. Ancel departed the publisher in 2020, allegedly following an investigation into employee complaints accusing him of toxic leadership, and his involvement with the new Rayman project was reported to have "raised some concerns among team members". It is, however, unclear if Ancel is still serving as a consultant now Ubisoft's initial "exploration phase" appears to be complete. Signs that Rayman may be making a "AAA" return come at a challenging time for Ubisoft. The publisher has faced a tumultuous few years amid tumbling share prices and a number of high-profile flops, resulting in a string of layoffs and studio closures. As part of its attempts to right the ship, Ubisoft announced it was launching a new subsidiary dedicated to its big three IPs - Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six, and Far Cry - earlier this year. With those game under a new banner, Ubisoft itself will concentrate on a number of key areas, including "nurturing the development of iconic franchises" - which is presumably where Rayman comes in.

It looks as though, against all odds, Rayman is still alive after all. Job postings spotted for a "AAA Rayman game" have been hastily taken down, but not before they were archived by eagle-eyed Reddit users. Read more

With New York State officials set to award up to three downstate casino licenses in New York City by the end of 2025, more than a dozen proposals across the boroughs have emerged to vie for the prize. Earlier this week, Related Companies and Wynn Resorts, pushing a casino scheme as part of the westward extension of Hudson Yards, have officially withdrawn from the race, citing local opposition to the project. Instead, Related Companies will focus on building luxury housing above the Western Rail Yard site, targeting the construction of 4,000 residences overlooking the Hudson River. Wynn Resorts will exit the project entirely, Michel Weaver, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement. “The recent rezoning process has made it clear to us that there are uses for our capital more accretive to our shareholders, such as investment in our existing and upcoming developments and stock buybacks, than investing in an area in which we, or any casino operator, will face years of persistent opposition despite our willingness to employ 5,000 New Yorkers,” said Weaver. The pairt’s vision for the undeveloped rail yards, dubbed Hudson Yards West, was denounced by both the Friends of the Highline and Manhattan Community Board 4, an advisory committee for development in the neighborhoods surrounding Hudson Yards. Hudson Yards West’s viability had hinged on a controversial augmentation to its zoning, which would have drastically reduced the number of residential units in favor of commercial use and the aforementioned casino program. Though the rezoning proposal had been advanced to City Council by the City Planning Commission, it appears that councilmember Erik Bottcher, who represents the lower west side of Manhattan, was unlikely to approve the scheme. “I am highly skeptical of any alterations to the existing zoning regulations and the potential reduction of housing units,” Bottcher said previously, in a statement. Hudson Yards West would have included a 5.6 acre park named Hudson Green. (Courtesy Related Companies and Wynn Resorts) The initial concept for Hudson Yards West was master planned by SOM in collaboration with Hollander Design and Sasaki. It included a public park, in addition to housing and office space. How much the master plan will be revised going forward remains to be seen. Other casinos bids include Citi Field, backed by Steve Cohen and Hard Rock; a Times Square bid from SL Green, Caesars, and Roc Nation; an 11th Avenue site developed by Silverstein Properties; a proposal at Freedom Plaza by Mohegan and Soloviev Group; a Coney Island scheme from Legends Entertainment and the Chickasaw Nation; an extension of the existing Aqueduct Racetrack; and Bally’s takeover of a former Trump golf course in the Bronx. Formal bids for a casino license are due by June 27, with the winning proposals announced by the end of the year.

The more downtime we have, the more we’re on our phones - which is why app engagement typically spikes during weekends and holidays. By doubling down on this uplift in traffic with special promotions, otherwise known as currency sales, developers and advertisers can both boost their revenue and acquire high ARPU users at scale. Here’s some data on how special promotions, also known as currency sales, can impact your business - plus tips on when to run them and how to make them stand out.What are special offerwall promotions?On holiday weekends throughout the year, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, these time-limited promotions offer users anything between 1.5 to 10x the standard offerwall reward in return for completing a task like playing an advertiser’s game and reaching the end of a level.What are the benefits for developers and advertisers?It's not just users who reap the rewards: a long list of our developer partners use special promotions to increase performance metrics like engagement rates, ARPDAU, and revenue. In fact, our data shows that, compared to a regular weekend, doubling rewards during special promotions can generate a 70% increase in revenue while tripling them can generate a 110% increase. Meanwhile, engagement rate jumps 60% for doubling rewards and 65% for tripling them. The benefits for developers don't stop there: special promotions also boost long-term retention and in-app purchases, as the credits enable users to progress further in the game and give them a "taste" of what IAPs can offer them.This boost in revenue sparks a cycle of growth - once the developer multiplies their rewards, it’ll attract more players to engage with the offerwall. Then advertisers leverage the increased traffic and raise bids to increase the rewards even more, resulting in even more traffic, installs, completions, and D7 ARPU. Our data shows that advertisers who raise bids during special offerwall promotions see a 56% increase in completions, compared to just 7% for advertisers who don’t.Here are some best practices to run a killer special promotion, which we’ve tested with some of the biggest mobile game developers in the world.When to run special promotionsAs a general rule, try running a special promotion at least once and up to twice a month. Less than once a month, you’ll miss out on potential revenue, but more than twice a month, you’ll risk flooding your in-game economy. When you run them, be sure to notify your ad network partner in advance, so they have enough time to encourage the biggest advertisers to focus their CPE efforts on your game. Here are a few times you can run the promotions:US holidays are a good way to stay on track with your special offerwall promotions, since they usually land once a month or so - from President's Day weekend in February to Labor Day in September, plus Thanksgiving and Christmas. Running promotions during holidays enables you to capitalize on increased traffic: people play games more during breaks from school and work.Each month, ironSource organizes cross-network special promotions so both developer and advertiser partners can enjoy maximum impact. Here’s the calendar for 2023, which you can bookmark:January - New Year's, mid-winter weekendFebruary - Valentine’s day, booster weekendMarch - Beginning of spring, St. Patrick’s Day April - April Fools’, Easter weekend May - Mother’s day, Memorial Day weekend June - Summertime weekend, longest day of the yearJuly - Independence day, Mid-summer weekendAugust - Summer booster, Back to school promotionSeptember - Labor Day weekend, Start of AutumnOctober - Columbus day weekend, Halloween November - Mid-autumn weekend, Black Friday December - Christmas, New Year’sHow to increase engagement for special offerwall promotionsTo generate revenue from special promotions, first you need users to engage. Here's a few ways to catch their attention and encourage engagement.Notify your players with alertsYour offerwall traffic drivers should always be visibly and strategically placed in your game. Special offers should follow the same logic: while the promotion will be automatically highlighted in the offerwall store, be sure to run pop-up ads in your game and push notifications outside of the game. Our data shows that these pop-ups can boost your player engagement rate by 190%.Not only do notifications like these boost engagement from users already familiar with the offerwall ad unit, they’re also a great way to educate non-offerwall users about the benefits.By running clear notifications about their offerwall special promotion, a partner (the turquoise line in the chart below) increased engagement rates for their offerwall campaign by +257%, while another game without notifications (the blue line) saw an increase of only +14%.Use the right messagingTo make sure the notifications work as best they can - users need to clearly understand just how much their rewards multiplied and that it’s only for a limited time. This way, players can understand how short-term this opportunity is, and are more motivated to claim their rewards immediately.For example, to encourage users to act fast try adding a countdown. In Pixel Federation’s Train Station 2, for example, they include a specific timer and clearly state the special promotion - including both “2x” and “get twice the amount of free gems” in their pop-up.Make sure to test different kinds of messages (more vs. less text, for example) and keep the one that generates the greatest uplift.Try higher reward multipliersThe more you put into your promotion, the more you can get out of it - if you offer a higher reward to your players, they’ll be more likely to engage.That’s exactly what we found during a recent special promotion. During Thanksgiving, people were already spending extra on their phones, so developers enjoyed a small uplift in offerwall revenue - but by doubling offerwall rewards, their daily revenue jumped 70%. The impact was even larger when our developers tripled them - daily revenue skyrocketed 110%.Measuring the full impactBe sure to measure the impact of the special promotions both during the promotion and after it expires. The time-consuming nature of completing offerwall events means that in addition to an initial spike in revenue, more revenue will be generated in the days or weeks following the end of the offer. That’s because even after the promotion ends, completions roll in along with revenue. The time period depends on the type of offers selected by the users: the deeper the events are, for example completing 10 levels of the advertiser’s game, the longer you should measure their impact.Measuring this way allows you to more accurately evaluate the impact of your special offerwall promotion, and understand how aggressive you should be for the next promotion. For instance, if you’ve waited to measure its full impact and it turns out to have underperformed, you can push more notifications, or increase the credit multiplier for the next promotion.The graph below shows the impact on revenue of a partners' offerwall special promotion. They achieved an initial spike while the promotion was live, and also saw a revenue uplift in the week after the promotion expired, due to more completions kicking in and an increase in the overall engagement rate with the offerwall.Getting startedironSource’s team are experts in maximizing your game’s offerwall ad revenue. Here’s how to join the long list of partners working with us to level up their offerwall strategy:Log into the ironSource platform Go to your ad units and placements, then select OfferwallClick on activate special promotion Set the start date, time and duration according to the dates belowUpdate your account manager so they can notify advertisers about your upcoming promotionIf you don’t have offerwall set up on ironSource, get it here on iOS and Android.

America’s lack of affordable child care has brought a long-simmering question to a boil: What exactly makes child care “good”? Everyone wants quality care for kids, and the need for child care or preschool to be considered “high quality” has been embraced by researchers, providers, parents, and policymakers for years. But with rising costs and uneven availability, parents, providers, and policymakers find themselves increasingly divided over whether “quality” should be measured by caregivers’ credentials or by toddlers’ happiness, by structured learning outcomes, or by parent preference. Progressives generally champion credentialed and well-paid teachers, academic standards, and standardized ratings as essential for aiding children’s development. Conservatives counter that such requirements inflate costs while devaluing the nurturing care that parents and community caregivers provide.The answer to the question of what “quality” means shapes everything from household budgets to workforce participation to children’s school readiness — yet there is no clear consensus on what exactly that entails or how to measure it.“People know it when they see it, but it’s hard to define,” said Josh McCabe, director of social policy at the Niskanen Center think tank.As regulations shift with political winds, the question has become more salient: Who defines quality, and at what cost to kids, families, and society?Mixed-quality quality metricsStates have sought ways to measure, improve, and communicate the components of quality to parents and providers alike. Their solution: developing rating systems that attempt to boil aspects of child care settings down into simple metrics, much like hotel or restaurant reviews.Over the past two decades, such Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) have become the primary method for assessing child care quality. These systems, which vary significantly across states, award ratings based on multiple dimensions, including teacher qualifications (such as holding a child development associate credential or a degree in early childhood education); learning environments (including safe teacher-to-child ratios, classroom cleanliness, and availability of age-appropriate books and toys); administrative practices (like documented emergency procedures and business management systems), and the caliber of child-adult interactions (measured through classroom observations). By 2020, nearly all states had implemented some form of QRIS, though participation remains voluntary in many areas. These systems vary widely — some use star ratings (one to five stars), others use tiers or categories. States prioritize different elements: Some emphasize school readiness, others focus on health and safety, cultural responsiveness, or infant and toddler care. Financial incentives also differ, with states offering a variety of supports, technical assistance, and bonuses for higher scores.The evidence is mixed, though, on whether these ratings actually predict better outcomes for children. “If we’re looking at what supports children’s well-being and development, it’s the quality of the interactions, the relations with the caregiver,” Steven Barnett, senior director of the National Institute for Early Education Research, told me. Yet these critical interactions carry relatively little weight in some QRIS systems, overshadowed by structural features that are easier to quantify and less costly to implement. The QRIS ratings nonetheless drive real behavior. “The scoring matters in that providers and parents react to it,” McCabe said. “But like the US News and World Report rankings, I don’t know if it actually makes them better colleges or students.”A 2019 Department of Education study found that children who attended higher-rated programs according to QRIS did not have better developmental outcomes than those attending lower-rated ones. This echoed earlier research that found that the overall QRIS ratings were less predictive of child learning than a single measure of teacher-child interactions.“Quality, in some sense, can take many different forms, and perhaps it should, because child care and early learning is not one-size-fits-all.”— Hailey Gibbs, associate director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American ProgressFurther research found “little evidence” that adopting QRIS in Head Start improved quality when measured against the Head Start Program Performance Standards — the quality benchmarks the federal preschool programs must meet. QRIS showed no significant boost to teacher qualifications or teacher-child interactions. More troublingly, research found that QRIS adoption actually increased annual teacher turnover — potentially undermining the very stability that quality programs need.These rating systems can also create a troubling cycle, said Hailey Gibbs, associate director of early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress. Lower-rated programs receive fewer resources, making it even harder for them to improve. Gibbs notes there’s “valid criticism” that QRIS systems often lack cultural sensitivity and tend to disregard the perspectives of enrolled families when adjudicating which programs are good or bad.This fundamental tension — between standardized measurement and the complex, relationship-based reality of quality care — remains at the heart of ongoing debates about how best to ensure positive outcomes for America’s youngest children. As sociologist Zach Griffen notes of performance measurement across other sectors like health care and K-12 schooling, quality assessment tools can be “wildly successful in policy research at the same time as they fall apart in real-world applications.”So what actually is quality?While the QRIS measure of “quality” might be contentious, the stakes are high because quality itself does seem to really affect kids’ life trajectories. Back in 2000, the National Academies of Sciences published a 600-page report concluding that both nurturing parenting and caregiving relationships were essential for early childhood development, and that well-designed programs could help improve the lives of kids growing up in poverty in particular.Another landmark federal study tracked more than 1,300 children from infancy through adolescence. Emerging from the contentious “day care wars” of the 1980s over whether maternal employment and non-parental care harmed children, the researchers found that “higher-quality” care predicted better cognitive and language development. The study highlighted responsive adult-child relationships as the most critical quality factor, with elements like staff ratios and group sizes also playing important roles.These early studies established a foundation for understanding quality, but even today early childhood experts describe different visions. Ruth Friedman, who directed the Office of Child Care during the Biden administration, defines quality as care that ensures safety, engaging activities, and “nurturing, consistent, and well-compensated caregivers who support development across multiple domains — including language, early math and science, social-emotional, and physical growth,” she told me. Some advocates stress that trained caregivers are essential for building the kind of stable, high-quality workforce that children need. “All teachers need to have a foundational knowledge of child development…[with] formal education and training in early childhood education,” the Center for American Progress wrote in a “Quality 101” report published in 2017. Other experts say the growing demand for professional training devalues the kind of care offered by parents, grandparents, and other informal community leaders. “What we realize [matters] is the quality of the relationship and [that isn’t] typically things you can measure in a simple way, like a child-adult ratio,” said Jenet Erickson, a professor of religious education at Brigham Young University and a researcher of maternal and child well-being. “It’s just not as simple as having trained caregivers. … We need more flexibility in who can provide care, so families can say, ‘We really like this neighborhood grandmother because of the way she relates to our children, and we’re less concerned about whether or not she got a degree in human development.’”There is perhaps more agreement, however, on what constitutes unacceptably poor care. Gibbs identified warning signs that cross cultural boundaries: “disorganized or unsafe spaces…young children wandering aimlessly.” These align with the National Academies’ findings about the lowest-quality settings: caregivers ignoring children’s bids for attention, few appropriate toys, and children spending time “unengaged with adults, other children, or materials.” Finding the balance between acceptable care and parent preferences can be tricky, especially when public funding is involved and lawmakers pursue multiple policy objectives at once, like promoting child development, supporting moms in the workforce, advancing educational equity, and even broader social concerns like reducing crime or increasing GDP.The Center for American Progress has grown somewhat less prescriptive about quality since it published its “Quality 101” report in 2017. “Quality, in some sense, can take many different forms, and perhaps it should, because child care and early learning is not one-size-fits-all,” Gibbs told me, noting that some home-based child care options “are extremely high quality” yet nevertheless are sometimes “viewed as second tier to school-like center-based care” when it comes to state ratings. The future of quality standardsThe landscape of child care quality measurement appears poised for significant shifts. The Build Back Better Act, proposed during the Biden administration, represented perhaps the most ambitious federal effort to date to elevate child care quality standards nationwide. States would have been required to develop tiered QRIS frameworks aligned with the federal Head Start preschool standards, and mandate child care provider participation in QRIS to receive federal money. Most significantly, payment rates would have been directly linked to quality ratings — so child care programs achieving higher QRIS scores would have received higher reimbursement rates. However, with the transition to a new administration, a fundamentally different approach is emerging, as states move to reduce restrictions conservatives see as driving up costs without improving outcomes or access.This regulatory rollback fits within a broader conservative vision reshaping child care — one that prioritizes less expensive home-based programs over professionally staffed centers, de-emphasizes academic credentials and curricula, and often encourages more mothers to stay home to raise their children. As Idaho Rep. Rod Furniss argued when promoting his deregulation bill, “perhaps the most important” small business is the home day care, “where moms can stay home and supplement the household income and watch a few kids.”This approach also aligns with principles outlined in the American Enterprise Institute’s 2024 “Three Principles for Conservative Early-Childhood Policy,” which advocated for subsidizing “lower-cost” options while keeping “children connected to their families.”Conservatives specifically warn against what they call the “Bill de Blasio model” — folding early childhood education into the credentialing, unionization, and compensation structure of K-12 teachers. This approach, which many progressive advocates view as essential for stable and quality care, is viewed by many on the right as a recipe for unsustainable costs.As control shifts in Washington, the very definitions of quality that have guided policy for decades may soon change. But the core questions remain unresolved: What matters most in determining quality and how do we capture it? How should we balance measurable outcomes with family preferences? What trade-offs between quality, affordability, and access are Americans prepared to make? And ultimately, what kind of care do American children deserve?This work was supported by a grant from the Bainum Family Foundation. Vox Media had full discretion over the content of this reporting.See More:

Y Combinator-backed startup Firecrawl is back on the hunt for AI agent employees. As we reported back in February, its first attempt didn’t yield an AI worth hiring. But it’s now placed three new ads on YC’s job board for “AI agents only” and has set aside a $1 million budget total to make it happen. Within about a week after the new job posts went live, it had about 50 applicants, founder Caleb Peffer tells TechCrunch. Firecrawl offers a web crawling tool that scrapes data from websites for LLMs. This is, Peffer admits, a shady part of the AI ecosystem where bad behaving web crawlers can sometimes pound websites like DDoS attacks. But Firewcrawl has gained popularity by trying to bring in some guardrails, he says. For instance, many of its customers are enterprises scraping their own data for internal LLM use. Some websites want their data included in chatbot responses, just like they want Google links, he says. Additionally, the tool honors robot.txt settings and can be set to only scrape a public website once and share the data with others. Consequently, one job opening is for a content creation agent “that never sleeps and always ships” that will autonomously produce “high quality” SEO-pleasing blog posts and tutorials on how to use its product, the startup’s ad says. Firecrawl wants this AI to watch engagement metrics and use that to autonomously improve the audience for its content, too. In other words: the agent should decide what to create, create it, post it, measure the audience, and grow mastery from that feedback, autonomously. If you are a borderline AGI AI made for blogging, this could be the job for you. The advertised pay is $5,000 a month. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW The company is also looking for a customer support engineer agent that will be tasked with crafting the AI workflow that responds to customer issues within two minutes and can handle tickets on its own, knowing when to escalate to a human. Previous experience doing customer support is requested. Pay is also $5,000/month. The third opening is for a junior developer agent who’ll be tasked with prioritizing incoming Github issues, writing documentation and writing code in TypeScript and Go. Once again, the pay also $5,000/month. But here’s the catch: Firecrawl is also hoping to hire human creator or creators behind these bots — and the $1 million budget is for hiring both agents and humans, though it’s not clear how many years the budget is supposed to cover. The startup might hire the humans full time, or as contractors (which might make more sense if they’re creating lots of agents for lots of companies). Firecrawl is also entertaining bids from other startups that specialize in creating the types of agents that it’s looking for, say in customer service, Peffer says. The truth is, the AI employee of Firecrawl’s dreams doesn’t exist yet. Maybe it never will. “AI can’t replace humans today,” Peffer says. ”The future, what we see, is a world where the next 10x engineers are operating armies of agents, AI systems that they’re building, maintaining, and monitoring. What we want to do is work with people that want to be those agent operators.” Firecrawl is not the only one. YC’s job board is full of jobs for developers of agents. Will their creations ever replace them as Silicon Valley is continuously wishing? That’s the real million-dollar question.

The Romanian Order of Architects has announced an open international contest to upgrade Mircea cel Bătrân Square in Tulcea (Deadline: 2 June) The single-stage contest – organised on behalf of the Tulcea Municipality – invites proposals to revitalise the town centre public space which occupies a prominent site closely connected to the Saint George Branch of the River Danube. The estimated €7.8 million project focuses on upgrading the historic plaza, which serves an important social and civic role in the centre of Tulcea. Key aims include upgrading pedestrian links, respecting existing heritage and supporting a range of urban functions including housing, administration, commerce, food, leisure, culture and civic life. Competition site: Mircea cel Bătrân Square, Tulcea According to the brief: ‘The competition aims at a high-quality contemporary redevelopment of this space in the context of the urban regeneration of the city centre and the strengthening of pedestrian connections with the Danube waterfront, by transforming Unirii Street into a pedestrian street and restoring the “Trei Fântâni” area. ‘The aim of the competition is to formulate a solution for the development of public space that takes into account the current built heritage and the layers that history has deposited here. ‘Contest participants should take into account all the needs of the studied area — housing; public administration; restaurants, cafes and confectioneries; small-scale commercial spaces; leisure and entertainment; culture and civic life, etc. — to enhance them and situate them in an urban platform for the subsequent coherent development of the entire central area of ​​Tulcea municipality.’ Tulcea is a historic port city located close to the Danube estuary on the eastern fringes of Romania near to the Black Sea and the border with Ukraine. Key local landmarks include the Tulcea Art Museum and the Azizyie Mosque. The competition comes a year after an open international student contest was held for a pop-up community hub next to an abandoned church in Babșa, Romania. Vladostudio and Atelier de Arhitectura Terchila won a contest to upgrade the Cibin Market in Sibiu two years ago. The latest project focuses on upgrading Mircea cel Bătrân Square while also improving its connections to the waterfront and surrounding historic areas. Concepts will be expected to address ‘contemporary needs generated by climate, social and economic changes.’ Competition site: Mircea cel Bătrân Square, Tulcea Judges will include Andreea Catrinel Matache, representing the local chief architect; the architects Ana Maria Zahariade, Laura Cristea, Irina Popescu-Criveanu and Gustavo Figueira Serrano; and the landscape architects Jörg Michel and Barnabás Ede Szakács. Bids will be evaluated 25 per cent on functional response to the brief, 20 per cent on ecology and landscape, 10 per cent on sustainability and economic efficiency, 5 per cent on cost, 15 per cent on development vision and civic purpose, 15 per cent on civic identity and general atmosphere, and 10 per cent on quality and clarity of presentation. The overall winner – to be announced 29 July – will receive an estimated £320,000 (1.9 million LEI) design contract while a second prize of £16,400 (99,500 LEI), third prize of £8,200 (49,000 LEI), fourth prize of £2,000 (12,400 LEI) and fifth prize of £2,000 (12,400 LEI) will also be awarded. How to apply Deadline: 2 June Competition funding source: Not supplied Project funding source: Not supplied Owner of site(s): Not supplied Contact details: achizitii@primariatulcea.roVisit the competition website for more information