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US Open Set Up for Dark Sky-Friendly Outdoor Lights by Adithi Ramakrishnan

William Attardi on August 22, 2025

When the court lights flicker on at the U.S. Open, tennis stars shine under illumination designed to cut light pollution.  The U.S. Tennis Association swapped metal halide bulbs for shielded wedge-shaped LED lights. The complex’s 17 tournament courts and five practice courts were approved as dark sky-friendly last year. Most arenas make the change during scheduled maintenance and renovation, working with sports lighting company Musco. The company lights over 3,000 venues a year including college football stadiums, tennis courts and rail yards. US Open Set Up for Dark Sky-Friendly Outdoor Lights – tEDmag

Pickleball & Tennis Court Illumination by U.S. Architectural Lighting

William Attardi on May 2, 2025

U. S. Architectural Lighting recently introduced Baseline – Pickleball & Tennis Court Lighting. Designed specifically for the court, Baseline uses a Type IV CL precision optic designed especially to meet IESNA / USA Pickleball / USTA Standard Performance Criteria for court photometrics. The luminaires distribute uniform light across the court surface without creating hot spots. To minimize glare, the light is directed at a low angle onto the court surface avoiding direct glare into the eyes of the players to prevent discomfort or distractions during play. The Baseline is available in five sizes in wattages from 85W to 550W, with up to four fixtures per pole, in parallel assembly arrangements, allowing a wide range of lumen packages. https://usaltg.com/product/bas/

 

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”