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- Analysis
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- Naked City
48 years of service: Say goodbye to Hollowood
Paul Hollowood always expected to spend his professional life racing to emergencies with lights and sirens clearing the path before him.
His plan was to follow his father’s footsteps into the Fire Brigade. “As a kid I spent half my life at the Carlton fire station. When we played footy and cricket out the back, the firefighters would join in.”
The fire service had a father-son rule, which meant Paul was to be fast-tracked into the service. The trouble was you had to be 21 to join and at 16 he was done with school.
His father suggested he join the police as a cadet, learn that trade and then slip over to the fire brigade when the time was right.
“The trouble was that as soon as I joined I found I really loved policing,” he says. And so he stayed - for 48 years, retiring on Friday, April 1, as a superintendent.
While Paul’s career was long and varied, his most important investigation was fire-related, into the 2009 Black Saturday disaster that cost 173 lives.
As an experienced homicide investigator, Hollowood was used to a crime scene that might be the size of a room or a backyard.
The Black Saturday scene was 350,000 hectares - 86 separate sites of blackened, smouldering devastation.
The first challenge was to find and identify victims lost in the furnace. The Victorian Institute of Forensic Services identified every one - a modern scientific miracle.
There were 521 serious injuries, 3394 buildings destroyed and 726 vehicles melted. One way of dealing with the aftermath would have been to decide it was just too big, accept the death toll and complete a general inquiry with broad conclusions.
Instead, it was decided each individual victim and every grieving family was entitled to the truth, resulting in Australia’s biggest police investigation.
Hollowood was then in charge of several investigative units, including the Arson Squad.
“Because of the extreme weather, for about a week before Black Saturday we were aware of the growing risk, but no one was prepared for what happened,” he recalls.
“I was duty Crime Department Superintendent on the day, and it was as bad as it could be. Units were reporting from around the state saying it was utter chaos.”
Police set up the Phoenix Taskforce and initially 400 Crime Department detectives were sent into the field. It would take two years, more than 100,000 investigative hours and result in taking more than 5000 statements.
If each case went before the Coroner in the usual way, the process would have taken years and traumatised thousands of witnesses and family members.
“It soon became apparent that we just couldn’t do this the traditional way,” Hollowood says.
Police experimented with “electronic briefs” that were more than online versions of the vast paper files that would make up one case. The final interactive product was both brilliant and awful.
The before-and-after satellite photos show the lottery that is life and death. There are well-prepared properties, seemingly bushfire-proof, that are obliterated, while others dropped into the scrub, often built without planning permits, are spared.
Click on the mouse and you see a man standing proudly by his house. Click again and a graphic program shows the man trying to save the property, his wife urging him to go, his car idling in the garage if he needs to escape.
Then the call to 000 when he yells above the roar of a wall of fire that he is trapped. Then he is gone.
Instead of having to sit in a sterile courtroom and hear strangers describe their loved ones’ last moments, Hollowood says, “we were able to sit with relatives and explain exactly what happened”.
As a young cop, Hollowood was part of a group that benefited from a change of policy that fast- tracked talented young police into criminal investigations, becoming a detective in Brunswick. Soon he was assigned to homicide and by the age of 32 was running a team as a Detective Senior Sergeant.
In June 1991, six-year-old Sheree Beasley was abducted from outside a Rosebud milk bar, with witnesses saying they saw a distressed girl driven away by a middle-aged man.
Her body was found stuffed in a Red Hill stormwater drain three months later.
Initially the case was treated as an abduction and a taskforce formed to try and find her. After her body was found it became a homicide investigation, with Hollowood in charge.
It would take 18 months to lay charges and Hollowood had to enlist the help of a police killer to resolve the case.
One of the first routine suspects was church elder and convicted sex offender Robert Arthur Selby Lowe. He was telephoned and asked about his movements after his work car, along with 775 others, were flagged as similar to the vehicle in the abduction.
He was called in for a further interview in August but gave an alibi for the day of the crime.
After the body was discovered, Hollowood ordered a review of known suspects: “We kept coming back to Lowe.”
It wasn’t only the police who had their doubts. Lowe occasionally consulted psychotherapist Margaret Hobbs, who became increasingly concerned at the sinister nature of her patient and tipped off police.
Hollowood decided to use a court-approved bug in her office. Lowe, he recalls, used Hobbs as a sounding board, never telling the truth but rehearsing versions of events he could later use if confronted again by police.
After Lowe was charged, Hollowood found another ally. Armed robber Peter Reid, convicted of the 1982 murder of Senior Constable Stephen Henry, gave evidence that Lowe had confessed to him inside jail.
“Lowe was using Reid as a jailhouse lawyer and Reid had no time for a child killer. Reid had done a drafting course in prison and was able to map out the abduction better than some professionals,” says Hollowood.
If you work homicide, you deal with offenders who kill for a variety of reasons. Then there are the stone killers, those who turn murder into business and see life as a tradeable commodity.
None was worse than Alistair Farquhar “Sandy” MacRae, implicated in 20 suspicious deaths.
“I would have to say that he would be Australia’s worst known multiple murderer, and we will never know how many people he has killed. He had no regard for life at all,” says Hollowood.
After quitting as a standover man for Melbourne’s biggest vice ring, MacRae moved to a 10-hectare property at Merbein, near Mildura. This was no retirement move, as he began to lure people to his property on the promise of buying marijuana in order to kill them.
In 1987 police found the body of Domenico Marafiote buried under MacRae’s chicken coop.
Two years earlier MacRae had shot and killed his victim (he had already dug the grave) before driving to Adelaide to kill Marafiote’s parents Carmelo, 69, and Rosa, 70. He was desperate to find the money that Marafiote was to use for the marijuana deal but didn’t find the cash, which was sewn into Rosa’s clothing.
Hollowood says it was over a space of a few years that law enforcement went from a craft for the crafty to a profession. He began in an era when short-tempered detectives in short-sleeved shirts had a tendency to punch suspects with a short right to gather information, and worked through to a time when tertiary-educated investigators drinking short blacks punch a keyboard to gather intelligence.
“The big change was from the early 1980s to the late 1980s. We started taking statements on typewriters and ended with video-recorded interviews. We could only collect blood group samples and there was no DNA. We were only allowed to present black-and-white crime photos because colour ones were considered likely to inflame a jury.
“We moved from caveman days to professional in a few years.”
He learnt it was the cop who went one step further that made the difference, such as the search-and-rescue sergeant called in to look for a body who spotted a tiny piece of rug - “no bigger than a thumb” - stuck on top of a barbed wire fence in arid Mallee country.
Concentrating on the area from the police helicopter he spotted a darker area of disturbed sand. “The victim was buried there, wrapped in the rug. It had caught when the offenders carried him over the fence. I was amazed he could spot the piece on the wire.”
Professional criminals have also changed, Hollowood says. “They robbed banks or were safe-breakers or committed fraud. Now they are opportunistic. They may commit robberies, aggravated burglaries and then frauds.”
Paul Hollowood has a loyal group of police admirers who respect his coolness under pressure, his guidance and his legendary work ethic. He has his detractors as well, those who have been bruised as he has always been more concerned about results than popularity.
One admirer is Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill, who as a young homicide detective learned that with Hollowood the job always came first: “Paul was the consummate professional but a hard taskmaster, who demanded the very best from his staff. If I needed advice, he has always been the first person I turned to.” | https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/48-years-of-service-say-goodbye-to-hollowood-20220330-p5a9cc.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national | 2022-04-01T01:53:34Z |
Former Tigers player Ty Zantuck says the AFL club's management of a chronic back injury left him in constant severe pain, but he couldn't afford to sue Richmond or its doctors until recently.
Zantuck played with Richmond for four seasons until 2004, and wants damages for the club's management of his back problems as well as on-field concussions.
He revealed on Friday the experience left him with "horrible feelings" about his time at the club and still gets goosebumps when he goes near its facilities.
After 68 games with Richmond and nine games with Essendon in 2005, Zantuck moved between several lower-grade clubs and struggled to make a living, Victoria's Supreme Court was told.
He would receive a $5000 sign-on payment but after a few games clubs would realise he was useless, he said.
"I was trying to get anything I could to just get some food," he said.
At the same time he was so heavily medicated he couldn't drive.
In December 2006, he trained with Carlton, but this too was short-lived.
"I battled through for two weeks and I just said 'that's enough'," he said.
Zantuck wants more time to build his damages case against Richmond, former club doctor Chris Bradshaw and current doctor Greg Hickey, telling the court he didn't have enough money to do it before now.
The former Tigers hard man, who gave evidence by video after contracting COVID-19, had coughing fits during his evidence.
On Thursday, the court heard Richmond didn't have a system for properly managing head injuries, leaving him with suspected brain degeneration from repeated concussions.
In court documents Zantuck said he was diagnosed with a back injury stemming from the club's weight-training and running program in December 2001 or January 2002.
Zantuck claims he was injected with local anaesthetic on training and game days to get through matches in early 2002, as well as 15 to 20 epidural injections in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
The hearing is continuing. | https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/zantuck-reveals-horrible-time-at-tigers-c-6285067 | 2022-04-01T01:53:35Z |
A Nigerian firm, Plexada System Integrators Limited, has dragged an American firm with multinational operations, Oracle Corporations, before the Lagos State High Court demanding compensation for “loss of revenue, loss of goodwill” allegedly caused by Oracle.
The amount also included an alleged “outstanding commission” owed to Plexada by the international firm, with its Nigerian regional office in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Plexada is also demanding a separate amount “being aggravated damages for the unconscionable conduct of the defendant (Oracle).”
Furthermore, via its suit marked LD/4350/2022, Plexada wants the court to compel Oracle to pay it another amount as the cost of pursuing the legal action.
In its statement of claim before the court, Plexada alleged that Oracle unjustifiably delisted or cancelled its status as an Oracle Partner at a time it had attained the status of a Gold Partner, being the highest, and was even in 2014 awarded the ‘Oracle Partner of the Year – African Operations’.
The Nigerian firm said the decision of the multinational to suspend its status as an Oracle partner and refusal to renew the partnership despite payment had seriously frustrated its operations and cost it opportunities.
Plexada explained that trouble started when a business transaction between Oracle and the Lagos State Government for the supply of Oracle software, hardware, implement applications, system’s training and provision of support staff, ran into some difficulties.
In an effort to resolve the difficulties, Oracle elected to have Plexada “come into the picture, run and execute its brief.”
Plexada said part of its brief was “to recover the outstanding sum then owed the defendant (Oracle) by the Lagos State Government as of 2013.”
The Nigerian firm was also to service the applications sold to the Lagos State Government by Oracle and provide support staff for a period of six years.
For its effort, it was agreed that “the claimant (Plexada) shall be entitled to the sum of 20 per cent of the revenue as regards this project for the duration as enumerated above.”
Plexada, however, alleged that some Oracle executives later breached the agreement and for daring to complain, they decided to punish the Nigerian firm.
Plexada said in its statement of claim, “The defendant’s operatives were visibly incensed over what they considered ‘the temerity of this puny company’, to challenge Oracle, and began to label the claimant’s directors as ‘arrogant and un-cooperative’ and started a campaign to discredit the claimant.
“Not being satisfied with the campaign to discredit the claimant, the defendant in its pushback, effectively utilised its sales and support staff, and its extensive wide network in Nigeria and beyond, to begin a campaign of calumny and ‘Chinese whispers’ against the claimant.
“At the claimant’s complaint to the defendant about its vicious pushback, the defendant maliciously revised the claimant’s credit status by putting same on ‘Credit Hold’, and subsequently suspended the claimant’s status as an Oracle Partner by refusing, despite payment, to renew their Oracle Partner status.
“The claimant later discovered that the defendant had declared an all-out war of attrition against the claimant to completely destroy it.
“The defendant proceeded to attack other briefs of the claimant among others, but not limited to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Union Bank Plc, Access Bank, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Vodafone Ghana, Ecobank (eProcess), etc.
“The defendant refused to have any dealings with the claimant in respect of any new brief and even attacked existing contracts that the claimant had been awarded; and frustrated the same.”
It added that all its efforts to have the issue resolved over the years were rebuffed.
It is, therefore, seeking the court’s intervention to compel Oracle to restore its “full Oracle Partner rights and specialisations that were achieved prior to the removal from the Oracle Partner Network.”
It is also demanding payment of damages for “considerable financial loss as a direct and intended result of the actions of the defendant.”
Apart from monetary awards, Plexada is also praying the court to compel Oracle to publish a full-page advert in three prominent Nigerian daily newspapers and one prominent Ghanaian newspaper stating that “Plexada System Integrators Limited is a full Oracle Partner with demonstrated competence and proficiency in Oracle applications and solutions, and is in good standing with Oracle.”
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All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected] | https://punchng.com/nigerian-firm-sues-oracle-demands-damages-partnership-reinstatement/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:32Z |
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Have you tried this product? Be the first to leave a review! | https://www.leafly.com/brands/drip-oils-extracts/products/drip-oils-extracts-larry-og-pax-pod-cartridges | 2022-04-01T01:53:33Z |
6 accused of kidnapping, torturing woman they met online, sheriff says
Published: Mar. 30, 2022 at 11:15 AM CDT
HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (Gray News) – Several people are facing charges in connection to kidnapping and torturing a woman they met online, according to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said the woman who was being held against her will had been “severely tortured” during her captivity.
She is being treated for her injuries.
“We received a call about a suspicious person, discovered this troubling case and quickly made arrests,” Hillhouse said in a press release obtained by KLTV.
Six people were arrested late Tuesday and charged with aggravated kidnapping:
- Amanda Andrews
- Breonna Johnson
- Charles Bryant
- Shayne Anderson
- Summer Lawrence
- Felicity Walker
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wtok.com/2022/03/30/6-accused-kidnapping-torturing-woman-they-met-online-sheriff-says/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:35Z |
Company, director fined $1.9 million for false tax declaration
Thursday, March 31, 2022ROGERS Land Development Limited and its director, Richard Rogers, was last week fined $1.9 million in the Sutton Street Tax Court for making a false declaration, a breach of Section 99 (1) of the Income Tax Act.
The company and its director were prosecuted following an investigation by Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), through its Intelligence, Investigation and Enforcement and Legal Unit.,
TAJ's legal counsel led evidence that for the period January 1 to December 31, 2018 and October 01, 2019 to September 30, 2020, Rogers Land Development Limited filed income tax returns, indicating that the business collected no income (Nil returns) for the stated period, knowing it to be false.
On March 21, 2022 in the Sutton Street Tax Court, company director Richard Rogers pleaded guilty to two counts of making false declaration and was sentenced to a fine of $1.9 million or 30 days imprisonment. He subsequently paid the fines.
Under the Income Tax Act, “any person who for the purpose of obtaining any allowance, reduction, rebate or repayment in respect of income tax either for himself or for any other person, or who in any return, statement, declaration, form or particulars delivered under this Act, knowingly makes any false statement of false representation, commits an offence, and shall be liable, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $2 million, and, in default of payment thereof, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year”.
TAJ, in a release yesterday, said: “Taxpayers are being reminded that failure to report correct income, profits or gains, as defined within the Income Tax Act, will result in enforcement action by the tax authority, utilising the applicable provisions under the law.”
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Napier: Florida Gators TE Gage Wilcox Suffers Career-Ending Injury
Photo: Gage Wilcox; Credit: Alex Shepherd
Billy Napier's offense traditionally utilizes quite a bit of 12-personnel groupings, relying on two tight ends to serve both as pass-catchers and blockers.
But as Napier has installed his offense with the Florida Gators, injuries at the tight end position have presented a major problem.
Reports broke last week that redshirt sophomore Jonathan Odom and redshirt freshman Nick Elksnis will miss the remainder of spring camp due to shoulder injuries. To make matters worse, Napier shared on Thursday that redshirt freshman tight end Gage Wilcox suffered an injury in practice that has effectively ended his football career.
"He's injured and it's going to be season, or really, a career-ending injury for him," Napier said of Wilcox after the team's first spring scrimmage. "Very unfortunate for Gage, but certainly while he was here with us he did a fantastic job. It's certainly tough, but it's part of the game."
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Wilcox enrolled at Florida as a member of the 2021 signing class alongside Elksnis. The Tampa-area native appeared in two games as a true freshman, against South Florida and UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, and ended up redshirting.
Due to the long list of injuries at the position, the Gators have moved several players to tight end in redshirt senior defensive linemen Dante Zanders and Griffin McDowell, as well as walk-on outside linebacker Noah Keeter and a long snapper. Although Napier did not confirm which long snapper made the move, it's worth noting that redshirt freshman Rocco Underwood played the position successfully in high school.
Zanders, in particular, has impressed Napier amid the transition to the position he originally enrolled at UF to play.
"I think Zanders has moved from defensive line to tight end and has really done well," Napier shared. "There's no question in my mind that he not only is going to be able to play, but I think the guy can do his job. So, he has been a godsend to some degree relative to his ability. He's really bright, he's picked it up quickly and he's able to go out there and execute."
Napier explained that the coaching staff had foreseen depth issues being a problem at tight end before any injuries occurred, which led to the signings of 2022 tight end recruits Tony Livingston, Hayden Hansen and Arlis Boardingham.
Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook. | https://www.si.com/college/florida/football/florida-gators-gage-wilcox-billy-napier-career-ending-injury | 2022-04-01T01:53:38Z |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers/articles/39012397 | 2022-04-01T01:53:38Z |
STAMFORD, Conn., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stamford, CT based private equity firm Olympus Partners has acquired Omega Environmental Technologies ("Omega"), the market leading aftermarket distributor of climate control products and other mission-critical components across the light and heavy-duty automotive sectors, from AEA Investors, which will remain a minority equity investor and retain a board position in the Company. Omega serves thousands of customers globally across the wholesale distribution, OE service, and automotive retail channels. The Company is headquartered in Irving, Texas and has over 20 distribution centers across the United States and Canada.
"The replacement air conditioning market is very attractive, with steadily growing demand and high barriers to entry due to the technical nature and SKU intensity of the product. Omega is the leader in this category with a portfolio of powerful brands and complete end market coverage. We look forward to working with Peter, Randy, and the rest of the management team to continue grow the Company," said Jason Miller, Partner at Olympus.
Peter Butterfield, Chairman of Omega, added, "I would like to thank AEA for their support over the past few years and look forward to partnering with the Olympus team. I have never been more excited about the prospects of the Company."
Founded in 1988, Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for companies needing capital for expansion. Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services, and manufacturing. Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs.
The Olympus team included Jason Miller, Matt Bujor, and Alex Pollera. Olympus was represented by Ben Clinger, Adam Wexner, and Kat Murphy from Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Antares Capital LP led debt financing for the transaction.
AEA Investors LP was founded in 1968 by the Rockefeller, Mellon and Harriman family interests and S.G. Warburg & Co. as a private investment vehicle for a select group of industrial family offices with substantial assets. AEA has an extraordinary global network built over many years which includes leading industrial families, business executives and leaders; many of whom invest with AEA as active individual investors and/or join its portfolio company boards or act in other advisory roles. Today, AEA's approximately 100 investment professionals operate globally with offices in New York, Stamford, San Francisco, London, Munich and Shanghai. The firm manages funds that have over $14 billion of invested and committed capital including the leveraged buyouts of middle market companies and small business companies, growth capital and mezzanine and senior debt investments. AEA Small Business is a strategy within AEA that currently manages $1.9 billion of invested and committed capital. The team seeks to help grow and transform companies at the lower end of the middle market by sponsoring growing companies with proven management teams and superior business models.
Olympus Partners is a private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts and for growing companies. Olympus manages in excess of $8.5 billion mainly on behalf of corporate pension funds, endowment funds and state-sponsored retirement programs. Founded in 1988, Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries including business services, food services, consumer products, healthcare services, financial services, industrial services and manufacturing.
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SOURCE Olympus Partners | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/olympus-joins-cool-kids-with-acquisition-omega/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:38Z |
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See seller profile | https://dan.com/buy-domain/microchemist.com | 2022-04-01T01:53:38Z |
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — Mayor says 1 officer killed, 2 wounded in shooting in Lebanon.
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) — Mayor says 1 officer killed, 2 wounded in shooting in Lebanon. More NewsNorwalk man arrested after alleged assault, police sayPolice: Norwalk man charged with strangling woman | https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Alert-Mayor-says-1-officer-killed-2-wounded-in-17049857.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:38Z |
(KMAland) -- Atlantic, Maryville and Conestoga all picked up wins in KMAland girls soccer action on Thursday. Check out the rundown below.
Maryville 8 Lincoln College Prep 0
Jalea Price scored twice, and Lauren Cullin, Arianne Skidmore, Cleo Johnson, Kennedy Kurz, Braelyn Hannigan and Katie Weis all scored one time each for the Spoofhounds in the win.
Conestoga 3 Nebraska City 1
Jameson Yost had two goals and Sophia Tegels finished with a goal of her own for Conestoga in the win.
Other Area Scores
Atlantic 5 Perry 0
South Sioux City 4 Sioux City West 3 (2 OT) | https://www.kmaland.com/sports/kmaland-girls-soccer-3-31-maryville-atlantic-post-shutouts-conestoga-takes-down-neb-city/article_9b9e91ba-b15c-11ec-960a-fbdd718e3e45.html | 2022-04-01T01:53:39Z |
LAKEVILLE - Salisbury Bank has announced its 2022 Community Shred “Drive-thru” Days Schedule.
Community Shred “Drive-thru” Days will include a free shred event as part of the bank’s commitment to help in the fight against identity theft, and a food drive to support local food pantries in the area, according to bank officials.
These events will be held from May through October at select branches throughout the tri-state area, and are open to all local residents and businesses. Each car will be limited to 4 bags or boxes, paper only.
“With the increased importance of mitigating the risk of identity theft and fraud, our Shred Day events continue to help community members securely dispose of sensitive documents to aid in protecting themselves,” said Amy Raymond, Executive Vice President and Chief Retail Banking Officer.
Community Shred “Drive-thru” Days are open to anyone at the locations listed below and run from 9 a.m.-noon. All are held on Saturdays.
May 7, Dover Plains Branch, 5 Dover Village Plaza, Dover Plains, NY
July 9, Lakeville Branch, 5 Bissell St., Lakeville
Aug. 6, 801 Auto Park Place, Newburgh, NY
Sept. 10, Millerton Branch, 87 Main St., Millerton, NY
Sept. 24, Fishkill Branch, 701 Route 9, Suite 7, Fishkill, NY
Oct. 8, Sheffield Branch, 640 North Main St., Sheffield, Mass.
Oct. 22, Lakeville Branch, 5 Bissell Street, Lakeville
Please consider bringing a non-perishable food donation as well - local pantries need a variety of donations including: canned goods, cereals, macaroni and cheese, cake mix, peanut butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and tomato sauce. Household necessities such as paper towels, diapers, shampoo, and soap are also appreciated.
These services are brought to you by Salisbury Bank, as a way of enriching the communities it serves. All shredded paper will be recycled and all collected items will be donated directly to local food pantries.
For more information on protecting yourself against identity theft, visit SalisburyBank.com/Personal/Customer-Security. | https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Salisbury-Bank-announces-shredding-day-schedule-17049341.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:39Z |
By Andrew Dalton | Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment,” Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”
But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.
“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. “And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night’s ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer’s interview, a longer version of which will air on Friday morning.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.
The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television.”
Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.
Smith strode from his front row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.” | https://www.sgvtribune.com/2022/03/31/oscars-police-offered-to-arrest-will-smith-over-attack/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:39Z |
It wasn’t the cleanest game McMinn has played, but the Lady Cherokees made the plays they needed to make to earn a 4-3 win over visiting Cleveland on Monday.
Reagan Wade singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to give McMinn a District 5-4A victory.
“I am always comforted seeing a senior in the box in these situations,” McMinn Coach Mark Rogers said. “I can’t say enough about Reagan Wade and the job she did.”
While Wade had the game-winning hit, Rogers was also proud of the job his two pitchers did, McKenzie Wall and Sadie Brazzell.
“McKenzie pitched a great game,” Rogers said. “She kept us in the game. Then Sadie came in and finished it off.”
Cleveland committed three errors and McMinn had two, but both teams also made enough plays to overcome those mistakes. Rogers added that getting a win over Cleveland is never an easy thing.
“Winning a district game is always a good thing,” Rogers said. “You want to win all your games, but especially your district games. Cleveland is always well-coached, have two or three pitchers and can hit the ball, so it’s always good to get a win against them.”
The Lady Cherokees (7-5, 2-2 in 5-4A) will travel to Ooltewah on Thursday, weather permitting. Game time is 5 p.m.
Then Brazzell reached safely on an error, which allowed Lexi Cooley to score and make it 2-0.
While both teams put runners on base, neither was able to score in the next few innings.
McMinn added to its lead with a single run in the bottom of the fifth when Cooley singled, advanced to third on an error and scored on a single by Taylor Hancock.
The Lady Raiders countered with a three-run sixth to knot the game at 3-3, setting up the dramatic ending in the seventh.
Brazzell entered the games as McMinn’s pitcher in the top of the seventh. After giving up a lead-off single, she struck out the next three batters.
Kendall Coffey led off McMinn’s half of the seventh by drawing a walk and, one out later, Cooley bunted courtesy runner Madison Herd to second base. The next batter was out, setting the stage for the winning hit with two outs in the inning.
Wade fouled off three pitches and then lined a drive to center field to score Herd, giving the Lady Cherokees the win.
The Lady Cherokees finished with nine hits. Cooley went 3-for-4 with a double and scored two runs while Tate and Hancock both had two hits. Hancock also drove in a run.
Wade drove in two runs and had a double.
Wall picked up the win for McMinn. She gave up three runs on six hits in six innings while striking out three and walking two.
Brazzell pithed the seventh, surrendering one hit and striking out three to earn the save.
The Lady Cherokees drew within 8-4 in the bottom of the sixth, with Hancock and Brazzell hitting singles to set up Ama Grimmett for her three-run blast.
A Lady Eagles error on a two-out Hancock grounder in the seventh allowed Cooley to score another run, but the Lady Tribe’s rally ended with a ground out the next at-bat.
Rhea scored the first run in the second, and a Cami Wade RBI single knotted the score at 1-1 in the fourth, where it remained before the Lady Eagles erupted in the sixth.
Cooley, Kendall Coffey and Reagan Wade also finished Monday with a hit each, with Wade’s hit a double. | https://www.dailypostathenian.com/sports/article_c058b97c-5df2-516f-aab9-243cbc227f3b.html | 2022-04-01T01:53:40Z |
WATCH: A man can be woman of the year, students argue
Campus Reform Reporter Alexa Schwerha visited George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, to ask students if men should be considered for this year's 'Women of the Year' honorees.
Campus Reform Reporter Alexa Schwerha visited George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia to ask students if men should be considered for this year's "Women of the Year" honorees.
USA Today recently released its selections for the 2022 "Women of the Year." The honor is bestowed to "strong and resilient women who have been champions of change across the country" who lead and inspire "as they promote and fight for equity, and give others a place to seek help and find hope."
Among the notable names of this year's selection include Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, Vice President Kamala Harris, and philanthropist Melinda Gates.
However, the award caused controversy when Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, a biological man, was distinguished as a "National Honoree."
According to students at George Mason, this is a glass-ceiling moment for the transgender community.
"Statistically speaking, there will always be far more cis-gender women than there will be transgender women," one student responded. "Having the one every now and then will not hurt anybody."
Across the board, students were very insistent that "trans women are women."
"I'd still count him as a female," one student told Campus Reform.
Another student stated that one shouldn't have to be born a woman "to be woman of the year."
Taking the topic one step further, students also stated that they would be okay with replacing gendered awards and categories in favor of gender-neutral options.
According to one student, this option would be "less problematic."
Moreso, one student alleged that scrapping the use of gender division would "be fair to everyone."
"We're just now starting to get that inclusion, and so the more inclusion we can have for transgender women is just great," one student said.
Follow @AlexaSchwerha1 on Twitter | https://campusreform.org/article?id=19281 | 2022-04-01T01:53:40Z |
Big jump locally in building permits issued in 2021
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Stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, area residents poured money into their residences based on the significant jump in the number of building permits taken out in 2021.
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The Municipal Property Assessment Corp. released its annual statistics this week with Windsor and Lakeshore ranking second and third respectively in southwestern Ontario for the number of permits taken out.
Windsor saw a jump of 13 per cent or 162 permits with 1,370 documents issued while Lakeshore had 778 permits, an increase of 130 permits or 30 per cent. London bucked provincial trends by dropping three per cent with 2,391 building permits issued.
“Things are certainly going great and we continue to be busy,” Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain said.
“(Tuesday) night we gave the go ahead for another subdivision along Wallace Line and Patillo Road. It could be really huge.
“It’s a 20 to 40-year project that would be for about 24,000 people.”
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Bain said 2021 ranked right up there with the boom days of the 1990s in Lakeshore. He noted even smaller, more rural communities in Lakeshore, such as Comber and Staples, are seeing new subdivisions being built.
MPAC reported there were more than 122,000 permits issued in Ontario representing an increase of 15 per cent.
“COVID-19 restrictions were likely a major factor again, with people focused on their home because they were spending so much more time there,” said MPAC vice president and chief operating officer Carmelo Lipsi.
“In every category of home improvement – additions, renovations, swimming pools, garages, decks and sheds – the numbers were up, in many cases by double-digit percentages.”
Not surprisingly Amherstburg, one of the province’s most southernly communities, ranked fifth in Ontario for the percentage increase in permits issued for residential pools.
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The 79 pools installed in the town in 2021 were an increase of 119 per cent on the 36 built in 2020.
Residents of Essex were also among the busiest in Ontario in doing home renovations ranking fifth on a percentage increase basis.
There was an increase of 169 per cent in home reno permits issued in 2021 representing 35 projects compared to 13 in 2020.
The year “2021 was our busiest year to date,” said Brent Klundert, vice president of home builder BK Cornerstone.
“We did 70 single-family homes and 30 multiple residences. We’re going to be just as busy in 2022, judging by sales right now.
“A lot of people are unlocking the equity in their homes and doing renovations and additions to make their home serviceable for their family for years to come.”
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Windsor’s chief building officer John Revell described the construction sector as very robust with a pent-up demand remaining in 2022.
“I think the numbers could’ve been even higher but were held down by the difficulty getting some materials,” Revell said. “There’s also been a significant shortage of labour.
“It’s been difficult to get the sub-trades – drywallers, painters, plumbers, electricians. A lot of contractors are looking six months to a year out to line people up.”
Revell said he observed a significant jump in every construction category as Windsorites built sheds, garages, pools, decks and additions.
“It’s generally everything, along with the new-build homes,” Revell said.
“We’re also seeing a rise in additional dwelling units. People are taking advantage of the relaxed regulations on ADUs to create some additional revenue.”
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To keep up with the building boom, municipalities are trying to add staff and going digital to speed up the application process. Towns, such as Lakeshore, have also moved up major infrastructure investments in sewer systems and water treatment plants.
Revell said migration from the GTA, general population growth, a decent economy despite the pandemic and the success of St. Clair College and the University of Windsor in drawing students are key factors in the elevated construction activity.
“The college and university are definitely driving part of this,” Revell said.
“They’re appealing to more international students. Those students are liking the city and want to stay in the area.”
Revell added the announcement of the new battery factory coming to Windsor will only accelerate construction growth in the future.
Twitter.com/winstarwaddell | https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/big-jump-locally-in-building-permits-issued-in-2021 | 2022-04-01T01:53:40Z |
The mystery gap in Trump phone logs has many possible explanations
By Zachary Cohen, Katelyn Polantz, Ryan Nobles, Annie Grayer, Ashley Semler and Jamie Gangel, CNN
In the seven hours during which White House records show no phone calls to or from then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, among the calls that are conspicuously absent is one Trump made to then-Vice President Mike Pence that morning from the Oval Office.
While the call is not specifically noted in the presidential diary or the presidential call log, its existence has been corroborated by multiple sources who were with Trump and Pence that day, including former aides who testified before the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack.
And it’s not the only call Trump is known to have made in that timeframe that is not reflected in the records.
The mystery of the seven-hour gap has fueled furious speculation as to why calls are missing. That includes allegations that Trump was using “burner phones” (which he has denied) or that the logs were purposely suppressed.
But the gap might have a less mysterious explanation.
According to multiple sources familiar with Trump’s phone behavior and the White House switchboard records, the January 6 log reflects Trump’s typical phone habits. He mainly placed calls through the switchboard when he was in the residence but rarely used it when he was in the Oval Office. The fact the log does not show calls on January 6, 2021, from the Oval Office is not unusual, said the sources, because Trump typically had staff either place calls directly for him on landlines or cell phones. Those calls would not be noted on the switchboard log.
The missing calls underscore something more endemic: the imperfect and antiquated system of tracking a president’s communications.
The White House call log is generated by a switchboard system that dates back to the 1960s, according to the National Archives. The version installed in 1963 was already considered “somewhat outdated” just two decades later.
And it’s certainly not one suited for the era of cell phones and text messages or to a President well known for his efforts to circumvent official channels of communications.
Bypassing the call log
There could be various reasons that explain the gap in the call log itself.
One possibility is that Trump was speaking to people from a cell phone. As CNN has previously reported, Trump had a habit of using his and other people’s phones to make or receive calls.
Another explanation could be that Trump had aides place direct calls from the Oval Office, bypassing the switchboard.
A former White House staffer who served in the Obama administration told CNN that if then-President Barrack Obama wanted to make a call to someone from the Oval Office, he would normally ask an aide seated nearby to dial the person. The aide would then call the number and hit transfer to connect the caller to the President.
That call would not go through the White House switchboard and therefore would not be recorded on the White House switchboard log, the former staffer said.
Another factor seems to be where Trump was when he made certain calls. All the calls noted from the January 6 log indicate they were made from the White House residence, suggesting Trump relied on the switchboard to put those calls through. The missing calls appear to start when the diary notes Trump has moved from the residence to the Oval Office.
Trump used the switchboard more often when he was in the private residence, according to multiple sources. But when he was in the Oval Office, the former President would often direct aides sitting outside his office to get certain lawmakers or allies of his on the phone.
Two former Trump officials believe this, plus the chaotic nature of the West Wing on January 6, is what led to the gaps in the call logs.
Calls also should have been documented in the Presidential Daily Diary, which is compiled by an Archives employee detailed to the White House. While it’s supposed to include “impromptu moments such as staff member drop-ins and telephone calls,” the diarist’s account is only as good as the information he or she receives from the President’s staff.
The former Obama staffer also acknowledged this process was more of an honor system and dependent on how meticulous aides serving in other administrations were or what instructions they were given.
No explanation has been given so far why calls known to have been made in the hours Trump was in the Oval Office are not documented in the presidential diary.
Chaotic record-keeping
Multiple sources have described the record-keeping during the Trump administration as generally chaotic. Those sources, as well as witnesses who have testified as part of previous congressional investigations related to the former President’s conduct described Trump as deeply suspicious of the White House switchboard and detailed various ways he sought to avoid having records of certain phone calls from being kept.
A Senate Intelligence report from 2020 includes witness testimony from former aides saying that Trump regularly used the cellphone of his body man, Keith Schiller, to place calls to Republican operative Roger Stone because he did not want his to advisers to know they were talking.
“Trump hated people knowing who he spoke to, including from the residence at night when they went through the switchboard,” one former Trump official told CNN.
When John Kelly was Trump’s chief of staff, he monitored the switchboard to see who Trump was talking to. Trump would often tell people to hang up and call him back on his cellphone if he didn’t want it showing up on the switchboard call log.
When Mark Meadows took over as chief of staff, sources said he restricted the number of White House officials who had access to the call logs, limiting the group to only a small number of top aides.
Filling in the gaps
Despite the gap in the call logs, the House select committee is relying on witness testimony, additional documents and phone records obtained via subpoena to begin piecing together who Trump spoke to that day.
This is especially true for the missing call to Pence. That call is a key point in the House’s argument that Trump was taking part in criminal activity, as he kept pressuring Pence to block Congress from certifying the election. Trump has not been charged with any crime.
Pence’s former national security adviser, Keith Kellogg, described the call in his testimony before the committee earlier this year, telling investigators that he and other top aides were in the Oval Office with Trump when it took place. He said he could only hear what Trump said, and not Pence’s responses.
Kellogg’s recounting of the conversation was cited in the committee’s letter in late January to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, requesting that she too appear before the panel and cooperate in the probe.
“As January 6th approached, President Trump attempted on multiple occasions to persuade Vice President Pence to participate in his plan. One of the President’s discussions with the Vice President occurred by phone on the morning of January 6th,” the letter stated.
“You were present in the Oval Office and observed at least one side of that telephone conversation. General Keith Kellogg was also present in the Oval Office during that call, and has testified about that discussion,” it added.
CNN reported last month that Ivanka Trump was in discussions to voluntarily appear before the committee for an interview. Others who witnessed the call take place have already testified.
Committee members have said that witness testimony is not the only way they have been able to fill in some of the gaps in official records like the White House logs and daily diary.
“Whether it’s a witness who is unwilling to cooperate with us or whether there are gaps in documentation that we have received, we will get that information some other way,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy told CNN+’s Kasie Hunt on “The Source” on Wednesday. “Those conversations weren’t one-way conversations. There was somebody on the other side of those conversations and we’ll get the information that way.”
“We’re triangulating basically from a lot of different angles and we are getting a fulsome picture of what happened in the run up to and on the day of January 6th,” Murphy added.
Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the select committee, told CNN on Wednesday the panel has not received any vice presidential phone log records from the National Archives.
But earlier this month, Thompson told CNN the committee had “started to receive” vice presidential records, without specifying which ones. The Archives has turned over a tranche of vice presidential records, as well as documents chronicling calls to the vice president that were White House records.
One call is noted in the presidential diary even though it is not in the call log that day.
A document obtained by the House is the President’s private schedule, and it shows handwritten notes appearing to capture phone calls with Sen. Kelly Loeffler from 11:17-11:20 a.m., and with “VPOTUS” at 11:20 a.m. on January 6, 2021.
The presidential daily diary handed over to the panel does show Trump placed “a phone call to an unidentified person” at 11:17 a.m. on the morning of January 6 but does not make reference to the 11:20 a.m. call. Neither conversation is reflected in the White House call log.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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CNN’s Ryan Nobles, Kaitlan Collins and Tara Subramaniam contributed to this report | https://ktvz.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2022/03/31/the-mystery-gap-in-trump-phone-logs-has-many-possible-explanations/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:40Z |
‘You want sex? I’ll kill you’: the capers that bonded these 90-year-old twins
By Susan Horsburgh
Together, 90-year-old Melbourne twins Liliana del Porto and Lydia Marcuzzi have survived wartime bombing, a taste of Italian Hollywood and a total of five husbands. They’re happiest at home watching TV detective shows.
LILIANA: We don’t know who was born first; our mother wanted only [our brother] Giorgio, then she got two more who were nine kilos! She got thrombophlebitis, so for 40 days she had her legs up, and we had wet nurses. We were born in Skopje, Macedonia, because our Italian father was a diplomat. Lydia was a terrible, rebellious child. After church, she’d go off with the orphans to queue for a piece of bread with jam. If I had new shoes, she’d want to ruin them, so she’d wipe her feet on them.
After our father died in 1939, we went back to Zara [now Zadar in Croatia], where our parents had been born. The bombing started in 1943. One day, a bomb exploded as we were coming home from church. I was the only one left standing. My mother was covered with big stones; her leg was hurt. She was saying, “My Lydia! My Lydia!” We couldn’t find Lydia for two hours. It was terrible. She was buried under two ladies. Now I am claustrophobic and Lydia is afraid of thunder.
For the next seven years, we were moved around refugee camps. When we were 18, we went to Roma, where they were making movies; Mussolini had built Cinecittà [a large film studio], like Hollywood. We were extras in three movies, including Quo Vadis with Peter Ustinov; he wrote a love letter to Lydia. They wanted to put Lydia in other movies, but my mother said, “Forget it!” She was terrified of us [being with men]. When Lydia first got married [in 1952 in Melbourne], she didn’t consummate the marriage for three days because she was so scared.
We arrived in Australia in 1951 and, after two weeks at Bonegilla migrant camp [east of Wodonga in north-east Victoria], they put Lydia and me in two beautiful villas in Toorak to learn English and nursing. We used to take a suitcase to Prahran Market and fill it with [animal] heads, tongues, tails, eyes … we ate everything. It was free because nobody bought it; the butchers thought we were crazy.
“We couldn’t find Lydia for two hours. It was terrible. She was buried under two ladies.”
I’d met Ugo in Naples and he came to Melbourne to marry me in March 1952 at St Patrick’s Cathedral. We lived in Broadmeadows in a little house that rained inside and, every Wednesday, Lydia came with a lobster. We found a magpie in the kitchen one day, so we got a blanket and caught it. We took off the feathers and boiled it, but the meat was terrible.
I had one husband and four sons and Lydia had one son and four husbands! When she married the fourth one, Lydia was crying at the altar. I said, “Lydia, were you moved?” and she said, “No, I already regret marrying this one.”
We are not similar at all. She likes a bit of a drink: scotch and champagne. I drink maybe a spoonful of Baileys in the evenings. I like blues and jazz; she likes classical. Lydia doesn’t ring anybody and nobody rings her. She’s not crazy for the clubs like me; I like bingo. To everything, at first she says, “No.” I always say, “Yes.”
Lydia lives around the corner. She comes every day at about 8am – “Do you need something, Liliana?” – then drives to Malvern Central to go shopping. At 2-2.30pm, I go to see her, then at 5.30pm she comes back with dinner for me: salmon with an egg on top. We both love Foyle’s War. I tape it and we watch it together. I love her generosity. And the closeness.
LYDIA: My mother said, “I wanted you both dead because I didn’t have any milk and the wet nurses all had syphilis”, so they imported two from overseas: I had one type of milk and Liliana another. Maybe because of this we are a bit different. I was a very naughty child – I used to run away – but Liliana was very good.
In Roma, they put ads in the paper: “Extras wanted.” It was like living in Hollywood. And we were beautiful. They used to say, “Liliana’s got a bum like a guitar and Lydia’s is like a mandolin.” The Italian men used to follow us. Our mother said, “You want sex? I’ll kill you, then I’ll kill myself!” We were terrified. She threw a knife at me once because I was talking to a Hungarian. We were virgins when we got married.
“To me, marriage wasn’t very important; it was easy come, easy go. Liliana was serious about marriage. I got tired of them.”
Sometimes, we didn’t feel very welcome in Australia; if we spoke Italian, they didn’t like us. But being nurses’ aides [the twins worked in a number of hospitals, including Caulfield Hospital] was all right; we were happy to help people. Liliana and I worked together. At Caulfield, there were 20 or 30 people on each ward and the nurse told me to wash their teeth. I got a bucket and went, “Give me your teeth, give me your teeth …” I collected all the dentures, washed them in Dettol and took them back. They said, “Those aren’t my teeth!” I didn’t know [dentures] were all different!
It was sad when Liliana went back to Italy with Ugo [for 14 years], but you get used to it. And I was busy getting married. Four times is a lot! They all died, but I divorced them, then they died. I didn’t kill them. To me, marriage wasn’t very important; it was easy come, easy go. Liliana was serious about marriage. I got tired of them. And childbirth was so terrible, I screamed and screamed; they put on a mask to shut me up. But Liliana didn’t complain. She’s stoic.
Liliana is more elegant, I’m more casual. I love animal print. I like the colour. My hair? I went to the chemist and bought a bottle of pink dye for $5. I just did it for fun. We are happiest together when we watch Foyle’s War. She tapes Judge Judy and Dr Phil, but I don’t like them. I like Diagnosis: Murder with Dick Van Dyke. And Jake and the Fatman. I like the policemen.
Liliana is beautiful, gentle and talkative; she talks, talks, talks. She asks questions all the time. I really don’t care about people. Liliana cares. All my friends have died and I haven’t made other friends. Sometimes I see a person and cross the road not to meet them; I don’t like to talk. With Liliana, I can be a silent witness. We never fight. It’s like having a good friend who never goes away. I moved here from Wollongong because I wanted to be near Liliana. She loves me, I love her. We know what we mean to each other without talking smooshy.
To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
The best of Good Weekend delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Sign up here. | https://www.smh.com.au/national/you-want-sex-i-ll-kill-you-the-capers-that-bonded-these-90-year-old-twins-20220304-p5a1pf.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national | 2022-04-01T01:53:41Z |
A pay rise for aged care workers has not been budgeted for this year, a federal minister has confirmed.
Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds says the coalition government will review any decisions by the independent regulator before committing to a pay rise for aged care workers.
"(The government) will wait for (the Fair Work Commission) to do their work, they'll make a determination, we will review it and then we will take whatever position we do after that review," she told a Senate estimates committee on Friday.
But the prime minister says the government will implement the commission's recommendation.
"It's impossible to know what that (decision) is," he told reporters in Sydney.
"The Fair Work Commission finding has to be honoured and it will be."
Greens senator Janet Rice says it's surprising the government hasn't budgeted for the pay rise when it knows the commission will be making a recommendation.
"(The government) didn't see any need to put any form of contingency in the budget to cover those increased costs," she said.
"It's pretty evident - given what we know about the low wages of aged care workers who work tirelessly and are paid a pittance - that there will be recommendations."
But Senator Reynolds says the government can't predict what those recommendations will be.
"We are many things ... but we're not mind readers in terms of what the Fair Work Commission will determine and we'll (budget) that at the appropriate time," she said.
Meanwhile, only half of aged care providers have had the $400 bonus per worker promised by the government approved.
Officials from the health department said 499 of 807 aged care service providers have had their applications for the payment approved since the bonus was announced earlier this year.
But it could take between three and six months for an audit to determine if workers haven't received the bonus, Health Department official James Benson told the committee hearing on Friday.
Before then, it will be up to workers to alert the department if they haven't received it.
Senator Rice said this shows the government is not following through on its promises.
But Health Department head Brendan Murphy says providers want to do the best thing by the workers and will apply for and pass on the payment.
Labor made aged care a key plank of its budget reply on Thursday, pledging to improve the pay of aged care workers and making a formal submission to the commission in favour of a rise. | https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/aged-care-pay-rise-not-in-federal-budget-c-6284656 | 2022-04-01T01:53:41Z |
The Nigerian Institute of Journalism on Thursday conferred a fellowship award on the Chairman, Premier Lotto, Chief Kessington Adebutu, popularly known as Baba Ijebu.
The award ceremony took place at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
The Chairman, Governing Council of NIJ, Chief Olusegun Osoba, while conferring the award, commended Adebutu for his humanitarian services in the country.
He noted that the award was approved by the International Press Institute which was made up of editors, media executives, and journalists.
“This award is of utmost importance because of the humanitarian services this wonderful gentleman has rendered to this institution and the country as a whole.
“All your contributions to the society have been deservedly noted and the IPI has approved this award for you as your contribution is genuinely appreciated.
“We hope that this will serve as a springboard for other people to take a cue from your cap and also impact the society in more ways than you have done,” he said.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State commended NIJ for maintaining its code and ethics in the teaching of journalism.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Mr. Gbenga Omotosho, Commissioner of Information and Strategy, urged well-meaning Nigerians to impact other people’s lives.
“The NIJ must be commended for the great job it has been doing in bringing up professional journalists who are knowledgeable, fearless, and abide by the rules of the profession.
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“Also, the Golden Jubilee Special Convocation for the conferment of the fellowship award must be applauded as it shows that the recipient’s contribution to the society hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Mr. Adebutu has been carrying out several humanitarian efforts for decades and he is deserving of this award, but I’m also appealing that he should not stop. He should continue to impact and improve the lives of the people,” he said.
Mr. Kessington Adebutu, recipient of the award, in his remarks, said that journalism must be given the right support to enable it to carry out its role in the society.
According to Washington, journalism plays a vital role in the lives of human beings.
“The importance of journalism cannot be overemphasized, that is why it needs all the support it can get so as to thrive well.
“The press is vital and very important because it is a major source of information which determines what happens to the society. It is essential that they get all the support they need.
“I’m very grateful for this award given to me and I promise that I wouldn’t relent in my efforts in serving the people,” he said.
Dignitaries at the event also included the Chairman, Channels Television, Mr John Momoh; Chairman of Guardian Newspapers, Mrs Maiden Alex-Ibru; Head of Lagos News Agency of Nigeria, Mr. Sheyin Ephraim, royal fathers among others.
NAN | https://punchng.com/nij-awards-premier-lotto-boss-baba-ijebu/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:41Z |
Officials say local district adheres to school bills
The Monroe County School District superintendent and the School Board members are aware of the education-related bills recently signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which affect the selection of instructional, library and reading materials in public schools and sets 12-year term limits for School Board members.
DeSantis signed HB 1467 on March 25, and followed it up March 28 by signing the controversial bill nicknamed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, officially called the Parental Rights in Education bill, which aims to keep sex education out of kindergarten through third-grade classrooms.
DeSantis sought to require school districts to be transparent in the selection of instructional materials. State officials said as a part of the Year of the Parent, this legislation aimed to preserve the rights of parents to make decisions about what materials their children are exposed to in school. In larger Florida school districts, such as Orange County, not every book is individually reviewed before it gets put on a library shelf, a news release said.
Monroe County Schools Superintendent Theresa Axford responded March 25 to the release about curriculum transparency.
“Monroe County School District has been inviting parents to participate on our selection committees for instructional materials for a number of years. We also post instructional materials under consideration on our website and then advertise public hearings on materials when the [School] Board is going to vote on a recommended textbook purchase. Parents volunteer in classrooms and at book fairs at each school. They are well aware of the instructional materials and books available to students.”
Axford added, “We have a policy in each of our media centers which creates a review panel of parents and experts if a book is questioned. We promote and want parent involvement in these decisions. Our media specialists are trained experts in juvenile and adolescent literature. If the legislation requires that they participate in additional training, we will welcome the opportunity. I think the size of our district allows more parent involvement and that is what makes us so great.”
In general, School Board Chair John Dick believes, information is shared in a timely way within the district. He said among the ways the district works with parents is by sending information home with students as well as through “ed-alert” phone calls directly to homes. He does not believe schools try to hide anything. “Perhaps occasionally a website might not be updated instantly.”
School advisory councils seek interaction with parents as well, and Dick added there is a procedure for parents wanting to react to certain materials. “We just need to keep pushing tolerance for all, and pay attention to reading, writing, arithmetic, science and health.”
“I absolutely believe in parent ownership and transparency in our schools,” said School Board member Mindy Conn. “It is important to note that for Monroe County, this bill doesn’t change most of what we have always done in the past. As a district, we have always encouraged parents to be involved in our choice of books available in the media center and instructional materials. In addition, instructional materials have always been limited to those on the State of Florida’s approved list. The bill does give increased oversight to the Commissioner of Education in that all objections will now be sent to him.”
“Furthermore, as it relates to our media centers, we are already mostly in compliance,” Conn said. “We only have to update our website to include elementary school-level books and book lists. The bill will offer additional training for our media specialists, which may be beneficial.”
Conn expressed concern about the bill limiting school board member terms to 12 years beginning with the 2022 elections.
“While I do believe in term limits, in a district as small as ours, it can often be difficult to find qualified candidates interested in running a campaign that spans our 120-mile county.”
Andy Griffiths is the longest-serving School Board member and elected official in Monroe County. His first term began in 1992. Because the clock on a term begins with the passage of this new bill and November 2022 elections, and because Griffiths was re-elected to a four-year term in 2020, if he chose to run again, he could serve through 2036 — tallying 44 years of service.
DeSantis also touted the Parental Rights in Education bill as a means to empower parents by saying sex-related topics must be taught in an age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate way for students, according to state standards. A parent could sue a district for violations.
Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran said in a news release, “Governor DeSantis has shown time and time again he is not afraid to fight for the rights of parents and understands the importance that they have a seat at the table when it comes to their child’s education. I’m grateful for the Governor’s guidance and the voices of many parents who have come forward and [for] demands that parents be seen as a partner in their child’s education.”
jzimakeys@aol.com | https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556262317759/officials-say-local-district-adheres-to-school-bills | 2022-04-01T01:53:41Z |
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Death penalty not a backward step, says Malahoo Forte
Thursday, March 31, 2022AMIDST concerns raised by rights watchdog Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) about utterances by Prime Minister Andrew Holness indicating support for the reimposition of the death penalty, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte on Wednesday said she is of the view that its reintroduction would not be a backward step, as felt in some quarters.
“I do not share the view that implementation of the death penalty would be a retrograde step,” said the legal and constitutional affairs minister, who was formerly Jamaica's attorney general. She, however, noted that her “personal view” was not to be seen as “an indication of what the Government will or will not do”.
According to Malahoo Forte, while she harbours “concern about the use of the death penalty” she was also of the opinion that, “more than anything else I do believe that when you have penalties if you are not going to use them, get rid of them; if you have them, use them”.
The minister's remarks came on the heels of observations made on Wednesday by JFJ Executive Director Mickel Jackson who, while speaking at the launch of the organisation's Annual State of Justice Report, at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew, said the entity had been concerned about those “hyperbolic utterances” from the prime minister.
The prime minister, addressing a Jamaica Labour Party conference last November, said there needs to be stiffer penalties for anyone found with a gun and that he felt so strongly about the issue that sanctions should start with the death penalty.
Capital punishment remains in the books in Jamaica but may only apply in certain aggravated murder convictions. However, there have been no executions since 1988.
“... Those in leadership must always ensure the rights of citizens are protected and the principles of our democracy upheld. It is for that reason that JFJ was in fact concerned last year around the hyperbolic utterances that would have been made around proposed legislation that would see the death penalty imposed for gun offences”.
“We say that any imposition of the death penalty would not only be a regressive step in a maturing democracy, but one ultimately would see no reduction in crime,” Jackson argued on Wednesday.
In the meantime, she said while the JFJ welcomes legislative reforms for crime management, “the proposed harsh penalties and mandatory minimum sentencing for illegal possession of firearms, in our estimation, may very well disproportionately affect the marginalised young people some of whom are being recruited for gangs, some of whom would have lost their opportunities for education”.
“In our estimation, we believe that removing the court's discretion for determining appropriate punishment without considering the facts of the case or the circumstance of the offender is a cause for concern and may very well undermine the very thing we are trying to achieve,” she declared.
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes earlier this month said Parliament's decision to introduce a new Firearms Act making it so that anyone convicted of illegal possession of a firearm must serve a minimum 15 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole was, “quite a rational and reasonable response to the growing problem for a country that does not manufacture firearms”. But he was not as forthcoming about the Parliament's move to curtail the discretion of judges in meting out sentences.
“I'm not going to get into whether the legislature is wrong or right, but just to say it seems as if there has been a level of disquiet with how the judiciary has been dealing with firearm offences. So, parliamentarians as they are, are entitled to do, have taken a different view of the matter and decided to reduce the discretion that the trial judge has in some instances. Whether they are right or wrong, is neither here nor there at this point, it is just what is,” the chief justice said.
The Bill, which was tabled by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, will be reviewed by a joint select committee of the House and Senate.
Previously, it was left up to judges to determine how much time a convict would spend behind bars as there was no minimum sentence. The maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the old law will be retained in the new legislation.
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74-year-old shoots teen during home invasion, police say
AKRON, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - Police investigators in Ohio say a 74-year-old man shot a teen suspect during a home invasion attempt early Tuesday morning.
Officers were dispatched to the home invasion just before 7:30 a.m. Tuesday on Johnston Street in Akron, Ohio, according to police. A 16-year-old boy was found inside the home with multiple gunshot wounds.
According to detectives, the homeowner told police that he discharged his gun during a confrontation with the teen, who forced entry into his home, striking him multiple times.
The 74-year-old homeowner, who identified himself to WOIO as “Lurch,” was not injured.
“I heard this hellacious crash, and he comes running right through my front door,” he said.
The homeowner said he was half asleep on his couch, but he had his gun close by. When the suspect did not leave, he opened fire.
“He dives down the basement as I put lead in him going down the steps,” he said.
Paramedics took the 16-year-old to Akron Children’s Hospital in stable condition.
“Those shots were good,” Lurch said during an interview. “I don’t like people breaking into my home.”
Police are still investigating the incident and will release any information on criminal charges at a later time.
Asked about the possibility of facing charges, Lurch said he can’t imagine why he would.
“I better not. I am in my own home, and he breaks into it,” he said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Akron Police detectives at 330-375-2490.
Copyright 2022 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wtok.com/2022/03/30/74-year-old-shoots-teen-during-home-invasion-police-say/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:41Z |
Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis Signs Legislation Extending Statewide Eviction Protections
Acting Governor Kounalakis becomes the first woman in state history to sign a piece of legislation into law
State’s $5.5 billion rent relief program, the largest in the nation, has assisted more than 220,000 low-income households
SACRAMENTO – On the final day of Women’s History Month, Acting Governor Eleni Kounalakis today signed legislation that extends eviction protections for Californians participating in rental assistance programs, making her the first woman in California’s history to sign a piece of legislation into law.
“California’s nation-leading rent relief program has provided much needed relief for more than 220,000 households across the state. Today’s action will provide additional time to thousands more who are in the process of acquiring emergency relief,” said Acting Governor Kounalakis. “I am deeply humbled to take this action and to be part of history today as the first woman in state history to sign legislation into law. I remain more determined than ever to ensure that while I may be the first to do so, I will certainly not be the last.”
AB 2179 by Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) extends eviction protections through June 30, 2022 to help ensure housing stability for eligible tenants who apply for assistance from state or local rental assistance programs by March 31, 2022.
“California is leading the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic, and we’re committed to ensuring all of our communities can access the supports they need to get back on their feet,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Today’s action preserves important protections so that struggling families can keep a roof over their heads as the state works to provide critical assistance to thousands of households across California.”
Acting Governor Kounalakis was joined today by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Assemblymembers Grayson and Wicks, Senator Josh Becker, and Assemblymember Blanca Rubio.
Acting Governor Kounalakis signs AB 2179. Standing left to right: Assemblymember Rubio, Assemblymember Wicks, Speaker Rendon, Pro Tem Atkins, Assemblymember Grayson, and Senator Becker.
California’s $5.5 billion COVID-19 Rent Relief program is the largest statewide renter assistance program in the country and covers 100 percent of past-due rent payments for qualified low-income Californians. The state program has to date assisted more than 220,000 low-income households, with thousands of additional households assisted by local rent relief programs. Under the state program, tenants can access rental funds directly if their landlord chooses not to participate, and landlords can receive compensation even if their otherwise income-qualified tenants have already vacated a unit. Additional program information is available at the Housing Is Key website.
Acting Governor Kounalakis today also signed SB 504 by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), which will allow military and overseas voters and voters with disabilities to complete a same day voter registration and cast a ballot. Additionally, it provides the Secretary of State more accurate voter rolls and streamlines the process for the state’s universal vote by mail system by removing a number of unnecessary provisions.
For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
### | https://www.einpresswire.com/article/567179418/acting-governor-eleni-kounalakis-signs-legislation-extending-statewide-eviction-protections | 2022-04-01T01:53:42Z |
What Does Kirby Smart Expect to See From the Quarterbacks?
Even with Stetson Bennett being the heavy favorite to take the starting job at quarterback when Georgia opens the season in September against Oregon, following a national championship in 2021, but that does not mean Bennett will win the job without being challenged by the other quarterbacks on the roster.
Through the first full two weeks of spring practice and now almost through the third, it is being well documented that all three of Georgia's returning quarterbacks from last season's team are receiving various looks throughout practice.
According to sources, Bennett is not the only quarterback receiving reps with the first-team offense. Both redshirt sophomore Carson Beck and redshirt freshman Brock Vandagriff are getting reps with the first-team offense so far.
As some will point out, it is not uncommon, as just like the fall, spring practice is an evaluation period for coaches, especially at the quarterback position. Last season showed the importance of making sure the starter at quarterback is not the only one receiving reps with the first team, as if the first option goes down with an injury as JT Daniels did, it is next man up just like any other position.
With this in mind, Smart told the media on Thursday evening, what exactly he is looking for in the next half of spring practice from the quarterbacks.
“I want to see them execute the offense. Overcome mistakes. There will be some adversity out there.
- Kirby Smart on what he wants to see out of the quarterbacks
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Smart even added last week that he'd like to see improvement from Bennett when it comes to some of his "bonehead decisions" and errant throws that got him in trouble at times in the past.
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(Maryville) -- The Maryville boys picked up a win over Falls City in the only golf action on Thursday in KMAland.
The Spoofhounds shot a 177 to Falls City’s 216, getting a pair of 39s from Jacob Scott and Trevin Cunningham. Ethan Scott had a 48, Jack Dinsdale finished with a 51 and Dylan Groomer posted a 52 for Maryville.
Falls City’s Lindsey McNeely had a 51 to lead. Elyse Poppe had a 52, Christina Gilkerson carded a 55 and Carson Simon and Royce Farmer finished with a 58 and 61, respectively, for the Tigers. | https://www.kmaland.com/sports/kmaland-golf-3-31-maryville-boys-post-177-in-win-over-falls-city/article_10a4c778-b15c-11ec-baf6-f71e75ba3dea.html | 2022-04-01T01:53:45Z |
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By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams had relief on their faces as they headed straight from the stadium for a charter jet to Europe and weekend club games.
“This is whatever I’ve always wanted to be, and right now emotions are a bit crazy,” Pulisic said, his voice quavering.
Coach Gregg Berhalter had rushed out for a red-eye to New York and a 12½-hour connecting flight to Friday’s World Cup draw (9 a.m. PT, FS1) in Doha, Qatar.
Recovering from the past and preparing for the future intertwined as the United States clinched a return to the World Cup.
For Pulisic, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta and Paul Arriola, all on that doomed American team at Trinidad 4½ years earlier, the pain had not gone away until now. The 2-0 loss to Costa Rica on Wednesday night was deflating, but by the time players entered the locker room of Estadio Nacional, focus turned to the accomplishment of clinching a return to soccer’s showcase for the first time since 2014.
Erik Palmer-Brown started popping open the Duet Mousseux Brut even as Berhalter was giving his speech. Then the new JBL Boombox 2 got to blare.
“We’re the youngest team to ever qualify for the World Cup, youngest U.S. team, and we’ll be the youngest team at the World Cup,” Berhalter said. ”That’s an accomplishment for these guys. It really is.”
They had traveled 25,042 miles on charters – circling the globe adds up to only 24,901 – making four trips to Central America, plus one each to Mexico, Canada and Jamaica, plus up to five trans-Atlantic round trips. Forty-four players were called in, of which 38 took the field. In all, 114 players have been used since Trinidad, 88 since Berhalter was hired in December 2018.
Pulisic had buried his face in his hands at Couva, wiping away tears.
“That was one of the toughest days of my life. I’ll never forget it,” he recalled. “Now to be in this position – qualified for a World Cup, we’re all extremely proud.”
Berhalter admitted the pressure was omnipresent.
“The public was on edge. They desperately wanted us to make it,” he said.
All of 23, Pulisic, Adams and Weston McKennie are the team leaders. Right back Sergiño Dest and left back Antonee Robinson became offensive threats. Gio Reyna, at 19, emerged as a budding star, just like his dad three decades earlier.
“Now we have to test ourselves against the best players in the world, the best teams in the world,” Adams said. “This was only the first stage in our development.”
Berhalter is among a 12-person U.S. Soccer Federation attending the draw, mapping out Qatar plans for a tournament that opens Nov. 21, in the middle of European club seasons.
Four games are likely in June, two in the CONCACAF Nations League and two exhibitions, followed by a pair of friendlies in September, possibly in Europe. Major League Soccer players may have a domestic training camp before the tournament.
And if the U.S. winds up in Groups E through G, which don’t start play until Nov. 24-25, the Americans might train in Europe for several days and have one more exhibition before heading to the Middle East.
“The starting point is getting out of the group,” Berhalter said.
USSF staff locked down hotel and training arrangements on Oct. 1, 2019, the day the portal opened, putting the team in an optimum logistical situation.
Berhalter presumes form will change between now and November, causing roster churn. He was impressed with the growth over 14 qualifiers in temperatures that ranged from minus-3 degrees in St. Paul, Minnesota, and 85 degrees in Austin, Texas.
“I think we improved our pressing,” he said. “But we’re going to continue to evolve and to continue to improve. The 4-3-3 system, as it’s been good for us, we might work with some other systems just to have some flexibility in the World Cup. I think it’s important to see who we are playing and start planning out how we can be successful there.”
For all the positive feelings, the U.S. dropped to third among eight nations in CONCACAF, behind Canada and Mexico. If not for last week’s 0-0 draw at Mexico, the Americans would have finished fourth and wound up in a June playoff against New Zealand.
“The easy part is over, and now we focus on this draw,” said defender Walker Zimmerman, who rose like a rocket from initially off the roster in October to starting nine of the past 11 games. “Ultimately just focus on staying fit, staying healthy, performing for our clubs.”
Forward remains a concern. After scoring three goals over two games last fall, Ricardo Pepi has gone scoreless in 19 games for club and country. Strikers produced just four of the Americans’ 21 goals, with Jesús Ferreira getting the other.
“We’re hoping that one of our 9s gets into a good form by the time the World Cup comes around,” Berhalter said Thursday during a layover at JFK International Airport.
Midfielders and wingers have been the engine, with Pulisic scoring five of the team’s 21 goals, and McKennie, Brenden Aaronson and Robinson two each.
“We can do a lot of damage, man,” Pulisic said. “We’re a confident bunch of guys and I think that country will get behind us and we’re going to give everything we got.”
“I just like the fight of his team and I think we have a lot of quality, as well,” he added. “I think we can be a force going into the World Cup.”
FIFA SETS DRAW SEEDINGS
The U.S. team received a boost for the World Cup draw and Canada took a hit in Thursday’s updated FIFA rankings.
The Americans, who failed to qualify for the last World Cup, will be in Pot 2 after being ranked 15th in the world.
Canada, which won the CONCACAF group and will play at the tournament for the first time in 36 years, missed a chance for a rankings boost by losing at Panama, 1-0, in its final qualifier.
Instead, Canada will be among the lowest-seeded teams in Pot 4.
The eight groups for the tournament in Qatar will be drawn Friday from four pots.
Qatar gets the top-seeded slot given to the World Cup host nation despite being ranked No. 51.
The other top-seeded teams are Brazil, Belgium, defending champion France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal.
Brazil took over as the No. 1 team from Belgium, the first change at the top in three years. Sixth-ranked Italy is the only team from the top 10 that failed to qualify.
Besides the United States, Pot 2 includes Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Uruguay, Switzerland and Croatia, while in Pot 3 it’s Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea and Tunisia.
Three of the 32 entries are still unknown because qualifying hasn’t been completed. Those three entries have all been placed in Pot 4 regardless of the rankings of the teams involved. No. 18 Wales is the highest-ranked of the eight teams left in the playoffs.
The rest of Pot 4 includes Cameroon Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and Ghana along with Canada.
Teams from the same continent will be placed in different groups, except for some Europeans.
Europe has 13 teams in the tournament and five of the eight groups will each get two teams from the continent. The other three groups each get one European team.
Qatar will kick off its home World Cup in the opening game of Group A on Nov. 21. The final is scheduled for Dec. 18 – the host’s National Day. | https://www.sgvtribune.com/2022/03/31/relieved-more-than-joyful-usmnt-turns-attention-to-world-cup-draw-preparation/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:45Z |
WINSTED — The Laurel City Commission announced that application packets for the 88th Annual Laurel Festival are now available through their page at townofwinchester.org.
The Laurel Ball is scheduled for June 4 at East End Park, with the Family Fun Day scheduled for June 5.
Tickets for this year's Laurel Ball are already available and may be purchased by emailing Melissa at: melissa.oiseau@gmail.com
The Laurel Festival dates back to 1934 with the crowning of Gladys Weaving in a ceremony held in the Central School auditorium. The contest was suspended between 1941 and 1949 because of World War II. The community of Winchester typically celebrates with its abundant Mountain Laurel, the native state flower of Connecticut.
Over time, Winsted has traditionally celebrated with a parade including floats for each Laurel Festival contestant, a Family Fun Day, and the Laurel Ball. Check out the Laurel Commission's Facebook page for more information or to volunteer with this long celebrated community affair, or go to www.townofwinchester.org/laurel-city-commission
Fundraiser benefits Quilts that Care
WATERBURY — A fundraising dinner on Thursday, April 14 will benefit the nonprofit, Quilts that Care, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization based in Waterbury, which makes and donates quilts to cancer patients at 15 Connecticut facilities. Its mission is to “wrap cancer patients and their families in comfort and hope, one quilt at a time.”
The group was founded in April 2012 by Deborah and Robert Van Steenbergen and a handful of friends. It has more than 60 volunteers dedicated to helping individuals undergoing cancer treatment know that they are not alone. This year is QTC’s 10th anniversary, having donated nearly 4,600 quilts overall.
“The fundraiser at the Ponti Club helps the brick and mortar aspect of QTC,” said Maura G. Yerger, Quilts that Care vice-president. “We have grants for machines and batting, and fabric often is donated in droves. However, QTC needs a place to house the vast amount of fabric, batting and sewing machines needed for 600 quilts annually.”
The four-course dinner will be at the Pontelandolfo Club at La Bella Vista, 380 Farmwood Road. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a cash bar. Dinner is at 6:30. The cost is $35. Reservations, by mentioning Quilts that Care, can be made by calling La Bella Vista at 203-527-4066.
Morris car show coming up in May
MORRIS — Morris Car Show on the Green will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. May 28. Admission is $10 per vehicle, free to spectators, with donations welcome. The event is a collaboration of Morris Beach & Recreation and the Morris Fire Company.
There are no cutoffs: all makes and models are welcome. Morris Town Green is located adjacent to the Morris Fire Company at the intersection of Routes 109 and 61. Motorcycles and Tractors welcome. There will be trophies, music, food, raffles and a 50/50.
Area charity will use grant to help Haiti’s poor
SALISBURY — Hispañola Health Partners, a charity strengthening healthcare structures along the Haitian-Dominican border, has been awarded a grant from the Chrysalis Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, according to a statement.
Now in its eighth year of partnering with local leaders in Southeastern Haiti, funds from this grant will allow HHP to secure and expand their “building from the ground up” initiative in this dramatically underserved region. Over that timeframe, HHP has built and opened a clinic fully staffed by Haitian personnel that provides access to a broad range of healthcare services heretofore unavailable in the remote region, members said.
Salisbury resident and cofounder of Hispañola Health Partners Louise Lindenmeyr said, “in the wake of the passing of global health giant Paul Farmer, whose ground breaking work with Partners in Health inspired us to found HHP in 2013, we are energized to continue with our mission. We are grateful to the Chrysalis Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation for their recognition of our efforts to bring equitable healthcare to the poor people of this harsh and neglected corner of the world.” | https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Winsted-s-Laurel-Festival-set-for-June-4-5-17049886.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:45Z |
Customer-facing departments participated in expert-led educational sessions, underscoring commitment to promoting responsible gambling habits
DENVER, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third year in a row, PointsBet and its employees participated in Problem Gambling Awareness Month, a national campaign designed to increase awareness of problem gambling and offer prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
In the spirit of this year's theme, Awareness + Action, PointsBet hosted educational sessions for all its customer-facing departments. The trainings were designed to generate awareness of problem gambling and empower staff with clear strategies on how to identify and address problem gambling. Sessions were led in consultation with department heads to ensure staff would have a clear understanding of how their roles uniquely position them to recognize problem gambling red flags through a path of escalation regarding observed red flags.
"Responsible and problem gambling education for our staff is far more than just fulfilling a regulatory requirement," said Johnny Aitken, PointsBet USA Chief Executive Officer. "It is about sparking genuine dialogue and empowering our teams to discuss responsible gambling with our customers. We are proud to participate in Problem Gambling Awareness Month for the third consecutive year and look forward to our continued support of this important initiative in the years to come."
This month's trainings were part of an ongoing responsible gambling education plan, which includes an introductory level training for all new hires as part of the onboarding process, lived experience training, and responsible gambling presentations delivered during company-wide town hall meetings.
About PointsBet
PointsBet is a corporate bookmaker listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with operations in Australia, the United States, Canada and Ireland. PointsBet has developed a scalable cloud-based wagering platform through which it offers its clients innovative sports and racing wagering products, advance deposit wagering on racing (ADW) and iGaming.
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SOURCE PointsBet | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/pointsbet-increases-internal-responsible-gambling-education-initiatives-during-problem-gambling-awareness-month/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:45Z |
Family of seven handed keys to new Habitat for Humanity home
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After four years in Canada, Kamango David Selemani said he finally feels like he’s settling into the country now that his family of seven owns their own home.
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The father of five who emigrated from Mozambique with wife Helena Eninga in 2018 received the keys to a house in Ford City on Friday — a house they and an army of volunteers with Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex built.
“My kids have been dreaming about this and I think it’s a big achievement,” an exuberant Selemani said moments before cutting the ribbon on his St. Luke Road home.
“I shouldn’t afford such a house — when a friend of mine told me about Habitat, I thought it was just a joke.”
Smiles plastered on their faces, the Selemani-Eninga children, ages three to 12, hopped up the steps to their new home to join their parents during the morning dedication ceremony, which celebrated Habitat’s 76th locally housed family.
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“Our vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live, and we are truly fortunate to do this work with partners at a city who shares this vision,” said Fiona Coughlin, Habitat executive director and CEO.
“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we have the resources to get rid of it.”
The Selemani-Eninga family will pay a geared-to-income mortgage with zero interest and zero down payment. Each payment will go into Habitat for Humanity’s build fund — “so each homeowner is literally paying for the next house to be built, and building equity in their house at the same time,” Coughlin said. In the build process, the family put in 500 volunteer hours in five weeks while working full-time jobs.
“We don’t build for people. We build with people,” she said. “There’s so much pride in that.”
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While celebrating the Selemani-Eninga family’s new home, Coughlin announced a significant contribution had been made to Habitat. Together with an anonymous donor, Gerald Chevalier — who donated the land on St. Luke Road where the Selemani-Eninga’s home and three neighbouring Habitat homes stand — will match donations to Habitat up to $200,000. That money will help build three homes a few streets over on Henry Ford Centre Drive, including on a lot previously occupied by a boarded-up “eyesore” that Habitat tore down.
Through a partnership with the University of Windsor, Habitat for Humanity will build Canada’s first 3D printed home — a fourplex — this year.
“There is no doubt that many wonderful memories will be made in this place that you now call home,” said Ward 5 Coun. Ed Sleiman.
“You will soon learn that this community is like no other and has a long-standing tradition of coming together and often caring and looking out for one another.”
To donate to Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex, visit habitatwindsor.org. The non-profit is also supported through purchases made at Habitat’s ReStore (51 Edinborough St.) in Windsor, which sells new and used materials donated by businesses and individuals. | https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/family-of-seven-handed-keys-to-new-habitat-for-humanity-home | 2022-04-01T01:53:46Z |
Labor has accused the federal government of stacking a workplace tribunal with "cronies" in the lead up to the federal election.
Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash has declined to rule out making further appointments to the Fair Work Commission before the government enters caretaker mode, arguing it's still governing.
In a heated exchange during Senate estimates on Friday, Labor senator Louise Pratt pressed the minister on whether the government would appoint more "cronies" to the commission.
Senator Cash said the government was continuing to operate.
"That is a decision for government, and the government will make decisions as required," she said.
"I could not be clearer."
Senator Cash disagreed with Labor's claim the government had appointed "cronies" to the commission.
"These are highly qualified people with relevant expertise in the necessary area," she said.
"So I do reject the premise of your question."
On Friday, Senator Cash announced the appointments of a number of judges.
Two new FWC members were appointed in December.
A government official told the hearing there were currently 43 commissioners or higher level members, with funding for 44.
The election is due in May and could be called as early as next week. | https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/labor-challenges-cash-on-fwc-cronies-c-6284968 | 2022-04-01T01:53:47Z |
NSW adds 331 previously unreported deaths to COVID-19 toll
By Mary Ward
Health authorities have added more than 300 deaths to the state’s COVID-19 toll following a review of data from Births, Deaths and Marriages, including 66 people who died from the virus in the home.
The 331 previously unreported deaths, which were certified by a doctor on the person’s death certificate as being caused by or contributed to by COVID-19, were added on Thursday.
NSW has now recorded 2433 deaths from COVID-19, including two – a man in his 50s from western NSW and a man in his 70s from the Central Coast, both with significant underlying health conditions – reported on Friday.
Of the previously unreported deaths, 270 occurred this year, 58 in 2021 and three were deaths from 2020, in the first year of the pandemic.
There were 131 previously unreported deaths in aged care facilities (39.6 per cent of the missing deaths). Another 98 (29.6 per cent) occurred in public hospitals, 66 (19.9 per cent) occurred at the person’s home and 22 (6.6 per cent) occurred in private hospitals.
“COVID-19 related deaths are notified to NSW Health from a range of sources, including public and private hospitals, aged care facilities, and the Coroner,” the ministry said in a statement, noting it was “usually” automatically notified when a death from COVID-19 occurred in a public hospital.
“To ensure NSW COVID-19 mortality data is as robust as possible, NSW Health has been cross-checking these deaths with all those identified in death certificates by the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages during this period.”
The deaths followed a similar geographic distribution to those authorities were already aware of. Thirty per cent – 102 deaths – occurred in South Western Sydney Local Health District, where about a quarter of the state’s virus deaths have been recorded.
In a report released by NSW Health on Thursday providing further information about the previously unreported deaths, the ministry said processes had been put in place such that deaths certified by a doctor as caused by COVID-19 would now be included in its figures.
“For people where an expected death occurred at home, for example an elderly person with significant underlying health conditions or people receiving palliative care, the doctor may not have reported the death through any channels other than the [registry],” the report stated.
“As many of the deaths occurred recently, and there is sometimes a delay between a death occurring and it being reported to NSW Health, it is possible that NSW Health would have received a report of the death through the usual channels, but at a later date.”
NSW Health was aware of a positive test result for 256 of the 331 deaths, but did not receive a report of death. It did not have a record of a positive test result for the remaining 75.
The report said health authorities “do not yet know the details of why” the additional deaths in hospitals and aged care facilities had not been reported.
“It is known that some infections may have been identified by a rapid antigen test that was not registered with Service NSW and some may have had a diagnosis based on testing performed outside of NSW, or based on a clinical diagnosis without a laboratory test,” the report read.
“In some cases, it is possible the facilities may have assumed the death was already reported by another authority. Some deaths were associated with other significant conditions such as end-stage cancer or significant neurological conditions.”
NSW Health also plans to use excess mortality data over the pandemic to further assess the impact of the virus on the community.
There were 25,495 new local COVID-19 cases reported in NSW on Friday. The number of people in hospital who are COVID-positive is trending up: there are 1345 cases admitted to hospital including 43 in intensive care.
Stay across the most crucial developments related to the pandemic with the Coronavirus Update. Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter. | https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nsw-adds-331-previously-unreported-deaths-to-covid-19-toll-20220401-p5a9zh.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national_nsw | 2022-04-01T01:53:47Z |
Who is Madison Cawthorn, the freshman congressman causing headline chaos for the GOP?
By Rachel Janfaza, Melanie Zanona, Manu Raju, Alex Rogers and Marshall Cohen, CNN
Rep. Madison Cawthorn — the freshman Republican representing North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives — has in recent weeks become the center of chaos within the GOP.
At 26 years old, the youngest member of Congress has sparked uproar in the Republican Party after claiming on a podcast that people in Washington have invited him to participate in orgies and used cocaine in front of him — the latest incident in a string of controversies surrounding Cawthorn that include calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug” and the Ukrainian government “incredibly evil.”
The comments from the political newcomer, who faced charges in March for driving with a revoked license for the second time in five years, have drawn the ire of members of his own party.
CNN reported on Wednesday that Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina is throwing his weight behind one of Cawthorn’s primary opponent — an extraordinary broadside against a fellow Republican from his home state, as internal frustration with the controversial MAGA firebrand reaches a boiling point.
According to multiple sources familiar with the discussions, other GOP lawmakers who are at their wits’ end with Cawthorn are also considering endorsing one of his challengers, amid growing concerns that the North Carolina Republican is dragging down the entire party with his problematic behavior.
Ahead of the Tar Heel State’s May 17 primary, Cawthorn is facing a number of opponents, including: state Sen. Chuck Edwards, whom Tillis said he is endorsing; Michele Woodhouse, a self-described “business-woman and political activist”; Bruce O’Connell, a hotel and restaurant operator; Rod Honeycutt, a retired US Army colonel; Matthew Burril, a businessman and local economic leader; and Wendy Nevarez, a Navy veteran.
Cawthorn’s challengers are trying to take advantage of his numerous controversies, including his speech on January 6, 2021, in which he urged those at then-President Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally to contest the election.
Controversial from the start
Cawthorn — who was partially paralyzed in a 2014 car accident and was the owner of a real estate investment company as well as a motivational speaker prior to his time on Capitol Hill — caused contention even before entering the halls of Congress.
In 2020, he scored a stunning political upset when he won the GOP nomination for the House seat of then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, despite Trump endorsing one of his GOP primary opponents.
After winning the primary runoff, the young Republican — who turned 25 before the general election, making him eligible to serve in the House — received the backing of Trump and was lauded for his charisma and appeal to younger voters.
“He’s 24-years-old, he’s dynamic, he was able to articulate the ability to reach out to younger voters. I’ve heard him referred to by some as ‘The AOC of the right.’ I don’t know if that’ll borne out to be true, but I do think that the generational piece is key here as well,” Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, said after Cawthorn’s primary victory.
But CNN reported that Cawthorn went on the defensive after photos of a 2017 trip to Adolf Hitler’s vacation house surfaced on Instagram. He wrote that the visit had been on his “bucket list for awhile” and “did not disappoint.”
Allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct made against Cawthorn by several women when he was in college also surfaced after he began his political career. For his part, Cawthorn has said, “I have never done anything sexually inappropriate in my life.”
Election lies
Cawthorn has become closely allied with Trump and voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Since then, however, the North Carolina congressman has contradicted himself when it comes to his statements on the 2020 election.
In January 2021, Cawthorn admitted that there was no fraud in the 2020 election after he voted to sustain the objection to electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania when Congress met to certify then-President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“Yes, I think I would say that the election was not fraudulent,” he told CNN at the time. “You know, the Constitution allowed for us to be able to push back as much as we could and I did that to the amount of the constitutional limits that I had at my disposal. So now I would say that Joseph R. Biden is our president.”
Yet last August, Cawthorn suggested there could be “bloodshed” over future elections as he pushed false claims about election security and voter fraud.
Speaking at a North Carolina county GOP event, Cawthorn repeated the lie about US election systems being “rigged” and “stolen,” something he said would “lead to one place, and that’s bloodshed” if it continued.
“And I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there’s nothing that I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American. And the way that we can have recourse against that is if we all passionately demand that we have election security in all 50 states,” the North Carolina Republican said at the time.
Cawthorn spokesman Luke Ball told CNN in a statement at the time, “Congressman Cawthorn is CLEARLY advocating for violence not to occur over election integrity questions.”
“He fears others would erroneously choose that route and strongly states that election integrity issues should be resolved peacefully and never through violence,” Ball said.
Ball maintained in August that “Congressman Cawthorn’s views on the 2020 election have remained consistent.”
In Feburary, Cawthorn filed a lawsuit to shut down efforts by liberal activists to disqualify him from running for Congress because of his role in the January 6 insurrection. Cawthorn spoke at Trump’s January 6, 2021, rally and posted militant tweets in the run-up to the attack on the US Capitol.
In their challenge, lawyers for the group Free Speech For People said Cawthorn essentially aided and abetted the insurrection, and should be disqualified from office because he “was involved in efforts to intimidate Congress and the Vice President into rejecting valid electoral votes and subvert the essential constitutional function of an orderly and peaceful transition of power.”
A federal judge in early March shut down the legal challenge to Cawthorn’s candidacy, but the liberal activists, legal scholars and anti-Trump Republicans who oppose Cawthorn asked the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to step in and revive their challenge.
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CNN’s Daniel Dale, Kate Sullivan, Dianne Gallagher, Kelly Mena, Caroline Kenny and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report. | https://ktvz.com/politics/cnn-us-politics/2022/03/31/who-is-madison-cawthorn-the-freshman-congressman-causing-headline-chaos-for-the-gop/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:46Z |
FHC Investments finds second gear
Thursday, March 31, 2022WITH FHC Investments Limited (FHCIL) admitted to the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) as a member dealer and having a brokerage licence in hand, the budding firm is looking to scale its operations in 2022 as it plans to make a bigger splash in the trillion-dollar financial services industry.
The licensed securities dealer is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Heritage Co-operative (FHC) Credit Union Limited and was incorporated on November 25, 2009. FHCIL is licensed by the Financial Services Commission as a pension administrator and investment manager. Apart from the management of FHC's Pension Gold product, the broker offers fixed income products, portfolio management services to retail and corporate clients plus stock trading.
“It is a major milestone for us primarily because we believe in helping our members and clients along their financial life journey. They would start out with the regular savings, then transition to the consumer loans and they get to that stage of life whether it is a house or making an investment and retirement plan. We have had a number of those products, but this better positions us to guide our members throughout that financial journey and get them to financial freedom that they so deserve,” stated General Manager Karlene Mullings in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
Mullings was recruited to lead FHC in July 2020 after she spent seven years at VM Wealth Management Limited as its head of sales and client relations.
FHCIL recorded a net surplus of $24.07 million in 2019 which was quite a step up from the $3.42 million generated in 2018. The firm's assets under management (AUM) also stood at $4.70 billion with a return on equity of 17.84 per cent, a steady rise from the $1.4 billion in 2013.
Despite the global downturn in 2020, FHCIL only experienced a $5.23-million loss relative to the budgeted loss $18 million. It also recorded AUM of $4.68 billion and saw the membership in the approved retirement scheme grow to 4,690 members.
As the equity market rebounds, FHCIL is looking forward to expanding its client base through the eleven-branch network of FHC. As a broker, FHC can directly process trades for clients rather than use a third party. FHCIL was approved by the JSE in July 2021 and made its first five trades on Monday, March 28.
“Just based on the process, that indicative approval would have been received then, but we would have had to satisfy a number of requirements in terms of evidencing how we would have prepared ourselves to operationalise it. From a structural perspective, we were able to tick a lot of the boxes to say yes, we are fit and proper to have this licence, but we would had to set up the operational structure over the last number of months to be able to do our first trade yesterday [March 28],” said CEO of FHC Roxann Linton. Linton also serves as FHCIL's company secretary.
Mullings remarked that the JSE said FHCIL's timeline was quite aggressive, but she was proud of her team nonetheless in achieving the goal.
FHC is the result of the merger between Churches Co-operative Credit Union and GSB Co-operative Credit Union in August 2012 and the St Thomas Co-operative Credit Union Limited in March 2015. FHC has over 200,000 members across the island.
FHCIL has five investment advisors who move from branch to branch with two traders onboarded and a third joining the operation shortly. FHCIL is currently located at 20 Dominica Drive, Kingston 5 and only requires $10,000 for someone to open an equity account along with the usual know your customer documents. As the year progresses, FHCIL will be having specials to new and existing members of FHC.
In FHC's 2020 annual report, it was stated that FHCIL was looking to expand its product offering in 2021 through the acquisition of a unit trust licence from the FSC. Though Mullings couldn't comment on the progress of the licence, she said, “We have a number of strategic goals and other things we're looking to rollout. Naturally, some will take longer than others, but we're at the stage where not able to speak about it. Expect more from us and we're going to be moving online.”
FHCIL is currently upgrading its website and spending heavy on the digital infrastructure needs to give its clients flexibility in carrying out their business. Mullings indicated that a timeline was set for later this year to allow for online trading for members. The JSE's Jtraderpro platform currently has 10 brokers connected with one of the other 14 brokers set to join in short order.
FHCIL is the second credit union affiliated broker after Cumax Wealth Management Limited which was formerly known as Credit Union Fund Management Limited up to March 2021. Cumax is a broker on Jtraderpro and offers unit trust products. Ideal Securities Broker Limited was approved as a member dealer on the JSE in November 2021.
“The credit union would have upgraded its core banking system on February 1. We have a modern banking system and looking to really enhance the products and services we offer to our members. We're looking at ways to make our services to our members more convenient, simpler and looking for other solutions that will make the experience more memorable and delightful at FHC. It has been our strategic intent over a number of years and over the last year and a half, Mrs Mullings was able to lead the team in getting this done. We're very proud at this point because of what we'll be able to do in terms of greater service for members,” Linton closed.
“We're always looking to be dynamic and stay abreast of the market which has gone through a number of changes over the last decade. We do have some more products in the pipeline that we're looking to rollout in the coming months,” Mullings ended.
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Rescued bottlenose dolphin doing well in Florida Keys
Transported from Texas in a special JET ICU air ambulance to the Florida Keys late last week, a rehabilitated juvenile bottlenose dolphin has become the Marathon-based Dolphin Research Center’s newest resident.
The dolphin, dubbed Ranger, is doing well and getting acclimated to new surroundings and people, according to marine mammal experts at the center.
The orphaned male calf was rescued in June last year, after being discovered stranded in waters around Goose Island State Park in Texas suffering from an underlying respiratory infection and dehydration. Found near his dead mother, the dolphin was taken to the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center for care.
At just 2 years old, he was deemed too young to forage and survive in the wild, and the National Marine Fisheries Service selected DRC as a permanent home.
“We provide sanctuary for any dolphins in need of a forever home,” said Linda Erb, the DRC’s vice president of animal care and training. “So when we adopt dolphins, they stay in our family forever.”
“Now what happened with Ranger when he stranded is they determined he could not be released back to the wild, he was too young, so they looked for a permanent home, and we were one of the facilities that volunteered,” Erb said.
“So, Ranger is not eligible to be released, and that’s something that the government determines,” Erb said. “He did not have the ability to survive in the wild. They determined that if they put him back in the wild without a family and friends to help him learn that skill, he wouldn’t survive.”
DRC staff will continue to help Ranger thrive with skilled care at his new forever home, strengthening the animal-human caregiver bond that Texas rescuers forged.
Sarah Zigmond, operations coordinator for Texas State Aquarium, has developed a very deep, special connection with the young animal.
“I’ve been with Ranger since his rescue on June 18 [of 2021], so I’ve been with him that entire time working on him, acclimating him to his new home working with humans, and so to see the culmination of his entire rescue and rehabilitation come to fruition in his new forever home made me quite emotional, but it was all happy emotions, very happy emotions,” Zigmond said.
After an initial monitoring period in a medical quarantine pool to build up his immune system, Ranger is to slowly be introduced to other resident dolphins and acclimate to the facility’s dolphin lagoons in Florida Bay.
“Ranger is doing just fabulously here at DRC,” said Erb. “He’s eating like a champ. He’s interacting and playing with his toys, and he’s actually started to make more sounds. I think he hears our dolphins during the day, so he’s making all kinds of sounds in air, which is really fun to see.” | https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556262328291/rescued-bottlenose-dolphin-doing-well-in-florida-keys | 2022-04-01T01:53:47Z |
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For $50 an hour, you can be a personal assistant for a “high-net-worth” Stanford student, which sounds like good work if you can get it.
Read more of the job listing, however, and you’ll find what essentially appears to be a position for a butler or parental figure. The listing was posted through Lambent, a “niche staffing firm with a focus on personal and executive assistants.” A Lambent representative confirmed the authenticity of the job listing to SFGATE.
The job listing went up March 24 on Indeed and has since gone viral on Twitter for the strenuous requirements necessary to be this person’s personal assistant.
“Student living close to campus seeks support in her personal life and with house management,” the listing begins innocently enough. The dream candidate must be “kind, compassionate and patient, with his or her own sense of authority.” You must also “anticipate and tackle issues without explicit direction.” (It should be noted that the $50 per hour pay rate is a $5 per hour increase from when the posting first went viral Wednesday.)
The posting gets stranger the further you read. Not only do you have to run errands, manage the person's calendar and drive her around town, but you also have to take her cat to the veterinarian and be her liaison to her landlord and "contractors/repairmen."
You also must possess “previous experience assisting a high-net-worth individual” — so no one who primarily interacts with middle- or working class people should apply. And you need to be this person’s therapist, or at the very least “naturally provide emotional support.” You’re also on-call.
On top of all the aforementioned requirements, you must have a college degree.
The listing, naturally, got pilloried on Twitter, with one person expressing skepticism about a position with “high hourly rates on a part time job” and another writing that this job posting “should be an expellable offense."
But people also defended the listing for its hypothetically exceptional pay (you're looking at $52,000 a year for a part-time gig, assuming that you’re regularly working 20-hour weeks) and the fact that it’s the “least worst job offer” for a caregiver position that has gone viral on Twitter. Which is a fair point: At least this posting is not as ridiculous as that Silicon Valley nanny job listing from a couple years back. | https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/stanford-student-hiring-personal-assistant-17049668.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:49Z |
Consumer Crackdown: Hi-tech scam targets cellphone sim cards
Feds say losses totaled $68 million in 2021
InvestigateTV - Cellphones are the pipeline to personal information for many, but according to the FBI, hackers are tapping in through the sim card in mobile devices to steal critical data.
The scheme is called “sim card swapping” and experts say it’s the latest hi-tech scam.
“If I’m a crook who wants to rob you of money, instead of going into a bank, it’s a lot easier to get access to your information, by simply getting access to your phone,” Ira Rheingold of the National Association of Consumer Advocates said.
The FBI said the scam starts when someone contacts you by phone or email pretending to be a representative from your mobile phone carrier. Once the fraudster gets your personal information, they call your service provider and report a lost or stolen sim card.
According to the feds, the cybercriminals will tell the customer service representatives they “forgot their pin and need a new one”. The scammer will try to convince the phone provider to transfer the victim’s phone number over to a new sim card and device. In some cases, the FBI said mobile phone carrier employees have been tricked into giving up information.
“Customer service reps are generally overworked, underpaid and not terribly skilled in dealing with the possibility that someone’s talking to them, and that person could be a fraud,” Cybersecurity expert Adam Levin said.
The FBI said “sim swapping” cases skyrocketed in 2021 with consumers reporting $68 million in losses compared to just $12 million in losses in 2020, 2019 and 2018 combined.
In addition to the pandemic, Levin said one of the reasons for the uptick in “sim swap” scams is more people using multi-factor authentication and bad actors getting access to it.
“That’s where you log onto a site and then you’re sent a code to a trusted device which normally goes to your phone,” Levin said. “So, the bad guys know this as well as the good guys. So, they want to get in on the action”.
The FBI has these tips to prevent getting “swapped”:
- Avoid posting personal information like your phone number and address online.
- Use a variety of passwords to access online accounts.
- Don’t advertise information about financial assets and investments
Rheingold urged consumers to be vigilant. “The convenience you have while using your phone is great there are risks that come along with it and you need to take necessary precautions to mitigate those risks,” Rheingold said.
If you suspect you are a victim of “sim swapping”, call your mobile carrier, change your online account passwords, contact your financial institution to place an alert on your account, and report any suspicious activity to police or the FBI.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wtok.com/2022/03/30/consumer-crackdown-hi-tech-scam-targets-cellphone-sim-cards/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:48Z |
CHESHIRE — A format in 2021 that saw boys’ tennis replicate girls’ tennis with team tournaments in four divisions, and adding an Invitational to replace the State Open, has been continued for another year by the CIAC Boys Tennis Committee.
“It was the brainchild of our tennis committee a year ago,” said Jim Solomon, a coach at Hall for 47 years and a member of the committee. “We went with the girls’ format at states for the boys as well. There are still mixed reviews. Some like it, some don’t. We’ve had surveys over the years, each time it comes out almost 3-to-1 in favor of the former format that we were using with individuals deciding class tournaments. We decided if we are going to do this , let’s do it two years and then evaluate.”
The Class LL, L, M and S tournaments for boys and girls will be a team vs. team single elimination event, where teams are paired according to their records. Each division will recognize a team champion and runner-up. The former boys’ state tournaments saw fields of 64 singles and doubles players compete.
Solomon said: “COVID is still an issue. When the committee made the decision, we didn’t have the four big sites needed. Yale isn’t available. When you do tournaments like we used to do, you need places with three groups of courts nearby.
“The boys’ and girls’ finals this year will go all day at Wesleyan University (June 3), with the Invitational to follow the next week (June 10),” he added. “We’ll do Class S boys and girls, Class M boys and girls…it will be a real celebration of both genders highlighting our best tennis.”
John Keogh (chairman), Steve Jasulavic (Southington), Gary Meunier (Weston), Ben Young (New Canaan), Dave Maloney (Manchester), Jeff Roets (Wethersfield), Solomon, and Ryan Healey (East Catholic) are coaches and site directors who contributed to the decision.
Healey, a coach at East Catholic for 19 years, didn’t cast a dissenting vote but still favors the former format.
“I prefer our traditional format that has the two fields of 64 singles and double draw for the state tournament. It is truer to the sport of tennis,” Healey said. “But I feel that in this time of COVID it is important to continue to compete in a safe manner. The team format and Invitational has filled in just fine.”
Kris Hrisovulos coaches a Staples’ boys’ team that has succeeded in both setups, having won or shared (Greenwich 2016) five consecutive LL titles.
“I think from an excitement, involvement for the players the old format was more conducive to that. I think it was a better experience,” Hrisovulos said. “Now you play the first round as a team and if you lose your season is done and you go home. That was your experience. This (format) comes down to better seeds and c`est la vie (that’s life). You don’t get the jamboree feel, you don’t get to compete against individuals from other areas.
“Before team nots contending for a state title still get to be involved. Individual kids could win a round or two. Everyone is at the same site. It is exciting. Teammates can come and cheer you. It gives the player that energy and experience.”
The Invitational will expand to 48 singles players and 24 doubles teams.
“I would call it one of the best season-ending tournaments we have had,” Solomon said. “Of the 32 spots in singles, 31 players came and 24 filled out the field. We had 16 doubles team accept and 12 played. That is better than most of our State Opens. Because of dedicated efforts by the committee we reach out to all corners of the state. We were clear that we needed representation from all areas and divisions.”
Healey said: “The Invitational was an incredible tournament of the best players in the state. We had a better turnout (of players). We guess that was because they didn’t get to compete against individuals in their divisions. It was exceptional tennis from start to finish. I think we will have another incredible tournament that week after states.”
william.bloxsom@hearstmediact.com Twitter: @blox354 | https://www.ctinsider.com/gametimect/article/CIAC-extends-format-for-state-tournaments-17049896.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:49Z |
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday raised Nigeria’s oil production quota from the 1.735 million barrels per day target approved in April 2022 to a new target of 1.753 million barrels per day for May 2022.
OPEC’s increased oil production quota for Nigeria came as the Federal Government called for an inclusive energy transition that would be beneficial to not just Nigeria but to other countries in Africa.
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, made the call at the Domestic Gas Summit 2022, organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the theme, “Building a Sustainable Gas Economy.”
OPEC raised Nigeria’s oil production quota at its 27th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, according to a statement from the organisation. Nigeria, however, has been missing its OPEC-approved oil production targets.
“Following the conclusion of the 27th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, held via videoconference on March 31, 2022, it was noted that continuing oil market fundamentals and the consensus on the outlook pointed to a well-balanced market and that current volatility is not caused by fundamentals, but by ongoing geopolitical developments,” the organisation stated.
In his speech at the summit in Abuja, Osinbajo noted that Nigeria’s oil and gas resources were enormous and as such global energy transition must be inclusive.
He said, “For countries such as Nigeria, which is rich in natural resources but still energy poor, the transition must not come at the expense of affordable and reliable energy for people, cities, and industries.
“On the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable, and just; which means preserving the right to sustainable development and poverty eradication as enshrined in various treaties such as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
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“Development of oil and gas resources is critical for economic growth and revenue expansion for many countries including Nigeria. The priority is to transit from liquid fossil fuels to Liquefied Natural Gas, Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas.”
He added, “Curbing natural gas investment in Africa would do little to limit carbon emissions globally but will do much to hurt the continent’s prospects. Right now Africa is starved of energy.”
On his part, the President, ACCI, Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, stated that gas had been identified as the energy of choice across board because it was cleaner, greener, and safer.
He said, “The movement for energy transition is considered to be a global ideal. Within the context to save the planet movement, countries in Africa are working to devise appropriate responses to explore gas as an alternative to energy.
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Contact: [email protected] | https://punchng.com/opec-raises-nigerias-oil-quota-amidst-low-production/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:47Z |
Gonzaga Nation Podcast With Dan Dickau and Adam Morrison
Get the Latest Episode Here
The season tragically came to an end early in the Sweet 16, Adam Morrison and Dan Dickau are here to wrap it all up.
The season tragically came to an end early in the Sweet 16, Adam Morrison and Dan Dickau are here to wrap it all up. | https://www.si.com/college/gonzaga/podcasts/gnation-march30 | 2022-04-01T01:53:50Z |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers/articles/39012702 | 2022-04-01T01:53:51Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Upholding a Trump-era environmental policy, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it will not regulate a drinking water contaminant that has been linked to brain damage in infants.
The agency said the Trump administration's decision in 2020 not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water was made with the “best available peer reviewed science.” The chemical is used in rocket fuel and fireworks.
At the time, Trump's EPA said perchlorate was not found widely enough in drinking water or "at levels of public health concern" to warrant federal regulation. The decision was one of many Trump-era rollbacks or eliminations of existing or pending public health and environmental protections. The Biden administration ordered a review of that decision at the start of his term.
EPA Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox said the agency was “applying the right tools to support public health protections.”
Environmental groups slammed the Biden administration’s decision.
“The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it’s a bad decision now,” said Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council advocacy group. “Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical.”
Perchlorate from runoff contaminates the drinking water of as many as 16 million Americans, the Obama administration said in 2011 when it announced the EPA would for the first time set maximum limits for the chemical compound. It has been used in the U.S. for decades, particularly by the military and defense industries, and is commonly found in munitions, fireworks, matches and signal flares.
Exposure to the compound can damage the development of fetuses and children and cause measurable drops in IQ in newborns, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in 2019, when it called for stringent federal limits. It damages human development by disrupting the functioning of the thyroid gland.
In its 2020 review, the EPA said state-level regulations and cleanup activities at contaminated sites had lowered the health risks posed by the compound. Massachusetts and California, for example, limit perchlorate in drinking water to 2 parts per billion and 6 parts per billion, respectively.
“But the problem is that for the rest of the country the states have not set standards,” said Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He said the compound is in “the top tier of problematic chemicals in our water.”
In the Southwest, perchlorate has been detected in groundwater that entered Lake Mead in Nevada. Manufacturing facilities in Henderson, Nevada, were the source of the chemical. The EPA said cleanup activities at two industrial sites in the state between 2002 and 2006 resulted in reduced levels of perchlorate in data provided since then by Nevada environmental and water agencies.
The EPA said Thursday it was considering other steps besides a federal drinking water limit, such as setting standards at open burning and detonation sites, where severe perchlorate contamination is generated from the burning of hazardous byproducts from weapons manufacturing and munitions. One such site is in Colfax, Louisiana, where environmentalists have long advocated for reform.
But environmental advocates said such measures fall short of what's needed.
“Simply put, toxic chemicals used in rocket fuel do not belong in our drinking water," said John Rumpler, senior attorney with Environment America.
___
AP reporter Matthew Daly contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/environment | https://www.thehour.com/news/article/EPA-upholds-Trump-era-decision-not-to-regulate-17049862.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:51Z |
WINSTED — Water and Sewer Commission members approved proposed rate increases for the town’s 2,800 users Tuesday night, following a public meeting last week.
The rate increases will be phased in over the next five years and will apply to a customer’s quarterly base rate, fixtures and a grinder pump maintenance fee. Members discussed the growing needs of the town’s aging sewer plant during the March 24 public hearing. That meeting is available to watch on Winsted’s YouTube channel.
According to the commission, charge for basic sewer meters is determined by the meter size. Meters sized at 5/8 inches and 3/4 inches, with a current charge of $50 per quarter, will be increased to $100 per quarter, to be phased in over five years. Meters sized at 1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch and 4 inch, with a current charge of $92.50 per quarter, will be increased to $185, to be phased in over five years.
A basic fixture with a $68 charge per quarter will increase to $136 per quarter, with the increase to be phased in over five years. The fixture service costs, currently levied with a $12 per count charge, will rise to $24 per count, also to be phased in over five years.
Additionally, beginning in August, the Water Sewer Commission will initiate a $25 charge, per quarter, for low-pressure grinder pumps, which are used to break down waste as it heads into the system.
The committee said there is no increase scheduled for the capital recovery fee. The fee of $10 per quarter will remain.
The increased fees will help the sewer commission build its revenues, which will increase substantially starting in 2023. The commission has been operating with a budget deficit for a number of years, retired finance director Bruce Stratford said recently.
“We’ll end up with about $2 million in revenue,” Stratford said, during the March 24 hearing. “Part of the purpose of doing this is to preventative maintenance on the system. That means adding new staff, so expenses in 2023 will be higher. But the deficit (caused by ongoing maintenance) will be reduced substantially .... and the revenue will keep the system operating, and revitalize the structure so it will not fail.”
During the hearing, the commission also discussed how the system works, and what its challenges are. One of the biggest problems the sewer plant team deals with, said commission member Bill Hester, is flushable wipes and other types of trash, which clog the equipment, cause pump motors to overheat and wreaks havoc on the system intended to separate sludge from water before it flows back into the Still River.
“Those disposable wipes are one of our biggest problems, and we have spent thousands of dollars repairing the damage they cause,” Hester said at the time. “Flushable wipes are not flushable ... Neither is any type of garbage.”
Commission Chairman John Massicotte and members George Closson, Mike Farrell and Hester were joined by Chief Plant Operator Alex Combes and water plant Superintendent Marty Cormier, who spent some time explaining how the 33-year-old sewer plant works and the challenges they face.
Hester reminded sewer users to keep their pipes and dripping faucets repaired, saying that the amount of water wasted can add up quickly.
For more information on the town's water/sewer infrastructure, go to townofwinchester.org. To register to receive copies of announcements, agendas, and/or minutes, visit the website.
Call the Department of Public Works at 860-379-4070 with any questions. | https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Winsted-sewer-commission-approves-rate-hikes-17047881.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:51Z |
WEST COVINA – The South Hills high baseball team completed a two-game sweep of Walnut with Thursday’s 6-2 victory at home, which followed a close 4-3 victory at Walnut on Wednesday.
South Hills senior pitcher Matthew Lorenzano, a Long Beach State commit, went 5 1/3 innings, scattering three hits with five strikeouts to improve to 6-0. He has a 1.27 ERA this season.
With the win, the Huskies improved to 14-3 and a perfect 6-0 in the Hacienda League.
“We came out with a lot of confidence and we didn’t want to lose,” Lorenzano said. “We knew this was going to make a statement if we won this game.”
Leading the way for the Huskies was sophomore third baseman Paul Vazquez, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.
“I thought we played really well (Thursday).” South Hills coach Darren Murphy said. “It took the pressure off a little bit (Wednesday) getting that win on the road.
“We came out with a lot of positive energy and played very confident and our at bats were really good and Matt gave us a great game on the mound again. It’s always nice to close with Dylan (Esquival) on the mound.”
Huskies junior shortstop Marcos Rosales went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored and Jeremiah Sibrian had two hits.
Walnut was led by junior left fielder Austin Calzadiaz, who was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
Walnut loaded the bases in the top of the second on a single by Andrew Shim and a hit batter and a walk with one out, but Lorenzano struck out the final two batters to get out of the inning.
The Huskies came back in the bottom of the inning with their first run on a leadoff double to right center by Oregon State commit Paul Vazquez. Vazquez advanced to third on a single to left by Sibrian and came home on a sacrifice bunt by designated hitter Steven Jimenez.
“I think we really came together as a team here in this game,” said Vazquez. “We really battled it out and once we got rolling there was no stopping us.”
South Hills, ranked second in CIF Southern Section Division 2, opened it up in the fourth inning with three runs for a 4-0 lead on RBIs by Vazquez, catcher Andres Mitat and left fielder Dom Prieto.
The Huskies added two more runs in the fifth for a 6-0 lead on an RBI double by Vazquez and a run-scoring single to right by Sibrian.
Walnut broke the shutout with two runs in the top of the sixth on a wild pitch by Lorenzano, scoring second baseman Nick Mejia. Later, first baseman Kevin Rubio came home on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Ivan Gutierrez, to trail, 6-2
“Leaving some guys out there has been our achilles heal in the games that we’ve lost,” Walnut coach Paul Acosta said. “In the second when we had bases loaded. It would have been nice to cash in and play with a lead right there.
“In this game when it could be a one-run game it matters. At the end of the day, they played a little better than us.” | https://www.sgvtribune.com/2022/03/31/south-hills-baseball-finishes-sweep-of-walnut-with-6-2-victory/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:51Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Upholding a Trump-era environmental policy, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it will not regulate a drinking water contaminant that has been linked to brain damage in infants.
The agency said the Trump administration's decision in 2020 not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water was made with the “best available peer reviewed science.” The chemical is used in rocket fuel and fireworks.
At the time, Trump's EPA said perchlorate was not found widely enough in drinking water or "at levels of public health concern" to warrant federal regulation. The decision was one of many Trump-era rollbacks or eliminations of existing or pending public health and environmental protections. The Biden administration ordered a review of that decision at the start of his term.
EPA Assistant Administrator Radhika Fox said the agency was “applying the right tools to support public health protections.”
Environmental groups slammed the Biden administration’s decision.
“The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it’s a bad decision now,” said Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council advocacy group. “Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical.”
Perchlorate from runoff contaminates the drinking water of as many as 16 million Americans, the Obama administration said in 2011 when it announced the EPA would for the first time set maximum limits for the chemical compound. It has been used in the U.S. for decades, particularly by the military and defense industries, and is commonly found in munitions, fireworks, matches and signal flares.
Exposure to the compound can damage the development of fetuses and children and cause measurable drops in IQ in newborns, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in 2019, when it called for stringent federal limits. It damages human development by disrupting the functioning of the thyroid gland.
In its 2020 review, the EPA said state-level regulations and cleanup activities at contaminated sites had lowered the health risks posed by the compound. Massachusetts and California, for example, limit perchlorate in drinking water to 2 parts per billion and 6 parts per billion, respectively.
“But the problem is that for the rest of the country the states have not set standards,” said Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council. He said the compound is in “the top tier of problematic chemicals in our water.”
In the Southwest, perchlorate has been detected in groundwater that entered Lake Mead in Nevada. Manufacturing facilities in Henderson, Nevada, were the source of the chemical. The EPA said cleanup activities at two industrial sites in the state between 2002 and 2006 resulted in reduced levels of perchlorate in data provided since then by Nevada environmental and water agencies.
The EPA said Thursday it was considering other steps besides a federal drinking water limit, such as setting standards at open burning and detonation sites, where severe perchlorate contamination is generated from the burning of hazardous byproducts from weapons manufacturing and munitions. One such site is in Colfax, Louisiana, where environmentalists have long advocated for reform.
But environmental advocates said such measures fall short of what's needed.
“Simply put, toxic chemicals used in rocket fuel do not belong in our drinking water," said John Rumpler, senior attorney with Environment America.
___
AP reporter Matthew Daly contributed to this report.
___
The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/environment | https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/EPA-upholds-Trump-era-decision-not-to-regulate-17049862.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:51Z |
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Men’s Tournament Scores
Xavier 73, Texas A&M 72
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You may occasionally receive promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune. | https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/national/story/2022-03-31/mens-tournament-scores | 2022-04-01T01:53:52Z |
Health unit monitoring increase in COVID-19 activity in Windsor-Essex
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Mask-wearing may not be mandated and most restrictions have been lifted — but the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is still advising of a local “increase in disease activity” when it comes to COVID-19.
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“I’m hopeful that we won’t see a greater increase in disease burden. But I think the facts are that we are seeing an increase in disease burden at this time,” said Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai during a media briefing on Thursday.
According to the health unit’s weekly epidemiological summary, there have been rising numbers over the past seven days in such data categories as active “high-risk” cases per 100,000 people, percent positivity, hospitalizations, outbreaks, and wastewater viral intensity.
Currently, the health unit is counting 362 active “high-risk” cases of COVID-19 in the region, with 36 of those cases hospitalized and two under intensive care.
“When we look at how our case rates compare to the rest of the province, we continue to be in the top five across all public health units in Ontario,” said Ramsey D’Souza, the WECHU’s manager of epidemiology. “At the same time, we are seeing increases in most health units in the province.”
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Interestingly, the number of local COVID cases in the ICU is the lowest it has been since August 2021.
There have been no new COVID-19 deaths since March 24. To date, 592 people in the region have died due to COVID-19.
The health unit is currently monitoring 16 active outbreak situations, including six in long-term care facilities or retirement homes, three in hospital units, and seven in the community.
Nesathurai reiterated that vaccination remains the most important thing people can do to protect themselves against severe impacts from COVID-19.
COVID-19 vaccination is now mainly available from primary health-care providers.
Regional COVID-19 vaccination rates have improved only by fractions of a per cent in recent months. As of Thursday, 83.4 per cent of Windsor-Essex residents ages five and older have received at least two doses, and 50.9 per cent of residents ages 12 and older have received a third dose/booster.
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Meanwhile, with the coming closure of the Devonshire Mall mass vaccination site on Saturday, the health unit has announced that “catch-up” immunization clinics for youths will be held at locations throughout the region.
These clinics provide vaccination against Hepatitis B, HPV, and meningococcal disease — shots that students would have been required to receive through their schools, were it not for the disruption of in-person learning due to pandemic measures.
Students in Grades 7 to 12 (birth years from 2004 to 2009) who missed their shots are encouraged to book an appointment to attend a clinic and “catch up” on their doses.
The clinics will begin next week at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre in Leamington (249 Sherk St.) and the Atlas Tube Recreation Centre in Belle River (447 Renaud Line Rd.).
For more information, visit www.wechu.org/getimmunized. | https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/health-unit-monitoring-increase-in-covid-19-activity-in-windsor-essex | 2022-04-01T01:53:52Z |
Two car thieves were charged Wednesday night after attempting to evade police, according to Connecticut State Police Troop E.
State troopers were called to the Jewett City Citgo gas station around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a stolen Hyundai Accent. A short time later, a trooper saw the stolen Hyundai with a red Volkswagen, which was reported stolen from Massachusetts, blocking the lanes on Howe Road in Griswold. Both cars tried to elude troopers and started to drive south on Route 12, state police said on Facebook Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, troopers set up stop sticks at the intersection of North Main and Main streets and both cars ran over the tire deflation device. The cars continued south on Route 12 driving in the opposite lane, according to state police.
Troopers activated their emergency lights and attempted to box in the cars. The Hyundai turned, avoiding the maneuver, and drove into the Target parking lot in Lisbon, state police said.
Troopers then tried to stop the car from exiting the parking lot. The Hyundai “intentionally rammed” a trooper’s cruiser and exited the parking lot, state police said, and continued south on Route 12.
Shortly after, the Hyundai came to a stop due to its tires deflating completely. The driver immediately exited the car and attempted to carjack another vehicle as troopers arrived. The driver, identified as an 18-year-old Plainville man, was placed under arrest, state police said.
Police said the Plainville man initially provided several false names, but was later positively identified. He was charged with reckless driving, failure to drive in the proper lane, first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree larceny, criminal impersonation, interfering with or resisting an officer and criminal attempt at second-degree assault, according to state police.
The Plainville man was held on $100,000 bond, state police said.
The second vehicle, the Volkswagen, entered onto Interstate 395 northbound at exit 21. Once in Griswold, the car became disabled as both driver side tires deflated, according to staet police.
The driver, identified as an 18-year-old Hartford man, was charged with second-degree larceny and held on a $25,000 bond, police said.
The cruiser that was rammed into sustained disabling damage. The state trooper was not injured.
Both men will be arraigned at state Superior Court in Norwaich, state police said Thursday. | https://www.ctinsider.com/hartford/article/Police-Plainville-Hartford-men-charged-in-17049880.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:52Z |
When news spread of the possibility that the northern lights might be visible in parts of Northern California and along the West Coast on Wednesday evening, scores of photographers and curious spectators headed outside after sunset to take a look up at the night sky.
Don Feltham, a sales engineer and amateur photographer, wasn’t sure what to expect, but he got in the car anyway and hoped for the best.
Earlier that afternoon, he had received a notification on the Aurora Alerts app informing him that the likelihood of seeing the mesmerizing phenomenon was promising near the northern border of Oregon and southern Washington. The weather was cloudy and drizzly where he lives just outside of Portland, Oregon, so he decided to take a chance, inviting his friend and fellow photographer Donna Look to join him at the remote Columbia Hills State Park about 90 miles away.
When they arrived, the clouds had mostly cleared, but it was much colder than he had expected, with gusts of wind blowing at a steady 25-30 mph.
“We were the only people there,” Feltham said.
As the sun went down and it started to get dark, he saw a familiar “whitish glow on the horizon.”
It wasn’t Feltham’s first time chasing after the northern lights, and he knew the signs that they could be there but just weren’t visible to the naked eye. He quickly retrieved his camera, a Nikon Z5, and started to snap away, telling his friend to do the same.
And there they were.
“Oh my God, it was amazing,” he said. “We were both totally psyched and amazed to see the intensity but also the colors of the auroras.”
Over the past five years, Feltham had attempted to capture the northern lights in the area on about four or five different occasions but had seen nothing.
“The feeling we both had. … We were just ecstatic,” he said, adding that it was Look’s first time ever seeing them. “When she looked at her camera and saw what she captured, she was over the moon.”
Other photographers reported sightings of the glimmering green spectacle in North Dakota, Alaska, Wyoming, Montana and parts of Canada.
Steve Luther, a photographer based in Beaverton, Oregon, also traveled north to Washington for a chance to witness the phenomenon and stayed out all night taking photos from 9 p.m. until about 3:30 a.m. He was able to capture them at Banks Lake near the Grand Coulee Dam and along the Columbia River.
“For me, viewing and particularly photographing the aurora borealis is one of the most awe-inspiring experiences a human being can possibly have,” he said, adding that it was his sixth time seeing them. “[It’s] such a natural high. I was jumping for joy.”
Unfortunately, those hoping to spot some of the auroral activity in Northern California weren’t as lucky.
When reached by phone, a program assistant for the Schreder Planetarium in Redding said some staff members were listening to the radio as they searched the skies Wednesday evening but ultimately weren’t able to see anything.
But Ben Burress, an astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, pointed out that predicting auroral activity isn’t unlike predicting a weather forecast.
“As with all predictions, there’s the chance the predicted event doesn’t happen, or doesn’t happen when and where the prediction was for,” he said. “It’s like if you watch the weather forecast for your area, and it predicts a 10% chance of showers the following day — you aren’t really surprised if you end up getting no rain at all. In the case of the solar eruptions and the ‘geomagnetic storm’ they might produce, the when, where and how strong are all dependent on the ultimate conditions that prevail.”
Dr. Paul Lynam, an astronomer at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, said the chance of seeing the northern lights is also highly dependent on other factors like the temperature, atmosphere and what season it is.
“It’s very difficult to predict,” he said. “It’s like predicting a meteor shower. We can have a ballpark idea, but it’s difficult to pin it down. We can only discuss the probability.”
Some forecasts indicate there’s a chance the auroral activity could be visible again Thursday night, but KING 5 reported thicker cloud coverage is expected across the Puget Sound region. Burress noted the geomagnetic activity caused by the gust in solar wind is now subsiding, so the chance of seeing the northern lights in Northern California is likely weaker than it was Wednesday.
“There can be surprises, but it appears this event is petering out,” he said.
But Lynam believes you don’t need an excuse to go out and look out at the night sky Thursday night.
“Go out and look anyway. There’s a new moon, and you should get a good view of the stars,” he said. “Anything low down that might be changing color — consider it a bonus.” | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/northern-lights-on-West-Coast-17049709.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:52Z |
By Jordan Baker
In the past two years, Walgett Community College incident log has recorded almost 50 cases of violence at the school, ranging from student brawls and threats involving weapons to assaults on teachers. Police were notified or called almost 15 times and, on a handful of occasions, lockdown procedures were activated.
“Numerous students displayed aggressive and threatening behaviour on school grounds and a lockdown was implemented,” the log says of an incident in term one last year, in which police were called.
Another incident involved students breaking into a classroom and distributing the equipment, says the log, released under freedom of information laws. On another occasion, some students lit a fire, causing minor property damage. There were multiple fights between students that teachers tried to handle, but in some cases called police for support.
One time, six students approached a student who was leaving with their parent. “[They] assaulted the student,” it said.
Violence has become a fixture of Walgett High. There are deep disagreements over what to do about it; the elders say the students need more help for their disability and trauma and want police kept out, but others say the environment has become dangerous for both students and teachers.
It is not a new problem. Almost 10 years ago, then Education Minister Adrian Piccoli denounced the government’s neglect of Walgett, and rural schools like it, where most students are indigenous. He said Walgett Community College’s ruinous buildings made it the worst school in the state. “I think it is true to say that we as a community have treated Aboriginal people like rubbish.”
To turn the school around, the NSW government gave its buildings a $9 million makeover. It created a new governance structure - known as Connected Communities - to give parents and local leaders a greater voice in decisions made not only by Walgett Community College, but 15 schools with similarly high numbers of Indigenous children in other parts of the state. The department lured former Asquith high principal, Richard Rule, out of retirement to lead the new-look school.
More money, including Gonski funding, flowed over the next few years and gave Walgett the highest per capita funding of any school in the state. In 2020 - the most recent figures available - it received more than $44,500 for each student from state and federal governments.
None of it seems to have helped.
The high school now has its 31st principal in 24 years. Its attendance rate has been trending downwards from a low base since 2011. Last year it was 43.3 per cent, which was slightly higher than the year before, but far lower than the average across the state (90.7 per cent) or statistically similar schools (76.7 per cent), the freedom of information documents show. Just five of 151 students attended school more than 90 per cent of the time, compared with 31 per cent in similar schools.
In the five years to 2018, the average yearly staff turnover was 50 per cent. Potential recruits were deterred by the geographical isolation and the violence. Two female teachers have been on long-term leave due to severe injuries sustained while being assaulted by female students on school grounds, multiple sources say, and staff members have been hit, spat upon and had their cars damaged.
The turnover and vacancies mean, among other things, that there’s little educational continuity in a school where it’s particularly important. NAPLAN results show many of the students struggle with the basic skills they will need to function in society; the average year 9 score was below minimum standard in every subject but spelling and numeracy. In writing, the average year 9 student was functioning at year 3 level.
Some local families do not want to send their children there. They say they don’t learn, and the conflict makes them anxious.
Kathryn Sharpley’s daughter Caroline Ashby, who is 12, finds the work too easy - her mother says it’s often at year 5 level - and doesn’t like the violence. “Some days she doesn’t want to go, because of all the fights around the school,” her mother says. “She loves maths, it’s her favourite subject. Going there, they’re making her take a step back. I tell her, being Aboriginal doesn’t mean you can’t get somewhere in life.”
Mrs Sharpley could send Caroline to Queensland to live with relatives, or to a school in the nearby town of Lightning Ridge. “I’d prefer her to be close to us, than move a long way,” she says.
Local mother Rebecca Trindall has organised a daily bus to Lightning Ridge, which is about 45 minutes away, and is lobbying for Walgett children to be given automatic access to that school rather than having to lodge out of area applications. “Each year, families are forced to relocate from Walgett or send children away to simply be educated as there are no options available to them locally outside of Walgett Community College.”
One ongoing issue has been tension between principals and community leaders. Richard Rule, the principal installed as part of Dr Piccoli’s makeover, lasted two years. He says he came under pressure from the school reference group - community members who help make school decisions - to leave. Few principals since have lasted much longer.
“[They] were of the belief I was not running the school in the spirit of Connected Communities,” he says. “In Walgett’s case, the model just didn’t work. I wanted a well-run school where children stayed in the classroom and had a teacher in front of them and actually learned something in a stable environment.
“That did not seem to satisfy the reference group, who seemed to want some sort of cultural revolution in their school that was never going to happen while the school was unstable, with violence and teachers under threat.”
The Dharriwaa Elders lay the blame for continued dysfunction with the NSW Department of Education, which “continues to fail to provide what’s needed for Walgett students to succeed at school,” they said in a statement published on their website after the Herald requested an interview. They say they are being denied figures on suspension by Aboriginality, which, they say, means NSW Education wants to hide the link between school suspensions and a lack of support for disability and trauma.
They want the school to stop calling police “as their first response to behaviour incidents”, and say officers should be banned from bringing guns onto the school site. “Recently there was an escalation when five police cars attended the high school to arrest a young teenage girl,” their statement says. “ Walgett school leadership must train their staff to de-escalate behaviours in our young people and decommission their hotline to police. The criminalising of our young people when they aren’t well has to stop.
“We conclude that Walgett schools are not culturally or physically safe.”
Piccoli acknowledges the conflicting expectations of school staff and the community. “When incidents occur at school, and the school takes the disciplinary action it would take at any other school, sometimes the community doesn’t respond well to that,” he says. “Walgett is a very unique place. So it has to be a unique school.
“For example, having police - the community didn’t like that. They don’t want it to be seen as a justice precinct. It’s got to be an education precinct. And they’re right, but you have to be able to guarantee staff safety as well.”
The Connected Communities program was supposed to build bridges between schools and the community. The NSW Department of Education evaluated the program a few years ago, and its findings were ambivalent. On the plus side, most of the 15 schools were successfully introducing local Aboriginal language programs, and attempting to incorporate Aboriginal content into their curriculum.
However, the role of School Reference Groups lacked clarity, it says, and there was uncertainty - “and in some cases tension” - around their role in decision-making. The strategy has also, as yet, had little impact on academic outcomes or attendance at the secondary level. Attendance has gone backwards, and schools were still struggling to engage parents in students’ education. The NSW Department of Education has nevertheless expanded the number of schools involved in the program from the original 15 to 31.
Mark Banasiak is an upper house MP representing the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, and is also a former teacher. He has taken a particular interest in Walgett, and worries about the students. “People need to be held accountable for these failures to deliver,” he says.
“I’m turning my attention to people higher up, past the executive principal, who are supposed to be supporting the school. Until you address that core issue about why some elements of the community are not coming along with the school’s plan, you are never going to achieve the change you need. The tragedy is it’s the kids that suffer the most. Education should be a circuit breaker in this community, and a way for the community to grow and prosper, and at the moment that’s not happening.”
Asked about the issue in parliament, Education Minister Sarah Mitchell acknowledged there was more to do. “Part of it is the work we need to do to make sure that our staff feel supported, that they feel empowered and that we work not just with the school but also with the whole of the community,” she says.
“We know that some entrenched issues in the Walgett community have existed for years. These are things that multiple government agencies are working on together, and they will continue to do so.”
Mr Rule is sceptical about the whole-of-government approach. “I went to some of those meetings and there was a lot of rhetoric,” he says. “I don’t think I saw in the school one positive outcome from any of the state and federal agencies.”
The NSW Department of Education refused the Herald’s request to interview the school’s principal, who, some say, has brought relative stability in the past 11 months. It gave a statement saying that the Department of Regional NSW was working with community leaders to improve youth education, vocational training, employment and social outcomes.
There’s no easy solution for Walgett, says Piccoli. “There are deep social and historical issues there, that are difficult to change,” he says. Inter-agency collaboration was important, but often did not involve people senior enough to cut through the bureaucracy.
“If I had five minutes to talk to [Secretary of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet] Michael Coutts-Trotter, I would say, ‘we need a minister for Walgett, or a deputy secretary’. It’s very hard to change human behaviour, but we can certainly provide the fundamentals and basics that most people take for granted ... that we haven’t got right there.
“The bottom line is you can never give up. You have to keep getting the best support you can there.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here. | https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/violence-is-disrupting-learning-at-walgett-high-no-one-knows-what-to-do-about-it-20220330-p5a9gf.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national_nsw | 2022-04-01T01:53:53Z |
Labor has come under fire for ducking questions on tax, but says its focus will be on making multinationals pay their fair share.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Friday was asked on Nine's Today show several times whether he would increase taxes to pay back debt, which under the coalition government is heading towards $1 trillion.
Mr Albanese said Labor would be announcing its multinational tax evasion policy during the campaign, as well as stopping "the waste and rorts" of the Morrison government.
But he declined to say what other changes could be made.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, campaigning in the Sydney seat of Lindsay on Friday, said Labor had no answer on taxes.
"It's a very simple question to answer," Mr Morrison told reporters.
"There are no increases in taxes or new taxes in the budget we handed down this week and there will not be any under the government that I have led and will continue to lead."
Mr Morrison, who is widely expected to trigger a May 14 election this week, said it was important to scrutinise Labor's commitments.
"Australians will make an important choice and you've got to be able to bear up to that scrutiny," he said.
He said Labor hoped to "skate in under the radar" by limiting its policy platform during the campaign.
"He is a blank page, not a small target, so I'm going to give Australians an opportunity to have a close look," Mr Morrison said of the Opposition leader.
Mr Albanese told reporters in Parramatta, where he campaigned alongside new candidate Andrew Charlton, the prime minister should call the election immediately.
"Enough of the pantomime - call the election," he said.
"Let the Australian people decide.
"This business of not calling the election, so that he can use taxpayers' money for ads, is just yet the latest example of a prime minister who thinks that taxpayers' money is the same as Liberal Party money."
The government is able to roll out millions of dollars in advertising of budget initiatives until the election is called - a strategy it used after the 2019 budget.
At least three campaigns have been approved, covering health and skills. | https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/morrison-challenges-labor-over-tax-plans-c-6285085 | 2022-04-01T01:53:53Z |
- Full year 2021 results include revenue of $612.2 million and adjusted EBITDA of $60.0 million
- Reported 24-month backlog at the end of Q4 2021 was $2.1 Billion, an increase of 22.0% over year end 2020
- Fourth quarter 2021 results include revenue of $147.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of $4.0 million
- Successfully completed four acquisitions and added significant new contract awards
BLUE BELL, Pa., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- QualTek Services Inc. ("QualTek" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: QTEK), a leading turnkey provider of infrastructure services to the North American 5G wireless, telecom, power grid modernization, and renewable energy sectors, announced today a strong 2021 fourth quarter and full-year financial results of its subsidiary QualTek HoldCo, LLC.
Fourth quarter 2021 revenue was up 11.0% to $147.1 million, compared to $132.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2021 was $81.1 million compared to net loss from continuing operations of $56.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding one-time impairment of goodwill, Net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2021 was $28.6 million compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $27.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. Fourth quarter 2021 adjusted EBITDA was $4.0 million compared to a loss of $13.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $2.1 billion which is a 22% increase over the fourth quarter 2020.
Full year 2021 revenue was $612.2 million, a decline of 6.7% from $656.5 million for the full year 2020. Net loss from continuing operations for 2021 was $101.6 million compared to net loss from continuing operations of $94.2 million in 2020. Excluding one-time impairment of goodwill, Net loss from continuing operations for 2021 improved to $49.1 million compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $65.4 million in 2020. Full year 2021 adjusted EBITDA increased 356.9% to $60.0 million, compared to $13.1 million for the full year 2020. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by margin improvement initiatives across both the Telecom and Renewables & Recovery segments. On a pro-forma basis, assuming the recently closed acquisitions had been owned for the full year ending December 31, 2021, QualTek estimates adjusted EBITDA would be approximately 72.0 million. For the full year 2022, guidance remains unchanged.
As QualTek has indicated in the past, strong industry tailwinds including grid modernization and infrastructure improvements along with the C-band spectrum deployment are expected to drive major 5G infrastructure buildouts and provide significant growth opportunities across the business. The company is also seeing reductions in COVID-19 health and safety protocols in key regions allowing for a return to pre-covid scale and efficiency. QualTek expects continued growth in both segments during 2022 and beyond.
Scott Hisey, QualTek's Chief Executive Officer, said, "2021 was a critical year for the company. We successfully closed our SPAC transaction creating over $80 million of additional liquidity to allow us to execute on our strategic growth plan. Full year 2021 adjusted EBITDA grew to $60.0 million, a $47 million increase from 2020. QualTek remains on a path to be a significant industry player across the telecommunications and power industries. We successfully grew our rolling two-year backlog by 22% to $2.1 billion during the year. This growth is a testament to our strong performance and our customer's reliance on QualTek to play a critical role in building out 5G networks and participating in the long-term grid modernization initiatives. We are very excited for the future of QualTek."
Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results on Friday, April 1, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call-in number for the conference call is 1 (888) 330 – 2454 or 1 (240) 789 - 2714 using passcode 2965812. Additionally, the call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed and replayed through the investor relations section of the Company's website at qualtekservices.com.
The following tables set forth the financial results for the periods ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
The following tables set forth the financial results for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2021 and 2020:
Founded in 2012, QualTek is a leading technology-driven provider of infrastructure services to the 5G wireless, telecom, power grid modernization, and renewable energy sectors across North America. QualTek has a national footprint with more than 80 operation centers across the U.S. and a workforce of over 5,000 people. QualTek has established a nationwide operating network to enable quick responses to customer demands as well as proprietary technology infrastructure for advanced reporting and invoicing. The Company will report within two operating segments: Telecommunications and Renewables and Recovery. For more information, please visit qualtekservices.com.
This communication contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the financial condition, results of operations, earnings outlook and prospects of QualTek. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "outlook," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "continue," "could," "may," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict," "should," "would" and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of QualTek and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed and identified in public filings made with the SEC by QualTek.
Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of QualTek prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
All pro forma numbers are used for illustrative purpose only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the matters addressed in this communication and attributable to QualTek or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this communication. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, QualTek undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Media Contact:
QualTek IR/Communications
Gianna Lucchesi
PR@qualtekservices.com
(484) 804 - 4585
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SOURCE QualTek Services Inc. | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/qualtek-announces-fourth-quarter-annual-2021-financial-results/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:52Z |
Oakland-based “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider became a national sensation during her historic 40-game win streak. When she finally lost in January, it didn’t seem to slow her down at all, as she’s continued to captivate fans off-screen.
Schneider is currently hard at work on a forthcoming book, but in the meantime, she’s become somewhat of an unofficial ambassador for the transgender community. On Thursday, she made an appearance at the White House press briefing room podium in honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility.
According to a Twitter post, she wasn’t told that she’d be answering questions, but after a brief introduction, a reporter quickly jumped in to ask her about bills across the country that target transgender people.
“They’re really scary. Some of them in particular that are denying medical services to trans youth, those are lifesaving medical treatments,” Schneider said. “These bills will cause the deaths of children, and that’s really sad to me and really frightening.”
When asked if she would be doing any lobbying against specific bills, she said she isn’t yet sure how advocacy will fit into her life but that she’ll continue to make public appearances in hopes of dispelling the types of beliefs that fuel what she considers to be dangerous legislation.
“The more that people like me can be seen, the harder it is to sustain the myths that are driving a lot of this hate and fear,” Schneider said. | https://www.sfgate.com/streaming/article/Amy-Schneider-visits-White-House-17049484.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:53Z |
MINNEAPOLIS — If it isn’t already, this chapter of UConn women’s basketball history is rapidly becoming the era of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.
One a freshman and the other a sophomore, both were surrounded by over-the-moon hype as high school players, bringing with them to Storrs a flash-bang of attention and then operating under spotlights that haven’t dimmed.
But as coach Geno Auriemma took the big, bright Final Four stage Thursday afternoon at the Target Center, seniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, the unassuming and even overlooked stalwarts, represented the Huskies by sitting to his right.
“This program survived before Paige and Azzi,” Auriemma said. “And it will survive after Paige and Azzi.”
It could win the national championship this weekend because the aforementioned players, and others, have fit so well into specific yet evolving roles, because they have cast away expectations for how everything might have lined up in favor of how everything can, because they’ve accommodated forces of attention out of everyone’s control.
Overlap can be tricky and delicate in college sports. Williams and Nelson-Ododa, for instance, were already established UConn players by the time Bueckers and Fudd came on board with all the noise in tow. They had been to Final Fours. They had headlined a recruiting class of their own.
Yet as they prepare to play for their careers and legacies in a national semifinal Friday night against Stanford, Williams and Nelson-Ododa are attempting to win their first championship with a clear comfort for the constitution of this team, which features a national fascination worthy of People Magazine as much as Sports Illustrated.
Because of the sophomore. Because of the freshman.
Bueckers and Fudd came to UConn as two of the most celebrated high school players in history.
“It’s difficult because you don’t really ask for that attention,” Bueckers said on a Zoom call as Auriemma, Williams and Nelson-Ododa were sitting down for a press conference. “You get it not because you want it. You just get it. It’s hard knowing that you don’t want to be the center of attention all the time and you don’t want to be the person who’s getting all the accolades in the media and for the team.
“But our team, we’re really selfless. We really don’t care who gets all the attention in the media. We just want to win and we want to win for each other and we’re super close and we never get jealous of each other.”
It took a togetherness, from the freshman class to the senior class, to get through a time when everything was coming apart this season. Bueckers missed 19 games with a knee injury. Fudd missed 11 with a foot injury. Many others were ill or hurt for long stretches and the November-to-February conversations were mostly about who would return and when.
Williams and Nelson-Ododa were there all along, mostly, each playing 31 of UConn’s 34 games. Friday’s semifinal will be career game No. 131 for Williams, No. 132 for Nelson-Ododa, and each have spectacularly important roles.
Williams, the nation’s top recruit out of Little Rock, Ark., came to UConn in 2018 and quickly guaranteed a national championship that has eluded her. The Big East Tournament most outstanding player, she has played wonderfully of late, looking like a solid WNBA prospect, thriving in a secondary role that was probably unexpected when she arrived but became a necessity when Bueckers took the sport by storm last season.
Nelson-Ododa, meanwhile, will line up next to sophomore Aaliyah Edwards and work to compensate for the absence of Dorka Juhasz, who is out with a broken wrist. No matter how brilliantly Bueckers or Fudd perform Friday on the perimeter, or to any extent they struggle, UConn has a considerably worse chance of advancing if the frontcourt can’t hold its own.
So this is the Paige and Azzi Era, sure, already is, is about to be, whatever. But this Final Four will ask so much of so many. They’d have it no other way.
“When these guys came in, they were all the rage,” Auriemma said. “Christyn was national player of the Year. Liv was in the top 5. Fans being fans, they completely ignored everybody on our team except these guys. They were the next great thing.
“Once you get past your freshman year, whoever is coming in the next year, they’re the next great thing. That’s just the way people are. But if you bring in the right kids, they are respectful of what we have and what we’ve done, because it is bigger than them.”
Fudd was the first high school player to be named Gatorade national player of the year as a sophomore. Bueckers was Gatorade player and athlete of the year as a senior. So there was part of them that wanted to tip-toe through their UConn acclimation, mindful of the fact that they’d garner attention they didn’t necessarily yet deserve at the next level.
“I kind of thought about that when I first came,” Fudd said. “But all the upperclassmen are amazing.”
It’s all about recruiting the right players, the right people, Auriemma said. If that bears out, a team has players on both sides of this equation that understand what the entire project is about — the team, not the noise, the goals, not the individuals. It’s a democratic process. The best players play a bigger role. They don’t reduce others to insignificance.
“I had no intention of starting Paige as a freshman,” Auriemma said. “I said, I’m going to make her earn it. I’m going to make her wait her turn. Because we’ve already got a pretty good starting lineup. And it only took about two weeks. You could see the look on their faces like I don’t know who else is starting, but I know she is.”
Now Williams and Nelson-Ododa just want to finish.
“I think our team just learned that we can conquer anything,” Williams said.
“It’s as simple as what do I need to do to help my team win?” Nelson-Ododa said. “What do we all need to do together to win this game?”
The story right now is so Bueckers-centric, how she miraculously took her game to a sublime level in the Elite Eight, pushed the Huskies into the Final Four, guaranteed a trip home to her beloved hometown.
The story, though, with two more victories, will be all about championship No. 12 and all the connect-the-dots and ego checks that went into it. UConn won its first national championship in Minneapolis in 1995, six years before Bueckers was born, seven years before Fudd was born.
“Paige is a walking distraction,” Auriemma joked. “So it doesn’t matter where we are, whether we’re at school or whether we’re here. There’s just stuff that follows her around, and it’s fine. Our players are OK with it. They understand it. She doesn’t make a big deal about it.
“I don’t know that she’s called a team meeting and said, look, we’re going to Minneapolis and it’s all about me going home, and isn’t it great. I don’t think there’s any of that going on. For me personally, there’s none of that.” | https://www.ctinsider.com/uconn/article/UConn-women-s-basketball-seniors-seeking-17049736.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:53Z |
Arizona governor won’t say transgender people exist
By BOB CHRISTIE
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is refusing to say if he thinks transgender people actually exist. At a news conference Thursday, he twice dodged that exact question just a day after signing legislation limiting transgender rights. The Republican instead defended his signatures on bills barring transgender girls and women from playing on girls high school and women’s college sports teams and barring gender-affirming surgery for anyone under age 18. The Arizona director for the Human Rights Campaign says Ducey’s refusal to acknowledge trans people exist is “appalling.” The bills passed the Republican-controlled Legislature with no support from minority Democrats. | https://ktvz.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/03/31/arizona-governor-wont-say-transgender-people-exist-2/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:53Z |
A beloved post office that served San Mateo County for several decades from its unique position on the outskirts of San Francisco International Airport closed its doors for good Thursday after SFO notified the U.S. Postal Service that the lease would not be renewed.
P.O. box holders at the branch located at 660 W. Field Road were asked to remove all mail housed in the boxes by 3 p.m. on March 31 to allow for a necessary transfer to the Stanton post office located about 3 miles south at 820 Stanton Road in Burlingame.
Retail operations will also transfer to the nearby Burlingame branch, and Postal Service spokesperson Evelina Ramirez confirmed with SFGATE that there will be no delivery service impact.
The SFO post office offered unique hours for its retail operations, closing at 8 p.m. on weekdays, which provided a useful service for customers needing a post office after traditional work hours. The branch on Stanton Road, along with nearby post offices, closes at 5 p.m.
SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told SFGATE that the post office was notified in April 2020 that the lease would not be renewed and would officially end in August 2022. He added that the decision to end operations Thursday was made by the post office.
Ramirez explained that the early departure was for operational purposes, “in order to complete all necessary requirements to vacate the facility,” she said.
Yakel said SFO is evaluating various options for the future of the site and said the likely route is that it will become a mix of cargo and receiving facilities.
ABC7 reported that the Postal Service assures that no employee will lose their job and they will be transferred to other post office branches.
Speaking to the news station, Nicole Coleman of South San Francisco said, “Can’t really blame anybody here, but it’s probably the airport because they want the property.” | https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/SF-airport-post-office-closes-17049622.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:53Z |
Fury over school board appointments at STETHS
Thursday, March 31, 2022SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — There is a gathering storm over the appointment of a new board of management for St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).
Members of the STETHS fraternity are incensed that there was no consultation with them prior to the appointment of a new chairman and three others who will effectively represent the Government on the new school board.
The recommendations were initially made by Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth North Eastern Delroy Slowley. The four recommended individuals were subsequently nominated by the National Council on Education (NCE) and then approved by Minister of Education Fayval Williams.
The appointments take effect on April 1.
A strongly worded letter written by STETHS Principal Keith Wellington to NCE executive director Merris Murray, which oversees public educational institutions, alleges that the nominations made by that organisation without “customary consultation” are an insult to the STETHS fraternity and the wider Santa Cruz.
The letter noted that STETHS, established in 1961 following intense lobbying by the Santa Cruz Citizens' Association of the day, is celebrating its 60th year.
High among the grouses highlighted by Wellington in his letter — which did not name Slowley — is that three of the four NCE nominees, including the incoming chairman, are past students of Munro College, with no previous affiliation to STETHS.
Checks by the Jamaica Observer suggest that the other person is a STETHS past student.
Wellington, a Munro old boy who has been an educator at STETHS for 25 years, including the last 14 as principal, said in his letter that the NCE's nomination of the four board members without consultation “can only be viewed as a disservice — slap in the face — to the STETHS family”.
The NCE is a statutory body which, among other duties, nominates a specified number of school board members through a governance committee led by Doran Dixon, a former president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association.
When contacted by telephone on Wednesday, Slowley, also a Munro old boy — whose constituency includes Santa Cruz as its main town — insisted that there was no intent to disrespect STETHS when he made his recommendations.
“We have selected persons who we consider to be competent ... these persons were recommended on the basis of networking and persons who I consider competent, able, and available to serve,” he said.
Slowley appeared to suggest that schools attended by the four people were not factored in when he made his recommendations. “This was not something pre-planned,” he said.
When contacted, Dixon assertively supported Slowley's position, insisting that “proper process was followed” in line with the Education Act of 1980 which covers the governance of schools including the appointment and conduct of school boards.
Dixon noted that section 71 of the Education Act, which deals with school boards for publicly-owned secondary schools, has no requirement for “consultation with anyone”.
The Education Act also has no requirement for any elected politician, other than the education minister, to have a say in the appointment of school boards.
However, Dixon said there was “a long-standing practice” for recommendations to school boards by a Member of Parliament to be accepted after what he called “due diligence”.
The role of politicians other than the minister in the appointment of school boards has long been a contentious issue. Back in 2015, then Education Minister Ronald Thwaites of the then ruling People's National Party (PNP) claimed he had put an end to the practice of MPs effectively appointing chairpersons of school boards.
Thwaites said at the time that he had set up a new consultation-based system to ensure fairness in the selection process.
“When I came to the ministry the Member of Parliament's nomination was pretty much absolute in terms of the appointment of a chairman of each school board. Yes, the MP is the people's representative and does have a right to say something, but not to appoint. I've had to turn back letters from colleagues saying I'm appointing so and so as the chairman of this school in my constituency. With the greatest of respect — no!” Thwaites said at an Observer Monday Exchange at the time.
However, in defending the system used in the NCE's selection of the new chairman and three members of the STETHS board, Dixon said that “The MP (Slowley), as far as we know, has recommended in good faith these people...”
He argued that “the fact that (three of the four) went to Munro is not a [worthwhile] concern”.
Wellington's letter — copied to various stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, Slowley, and STETHS alumni groups at home and abroad — made it very clear that he thought the decision by the NCE to largely ignore those close to STETHS, while opting to appoint three Munro alumni as its representatives was extremely offensive.
“While to the uninitiated this might seem a trivial matter, those who have constantly offered their full support to their alma mater have already raised concern ... This concern is precipitated by the fact that the successes of the school have been built on the contribution of our alumni whose pride drive them in making the sacrifices required,” Wellington said.
“To suggest by way of these appointments that the governance of the institution is better off without their input is not in keeping with the enviable culture of ownership that we have built over the last six decades,” he added.
Without calling names, Wellington observed that “two of the four appointees live and work outside of the parish, another is a sitting member of the municipal corporation with a full-time position as a classroom teacher, who has also been appointed to multiple boards by the NCE, while the fourth is unknown to the STETHS community”.
The Observer can confirm that the councillor referred to by Wellington is Christopher Williams of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) who represents the Santa Cruz Division in St Elizabeth North Eastern. Williams is the lone JLP councillor in the constituency.
Wellington, a highly respected school leader and head of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), described as “inconceivable” what he said were reports coming to him that no NCE member of school boards in the constituency had been returned to their respective boards of management.
He reiterated that absence of “consultation” that would normally take place at the local level before the final recommendations are made to the education minister had led to a failure to appoint the “best possible” school boards.
Editor's note: Garfield Myers is a STETHS old boy.
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Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has announced the upgrade of the State College of Education, Ilesa to a full-fledged university.
Oyetola made the announcement in Ilesa on Thursday at the inauguration and handing-over of N1bn Ijesaland Geriatric Centre funded by the community to the management of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.
The governor also said the government has engaged a corporate consultant, KPMG, to work out the sustainability plan of the upgrade.
He said, “Let me say that, having looked into and examined carefully the request made by prominent sons and daughters of Ijesa Land, and the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Aromolaran, government has decided to upgrade the Osun College of Education, Ilesa, to a full-fledged university.”
Commenting on the project, Oyetola said the initiative was another testament to the generosity of Ijesa people, adding that the gesture would go a long way to complement his administration’s sustained investment in the health sector.
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In his remarks, Asiwaju of Ijesaland, Olayinka Fasuyi, who initiated the project, said timely support and donations from the people of Ijesaland assisted in no small measure towards the completion of the hospital.
He then commended the unparalleled commitment and dexterity of the Ijesa to their community development which was demonstrated in the Owa palace and hospital project.
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Contact: [email protected] | https://punchng.com/oyetola-inaugurates-old-peoples-hospital-upgrade-college/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:56Z |
Country star Eric Church cancels San Antonio concert amid Final Four matchup
(Gray News) - Some fans of country musician Eric Church are singing the blues.
Church’s San Antonio appearance Saturday, part of his “The Gather Again Tour,” has been canceled, Ticketmaster said.
The star is ditching this concert date to watch a Final Four game of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, also known as “March Madness,” Variety and other outlets reported.
According to a letter sent to his fan club, The Church Choir, and reportedly also sent out to all who purchased tickets for the San Antonio show, Church is a huge Tar Heels men’s basketball fan.
In the letter, he admitted, “This is also the most selfish thing I’ve ever asked the Choir to do: to give up your Saturday night plans with us so that I can have this moment with my family and sports community.”
Carolina is playing Duke in the Final Four matchup, with the winner moving on to the championship game. The in-state rivals are two of the most decorated programs in the sport’s history, but they have never faced each other in the tournament.
Some fans on social media were predictably upset by the ruined concert plans, with one saying “Dude didn’t even reschedule. Just canceled it.”
Also, fans complained that they won’t be able to get refunds on the hotels they booked to be able to see the show and that the Ticketmaster refund will take a while to process.
Ticketmaster said fans should be able to get their refunds within 30 days.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wtok.com/2022/03/30/country-star-church-cancels-san-antonio-concert-amid-final-four-matchup/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:55Z |
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The HBCU connection with Bowles began when he served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Morehouse College (1997) and Grambling University (1998-1999) under head coach Doug Williams.
Bowles joined the NFL coaching ranks in 2000 with the New York Jets as the team's secondary coach. Fifteen seasons after being an assistant defensive coach at the Browns, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, and Cardinals, the Jets re-hired him as the team's head coach from 2015 to 2018.
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He is considered one of the best defensive coaches in the National Football League. "I believe Todd will be a great head coach again," Williams exalted. | https://www.si.com/college/hbcu/football/doug-williams-is-proud-of-todd-bowles-becoming-tampa-bays-head-coach | 2022-04-01T01:53:56Z |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/mlb/baltimore-orioles/articles/39011945 | 2022-04-01T01:53:57Z |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former minor league pitcher ran a major league illegal sports betting operation in California that used other former pro athletes to take bets and took wagers from players still in the game, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Wayne Nix, who threw for Oakland Athletics farm teams, used his connections to recruit three former Major League Baseball players and a former pro football player as fellow bookies, prosecutors said.
The MLB began looking into the matter when it learned of it Thursday, but was unaware any of those involved other than Nix, a spokesman said.
Court records offered no names of the players who worked for Nix or those who placed bets with his business, but they provide a glimpse of the kind of money being wagered, earned and lost.
A professional football player paid Nix $245,000 for gambling losses in 2016. An MLB coach paid $4,000 in losses that same year. It was not disclosed if either bet on their own games or their own sports.
MLB prohibits players from betting on baseball or gambling illegally on sports. They can bet on other sports if it’s legal. The National Football League policy bars all personnel from betting on football games.
A Los Angeles check cashing business that has agreed to plead guilty to failing to prevent money laundering in the scheme cashed over $18 million in checks from two single bettors, prosecutors said.
One client wagered $5 million on the Super Bowl but it was not revealed if that gambit paid off.
Sports betting is legal in 30 states, but not in California. However, voters will have a chance to legalize it at the polls in November.
Nix, 45, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to run an illegal gambling operation and faces up to eight years in prison. He also admitted he failed to report $1.4 million in income in 2017 and 2018. He has agreed to pay back taxes and interest of $1.25 million and forfeit $1.3 million seized from bank accounts.
Nix began the sports bookmaking business about 20 years ago after his six-year minor league career — with stops in Arizona, Texas and California — ended, prosecutors said.
His client list was created from contacts he had made in the sports world and included current and former pro athletes. The agents he hired helped expand that clientele.
The operation eventually began using a Costa Rican business, Sand Island Sports, to create accounts where bets could be placed and tracked and credit limits set, prosecutors said. Bets were placed online or through a call center, though Nix paid winners and kept most of the money from losing bets.
Those who exceeded credit limits were shut off, though exceptions were made, according to court documents.
A sports broadcaster's account was reactivated in February 2019 after he told Nix he was refinancing his home mortgage to pay off his gambling debts.
In September 2019, Nix increased the credit limit to a baseball player with debts so he could make additional bets.
In November, 2019, Nix's partner, Edon Kagasoff, told a business manager for a professional basketball player that he would increase the maximum wager he could place to $25,000 per NBA game.
Kagasoff, 44, faces the same conspiracy charge as Nix. He also agreed to plead guilty and forfeit over $3 million in funds seized from his home and bank accounts. | https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Ex-minor-leaguer-ran-major-league-sports-betting-17049855.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:57Z |
When we were kids in the ’50s, in parochial school, the contractor would plow the heavy snow in the schoolyard up against a tall stockade fence; when the snow hardened, it became a fortress and the classes at recess would take turns storming the fortress in attempting to overtake its defenders. The game was called “king of the mountain.” We had a lot of fun, no one got hurt, the state didn’t interfere, no one sued, and in the midst of it all the Supreme Court said that “separate but equal” in public education was unconstitutional, Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 1954. At the same time, Martin Luther King Jr. was obtaining his doctorate at Boston University.
Dr. King was an accomplished orator, no matter one’s opinion of his political views. Rereading his speeches decades following his death, one is struck at how marvelously structured they were. One will mention two, both of which dealt in no small measure with the mountain, almost five years apart, one from the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, the second on April 3, 1968, in Memphis.
The first, known as “I Have a Dream,” was set in Washington, D.C., at a huge civil rights rally in the summer of 1963. It followed on the heels of King’s earlier “Letter from Birmingham Jail” of April 16, and President Kennedy’s eloquent address to the nation of June 11. Kennedy spoke following the court-ordered admission of two African-American students to the University of Alabama earlier that day. Kennedy saw the quest for civil rights as embracing the idea of equal rights and equal opportunities, reminding us that “We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.” In August, in the nation’s capital, King speaks of the unfulfilled dream of America and how Lincoln’s efforts had not yet been fully achieved. He urges both his followers and the American people as a whole to continue to pursue their efforts at securing rights for the African-American.
King uses “mountain” as a literal translation but also as a representation, a geographical bridge, a physical venue, a unifying thread and a spiritual quest.
About half way through the speech, King refers to “…the red hills of Georgia.” Then he recalls the biblical prophecy from the Old Testament: “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low … and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” Isaiah 40:3-5. This prophecy is presumably fulfilled in the New Testament. Luke 3: 4-6. It is the idea of moral and spiritual renewal. It includes every hill and mountain, universal as opposed to the particular. So as the biblical prediction had been fulfilled, so too the African Americans’ dream would be secured through faith and effort.
Then King uses “mountain” as a physical commodity, and as a representation, saying that with faith the African American will be able to “hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” He returns to the universal: “From every mountainside, let freedom ring!” A venue.
Then King shifts from the universal to the particular, as he embraces other parts of the nation in his call for renewal. He proceeds from New England to the Mid-Atlantic, to the West, to the far West: Let freedom ring, he says “from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire,” from the “mighty mountains of New York,” from the “heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania,” from the “snow-capped Rockies of Colorado,” “from the curvaceous slopes of California.”
Having gone from East to West, he returns to the South, again with the particular “from Stone Mountain of Georgia,” from “Lookout Mountain of Tennessee,” “from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.” In his peroration, he returns to the universal: “From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
In the next five years, the United States went through a transformation, including the assassination of a president, entry into war, disruptions in colleges and within the political process. A part of the African American dream was realized, too, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Some of King’s dream had been realized.
In 1968, King traveled once more to the South, to Tennessee, to speak on behalf of striking sanitation workers. On April 3, he spoke of the “Promised Land” “… for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever.” Genesis 13:15. And he speaks again of the mountain, as a geographical bridge. The mountain is part of the dream, both for him in particular on the eve of his assassination, and for the African American in general. For him to see the promised land, he had to go up to the mountain: “…because I’ve been to the mountaintop … And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land … We, as a people, will get to the promised land! ... Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”
The mountain serves as a connection to the Biblical world, a physical monument, a goal. It is on the path to fulfillment of the American dream, and of the celestial prophecy. With the possible exception of President Kennedy, the Civil Rights leader was the oratorical king of the mountain for his time.
Tom Hogan, of Litchfield, taught American Studies courses at the University of Connecticut's Waterbury campus from 2012-2019. | https://www.registercitizen.com/opinion/article/Opinion-Remembering-the-King-of-the-Mountain-17048354.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:57Z |
DJ Zedd is back to make people dance on the grass again with the return of Zedd in the Park festival this summer at L.A. State Historic Park.
General admission tickets go on sale April 6 for the July 8 festival taking place at the downtown L.A. venue that will include a headlining performance by Zedd, who previously performed at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and just appeared at the 2022 Beyond Wonderland festival in San Bernardino.
Presale tickets are available as of April 5.
Joining Zedd for the electronic and pop music dance party at the park will be Canadian DJ duo Loud Luxury, along with DJs Wolfgang Gartner, Regard, GOJ!RA and Fernet.
The all-day festival is for those ages 18 and over and will also include art installations and food trucks.
Zedd in the Park launched in 2018 and returned in 2019 before being sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic until its 2022 return.
“I’m beyond thrilled Zedd In The Park is back! This is one of my favorite shows to play and I can’t wait to see everyone back at the park since the event has been on hiatus since 2019. It’s going to be an incredible experience with an awesome line-up,” Zedd said in a statement.
For tickets go to zedd.net/zitp | https://www.sgvtribune.com/2022/03/31/zedd-in-the-park-brings-dance-music-back-to-the-la-state-historic-park-this-summer/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:57Z |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former minor league pitcher ran a major league illegal sports betting operation in California that used other former pro athletes to take bets and took wagers from players still in the game, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Wayne Nix, who threw for Oakland Athletics farm teams, used his connections to recruit three former Major League Baseball players and a former pro football player as fellow bookies, prosecutors said.
The MLB began looking into the matter when it learned of it Thursday, but was unaware any of those involved other than Nix, a spokesman said.
Court records offered no names of the players who worked for Nix or those who placed bets with his business, but they provide a glimpse of the kind of money being wagered, earned and lost.
A professional football player paid Nix $245,000 for gambling losses in 2016. An MLB coach paid $4,000 in losses that same year. It was not disclosed if either bet on their own games or their own sports.
MLB prohibits players from betting on baseball or gambling illegally on sports. They can bet on other sports if it’s legal. The National Football League policy bars all personnel from betting on football games.
A Los Angeles check cashing business that has agreed to plead guilty to failing to prevent money laundering in the scheme cashed over $18 million in checks from two single bettors, prosecutors said.
One client wagered $5 million on the Super Bowl but it was not revealed if that gambit paid off.
Sports betting is legal in 30 states, but not in California. However, voters will have a chance to legalize it at the polls in November.
Nix, 45, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to run an illegal gambling operation and faces up to eight years in prison. He also admitted he failed to report $1.4 million in income in 2017 and 2018. He has agreed to pay back taxes and interest of $1.25 million and forfeit $1.3 million seized from bank accounts.
Nix began the sports bookmaking business about 20 years ago after his six-year minor league career — with stops in Arizona, Texas and California — ended, prosecutors said.
His client list was created from contacts he had made in the sports world and included current and former pro athletes. The agents he hired helped expand that clientele.
The operation eventually began using a Costa Rican business, Sand Island Sports, to create accounts where bets could be placed and tracked and credit limits set, prosecutors said. Bets were placed online or through a call center, though Nix paid winners and kept most of the money from losing bets.
Those who exceeded credit limits were shut off, though exceptions were made, according to court documents.
A sports broadcaster's account was reactivated in February 2019 after he told Nix he was refinancing his home mortgage to pay off his gambling debts.
In September 2019, Nix increased the credit limit to a baseball player with debts so he could make additional bets.
In November, 2019, Nix's partner, Edon Kagasoff, told a business manager for a professional basketball player that he would increase the maximum wager he could place to $25,000 per NBA game.
Kagasoff, 44, faces the same conspiracy charge as Nix. He also agreed to plead guilty and forfeit over $3 million in funds seized from his home and bank accounts. | https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/Ex-minor-leaguer-ran-major-league-sports-betting-17049855.php | 2022-04-01T01:53:58Z |
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri’s record general revenue surplus was off-limits for spending plans as the House Budget Committee worked Thursday, defeating Democratic efforts to give boost money for public schools and state colleges.
The only significant addition to education budgets approved by the committee was to restart the teacher Career Ladder program, providing $21 million to give experienced teachers $1,500 to $5,000 a year in extra pay. The program has not been funded since 2010.
The committee didn’t vote on adding $214 million for public school transportation needs – and didn’t consider amendments for large increases for higher education – because Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, ruled the amendment broke a House rule requiring a corresponding cut.
The ruling prevented Rep. LaKeysha Bosley, D-St. Louis, from pushing an amendment giving $104 million to Lincoln University to cover funds it has taken from its general budget to match federal land grant appropriations.
In an interview with The Independent, Bosley said she will try again when the budget is debated on the House floor and may try to use federal stimulus funds, which are not restricted by the rule requiring a corresponding cut.
“It is disheartening, to say the least,” Bosley said. “This is what they deserve.”
Refusing to use some of the $1.8 billion of general revenue surplus to fund school transportation means districts will pay the costs from funds that could be used for after-school or other enhancement programs, state Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City.
“We have continued to have a tremendous underinvestment of state resources into our schools,” she said.
In his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, Gov. Mike Parson did not recommend any increase in funding through the $3.56 billion foundation formula or for school transportation. The $214 million sought by Nurrenbern is the difference between the $114 million proposed for transportation costs and the 75% share state law indicates is a state responsibility.
Smith told the committee he was adhering to what is known as the balancing rule even as he recognized his budget plan leaves a record amount of revenue unspent.
“That money sitting in the state treasury doesn’t do anybody any good,” Smith said.
The only significant increase in general funding for public schools in the coming year’s budget will be through a dedicated sales tax. The tax, which is distributed on a simple per-pupil basis, will provide $1.15 billion in the coming fiscal year, about $40 million more than this year.
Higher education institutions, usually the target for cuts when revenues are short, deserve an extraordinary increase, said state Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis.
“We are a rare state that has dramatically decreased our funding of higher education over the last decade,” Merideth said.
Parson’s budget recommended a 5.3% increase in higher education funding for the coming year, dedicating $838 million to four-year universities, $161.7 million to community colleges, and $8.4 million to the State Technical College in Linn.
Merideth wanted to bump it to 10%.
Smith, however, said the biggest chore facing budget writers is using the many billions of federal funds flowing into the state that have a deadline for use. Evaluating Parson’s proposals for federal stimulus spending and deciding the best way to use the state tax surplus is time-consuming, Smith said.
“It is a difficult thing to jam all that in a four-month legislative session,” he said.
The difficulty of getting big-dollar items past Smith also deterred some smaller proposals. After Bosley withdrew her proposal for restoring Lincoln University’s past spending to match federal land-grant funding, an amendment prepared to provide 100% of the needed match in the coming year was not offered.
Parson proposed $5.3 million for Lincoln’s budget for land grant match. Another $4.4 million is needed to provide a full match.
The politics of COVID-19 reached into the budget deliberations Thursday when Rep. Chris Sander, R-Lone Jack, offered an amendment to put limits on mitigation measures at school-sponsored events. Under his proposal, which will be part of the budget, no state tax money can be spent on any event open to the public if people who are not vaccinated or not had recent negative tests are not allowed to attend.
The amendment, which Sander succeeded in attaching to all the budget bills, stems from being turned away from an event, he said.
“I suffered quite an embarrassment after buying a ticket and then being told I couldn’t enter,” he said. “We have gone two years without a vaccine mandate, and this is just ensuring that whatever happens with the pandemic going away that doesn’t happen.”
(State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, right, makes a plea for increased funding for public schools during Thursday’s House Budget Committee markup session. (Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent) | https://www.kttn.com/house-budget-committee-rejects-adding-surplus-revenue-to-missouri-public-schools-colleges/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:58Z |
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Strategy launched to help local firms capitalize on battery plant opportunities
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Landing a major battery plant for Windsor was an immense challenge, but right behind it for local industrial automation and advanced manufacturers will be getting integrated into the supply chain of LG Energy Solution.
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“There’s going to be a lot of work come out of this,” said Harbour Technologies co-owner Andrew Glover.
“The difficulty in dealing with a multinational company for the first time is you’re dealing with 100 potential buyers and a procurement vice-president before you get to the right person. We’ll need some help making those connections.”
The South Korean firm is setting up its first manufacturing facility in Canada and the success of the corporate courtship of a new partner will determine just how much local companies can benefit from the $5 billion investment LG is making in partnership with Stellantis.
Early indications are LG Solutions/Stellantis is looking to build domestic supply chains.
“Several local companies have already received a request for a quote from LG for millions of parts for the plant,” said Invest WindsorEssex director of business attraction Joe Goncalves.
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It’ll be up to us do decide what do with that opportunity
“Those companies are now quoting for those contracts.
“With the content mandates in CUSMA taking effect in July 2025, they’ll want to see even more produced locally.”
To help area companies get a piece of the action, Invest WindsorEssex is building a data bank of local companies. Companies can reach out to provide information to get themselves registered for the data bank.
“We’ve divided it into categories, tool making, plastics, aluminum and metal stamping,” Goncalves said.
“The company is going through the list and reaches out to the ones they feel match their needs.”
Goncalves said Invest WindsorEssex has also hired a pair of German-based firms with expertise in the electric vehicle and battery space to begin doing audits of the companies in the local supply chain.
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One of the firms PEM, has an established local presence as a partner in the Canadian Automobility Hub. The other consulting company is P3 Group.
The companies will also produce classes and seminars to help local firms in the procurement process.
“The audits will start within a week,” Goncalves said. “They’ll assess our strengths, weaknesses and identify the gaps locally.
“We don’t want to cut our existing companies off at the knees by recruiting companies to come here and compete with them. We want to help them diversify and pivot and fill the gaps with companies where we’re lacking.”
Goncalves said he expects to see most of the supply chain located relatively close to the new plant.
“I think 20 to 30 per cent of the supply chain will be companies which are already here,” Goncalves said. “Another 30 to 40 per cent will be companies coming to the area.”
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Laval International president Jonathan Azzopardi said once given an opportunity he’s confident area companies will be able to prove to LG the value of working with local companies.
“It’ll be up to us do decide what do with that opportunity,” Azzopardi said. “Ontario is the only region (in North America) that you have everything you need to go from raw materials to finished product. We have to show that we can take what we’ve learned from the automotive industry and be able to apply it somewhere else.”
While local companies feel comfortable working in the battery space, Glover said there’s going to be a need for some programs to access the working capital needed to meet the demands of the plant.
“A company might have the capacity to take on $70-million contracts, but not the working capital to handle that,” Glover said. “That might be the biggest challenge locally.
“We’re going to need the BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada), banks and governments to ensure the proper funding to take on this type of work.”
twitter.com/winstarwaddell | https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/strategy-launched-to-help-local-firms-capitalize-on-battery-plant-opportunities | 2022-04-01T01:53:58Z |
Bruins honor retired goalie Rask after injury ended career
By TALIA GOODMAN
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins honored Tuukka Rask before their game against the New Jersey Devils. The longtime Bruins goaltender announced his retirement midseason after a setback in his comeback from a hip injury. Rask was accompanied by his wife and three daughters when he dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game. The Boston fans shouted “Tuuuk!” as they did during his 15 year career all in Boston. Rask is the franchise’s all-time leader in wins for goalies. He won the 2014 Vezina Trophy and led the team to the Stanley Cup Final twice. He was also the backup on the team that won it all in 2011. | https://ktvz.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/03/31/bruins-honor-retired-goalie-rask-after-injury-ended-career/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:59Z |
The contract also includes four option years, worth additional $2.5 billion
TUCSON, Ariz., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) business, was awarded a $651 million, with options totaling $2.5 billion, hardware, production and sustainment contract for full-rate production of the AN/SPY-6(V) Family of Radars. The contract, with options, totals $3.2 billion and five years of radar production to equip up to 31 U.S. Navy ships with SPY-6 radars.
Under the contract, RMD will produce solid state, fixed-face and rotating SPY-6 variants that will deliver unprecedented integrated air and missile defense capabilities for seven types of U.S. Navy ships over the next 40 years. Those vessels include the Navy's new Arleigh Burke class Flight III destroyers, aircraft carriers and amphibious ships; today's Flight IIA destroyers will be backfit with an upgraded radar.
"There is no other radar with the surface maritime capabilities of SPY-6," said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense. "SPY-6 is the most advanced naval radar in existence, and it will provide our military a giant leap forward in capability for decades to come."
Since its inception, more than $600 million has been invested in the development and manufacturing of the SPY-6 family of radars. When compared to legacy radars, SPY-6 will bring new capabilities to the surface fleet, such as advanced electronic warfare protection and enhanced detection abilities.
SPY-6 array radar variants have between nine and 37 radar modular assemblies, known as RMAs. Common RMAs allow SPY-6 to be scalable and modular to support production for the U.S. and partner nations across all variants, to include the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar. This commonality supports standardized logistics and training for those who work on the radars.
SPY-6 radar installation is complete on the Navy's first Flight III destroyer, the USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), which is scheduled to be operational in 2024. Radar array deliveries are complete for the next ship in the class, the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128).
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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SOURCE Raytheon Technologies | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/raytheon-missiles-amp-defense-awarded-651-million-produce-spy-6-radars-next-gen-us-navy-ships/ | 2022-04-01T01:53:59Z |
Gas prices surge again
Thursday, March 31, 2022GAS prices are to rise by the most in more than a year today, as the price of oil continued its see-saw ride on various geopolitical tensions while the Jamaican dollar lost value, also driving up prices.
Petrojam, in response, tagged a $4.35 increase to the price of E10-87 and a $4.37 increase to the price of E10-90 gasoline – the biggest hike in the price of both grades of fuel since they were increased by $4.50 on February 25, 2021. The increase pushed the fuel to record prices. Since the start of the year, the prices have gone up by $26 per litre or 16 per cent.
In notes attached to its price decision for the next week, Petrojam cites higher oil prices arising from the Russian/Ukraine war and storm damage to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium Black Sea's facility as events which continue to impact the market. Those events are happening at the same time, Middle Eastern geopolitics also affected the market as the Houthi rebels attacked Saudi oil assets, which also contributed to supply constraints.
Benchmark US crude oil for May delivery rose $3.58 to $107.82 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crude for May delivery rose $3.22 to $113.45 a barrel.
As for the other petroleum products, automotive diesel oil and low sulphur diesel are costing $4.50 more. Kerosene is also up $4.50. At the same time, propane and butane will go for an additional $3.06.
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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says the threat posed by St Kilda spearhead Max King won't sway him from using swingman Noah Balta at the opposite end of the ground in their AFL clash.
Premiership defender Balta has impressed in attack this season, kicking six goals across the opening two rounds.
He combined well with Tom Lynch against GWS last week in the absence of veteran forward Jack Riewoldt, who has been named to return from a thumb injury against the Saints at the MCG on Sunday.
"We know what we've got with Noah down back but we wanted to see what he could be and we've really enjoyed what he's brought," Hardwick said.
"He's a powerful man, a great contested mark and he's a great kick at goal as well.
"At this stage we'll settle him down up forward for this week but that's not to say that in the upcoming weeks he won't swing down back at various stages."
King's dominant third-quarter showing against Fremantle last week was crucial in St Kilda claiming their first win of the season.
The 21-year-old, now in his third full season after injuries ruined his rookie year, booted four goals in a performance that made the rest of the competition take notice.
Balta is arguably the Tigers' best physical match-up for King but Hardwick will try his other options first.
"He's an incredible talent, Max. He's getting better and better every year we see him play," Hardwick said.
"But we're really confident with Robbie (Tarrant), Josh Gibcus and Dylan Grimes ... that one of those players will be able to fill the role and negate him as best they can.
"He's going to take some marks, he's going to kick some goals - that's what the very best players do.
"We've got to make sure we manage that as best we can and keep it to a relatively low total."
Riewoldt and Grimes, who missed last week because of soreness, both took part in the Tigers' light training session at Punt Road on Friday.
Meanwhile, Richmond superstar Dustin Martin is no closer to returning from personal leave.
Martin has been away from the club since last week as he grieves the death of his father, Shane, last December.
"We have no further update at this stage. It's still at the same stage that we had last (week)," Hardwick said.
"We give him time and we wish him all the very best, and we can't wait to welcome him back at some stage.
"When that is, we're not too sure."
Hardwick chose not to disclose further details, brushing off questions about whether Martin is training while away from the club.
"I appreciate that everyone does want to know where we're at but we'll keep our cards pretty close to our chest," Hardwick said. | https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-to-stick-with-balta-in-attack-c-6284287 | 2022-04-01T01:53:59Z |
County to start non-profit funding discussion
A Monroe County board that doles out between $1.5 million and $2 million a year to non-profit social service groups will hold its first meeting Wednesday, both virtually and in-person.
The first meeting of the Human Services Advisory Board (HSAB) for the Fiscal Year 2023 grant funding cycle is set for March 30 at 1 p.m. in person at the Marathon Government Center and via Zoom. The meeting will include discussion of the upcoming FY2023 budget period of Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023.
HSAB grants are funded by the Monroe County Commission, and the grant funding opportunity is open to non-profit organizations that wish to propose a program for meeting human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention and remediation of problems and committed to improving the overall quality of life for vulnerable residents of Monroe County. Since 2014, Monroe County has given $17,550,060 in HSAB funding to local non-profit groups.
“The HSAB board bases its recommendations to the BOCC on evaluating the county’s needs, agency capability and past performance, and an established set of guidelines,” said Monroe County Budget Director Tina Boan. “An eligible organization must provide medical services, core services, and/or quality of life services to our residents.”
Wednesday’s meeting comes as one local non-profit healthcare provider for children did not receive $650,000 in state funding for the first time in eight years. The Florida Keys Area Health Education Center is the only local provider of medical and dental care to children in need in the chain of islands and operate clinics at nine of 10 Keys schools.
In January, AHEC expanded its services in the Keys with a mobile dental unit staffed with a dentist and a dental hygienist to Monroe County schools throughout the Keys. The dental program services all schools on a rotating basis. Those programs are now in jeopardy as the state Legislature did not include $650,000 in requested funding.
AHEC received $500,000 in the state budget in fiscal year 2021-22 and had requested $650,000 for this fiscal year. AHEC had received state funding through the Legislature for the past eight legislative sessions.
AHEC CEO Michael Cunningham does plan on requesting HSAB for more funding this year, but understands that if there is no new funding it will come at the expense of another non-profit group, he said.
“It has to be a reasonable increase,” Cunningham said. “I don’t want hurt another group.”
Since news of the funding loss, Cuningham has started conversations with various philanthropists and philanthropy groups, he said.
Cuts to existing AHEC programs could result in thousands of children and their families losing the level of free health and dental exams that AHEC has historically provided. Many of the low-income families AHEC serves may be forced to migrate to Monroe County pediatricians, at considerable personal expense.
Many Monroe County pediatricians may be unwilling or unable to increase their patient loads and/or elect to take on Medicaid patients. Those families may then forego pediatric and dental visits altogether, further deteriorating the overall level of children’s health in the county as a result.
The tentative agenda items for Wednesday’s meeting include introducing HSAB members, nominations and elections of the board, discussion of the FY23 funding process, including the application, attachments, funding history, discussion and approval of the funding cycle schedule, and public comments.
Attendance at this meeting is not a requirement of eligibility for grant funding. The meeting will be recorded and available for viewing on Monroe County Television (MCTV), usually within a few days after the meeting. Information on HSAB can be found at http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/hsab. Zoom details can be found at http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/calendar.
A second meeting will be held on June 1.
tohara@keysnews.com | https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556262352302/county-to-start-non-profit-funding-discussion | 2022-04-01T01:54:01Z |
About N9bn power plant purchased by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s administration is rotting away in Abeokuta, the state capital, as successive governments failed to put the machines into use amid worsening outage in the state, DAUD OLATUNJI writes
Over 30 pieces of crated power plant equipment worth N9bn imported from China into Ogun State by the Gbenga Daniel administration has been languishing within the premises of the governor’s office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta for eleven years.
Daniel, who governed the state between May 29, 2003, and May 29, 2011, had at the twilight of his administration inaugurated a 7.2 megawatts energy plant, but, unfortunately, he could not install the equipment when the administration’s tenure ended.
Daniel, while holding the sway as governor of gateway state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, had claimed that the decision to purchase the N9bn power equipment was part of his administration’s independent power project idea aimed at powering the then proposed but, now moribund new Abeokuta Business District, which he conceived at that time and as well as powering the state’s water supply equipment.
The former governor, in preparation for the project, had also gone ahead to facilitate the training of no fewer than 17 indigenes of the state in China in engineering, technical servicing and management of the equipment upon the installation at Oke-Mosan by an expatriate firm which served as the contractor of the project.
Daniel was succeeded in 2011 by Senator Ibikunle Amosun who also governed the state for eight years between May 29, 2011, and May 29, 2019, on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria which was later transformed to the All Progressives Congress.
Amosun, as the then governor, surprised many people of the state with his action when he did not move near the equipment which comprised different components including accessories.
Despite that the equipment was kept at the car park of the state secretariat which was a stone’s throw to his office, Amosun abandoned the machines which later got rotten for eight years. Rather than making use of the machines, Amosun mulled another idea of a power plant project running into another millions of naira.
Expectedly, a few years after Daniel’s exit in 2011, the decision by Amosun to jettison the inherited power plant equipment spewed up controversies between the two administrations.
The controversies and condemnations became too many for Amosun to endure over his decision to abandon the heavy machines, hence, he broke his silence.
Amosun’s government’s first reaction to the public outcry was made in 2014, three years after his assumption of office.
His Finance Commissioner, Kemi Adeosun spoke on his behalf during a budget meeting in 2014 when she gave an insight into why the N9bn power equipment procured by Daniel’s administration was lying idle in the state secretariat.
While rubbishing the equipment, she claimed that it was discovered to be obsolete and that the cost of installing it as well as the cost of maintenance, would provide a better and modern power plant to drive socio-economic activities in the state.
This acclaimed discovery propelled Amosun to procure new Gas Turbine engines while the existing power equipment bought by the previous administration remained unutilised.
In fact, the Amosun government declared publicly that it had told the contractor of the equipment to source for buyers so that money realised from the sale could be used to buy modern power equipment.
The then Amosun’s government said, “When we came into office, we met the power equipment on ground. N9bn has already been spent on that equipment, they were asking for an additional N5 billion. In addition, they wanted N3bn to install it. When you want to spend that kind of money, you have to do a cost-benefit analysis, which we did.
“We called in some power experts, they looked at the equipment and they said the equipment is about 20-years-old. To install it with N3bn Bi, with that money you can buy brand new equipment which is going to be far more efficient than that average equipment.
From the record, Amosun’s government statement was seen as an attack on Daniel who fired back, saying the equipment was not obsolete, claiming that the machines came from credible manufacturers.
Daniel, through his aide, Ayo Giwa, now late, said, “It is totally unfounded and criminal to say that the power equipment was obsolete. They were purchased from reputable manufacturers, renowned for best practices in the sector.
“As we speak, some of the equipment is generating and had been generating power at the Governor’s office complex including the state secretariat and the House of Assembly for an onward period of about three years (24/7 non-stop) and in some communities in the outskirts of Abeokuta, precisely where Day Waterman College was located along Siun-Sagamu Road.
If they are really outdated, good reasoning should inform them to return them to the manufacturers and get new ones and that is if they are in any way obsolete which is not true.
What looked like a sigh of relief came when another government took over the government which was believed would be friendly to Daniel and make use of the abandoned equipment.
Shockingly, Governor Dapo Abiodun who took over the mantle from Amosun in May 29, 2019, emulated Amosun by watching the equipment wasting away in the open.
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Almost three years down the lane, Abiodun did not look in the direction of the machines while the N9bn equipment was wasting away.
A visit to the car park of the state secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta recently, revealed that the equipment was as good as a disused machine at a dumpsite waiting for scavengers to pick the pieces.
At the car park where the rotten equipment was abandoned, it was observed that no one gets near the place which was carved out. The tarpaulin that was used to cover the machines against rains has become tattered while the wooden crates which housed the equipment had been eaten up by termites.
The iron rods that were placed separately within the carved area have worn out and began to peel. Weeds have crept into the designated area and have overgrown around the iron rods and the heavy machines.
A-two minute-movement was made to the proposed power plant workshop located within the governor’s office, but, with demarcation, showed that the Daniel administration had set aside about two acres of land for the project.
A visit to the designated power plant revealed that 11 years later, some equipment and assets were still lying fallow both in the governor’s office and the power plant workshop.
Upon entering the place, there is a plaque on the wall of a bungalow building with the inscription “this plaque is unveiled to commemorate official commissioning of 7MW mini power plant For government office complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta as part of 23 other locations by His Excellency, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, governor of Ogun state on Tuesday 24, May 2011. Gateway state … Setting the pace in independent power generation.”
The bungalow building painted in brown had another inscription “7MW Power Plant. On that acre of land, there are other buildings, mostly not completed but all abandoned. There are vehicles belonging to the Bureau of Electrical Engineering while a few workers were seen in the facility sitting idle.
There are about six turbines in that facility that had already grown weeds while other equipment of different sizes and shapes were also seen there rotting away.
As of the time of filing this report, Abiodun who is the third governor in the web of this failed power project was two months away from three years in the saddle.
When contacted, Special Adviser to the governor on Communications, Remmy Hazzan, said the government was on the verge of activating the machines when it assumed office, but was discouraged by the arbitration award.
Hazzan said the present government inherited arbitration costs which he said was double the worth of the project.
According to Hazzan, contrary to the claim of the previous government of Amosun that the equipment was obsolete and too expensive to run, the equipment used condemned oil from generating set among others.
He said “When that initiative was pursued by the administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel, the intention was to have that plant in about eight different units, each having about 10 megawatts and the first one was immediately installed to test-run the facilities even though it wasn’t even installed in full capacity.
“What was installed was between five and 10 megawatts, less than 10 but it is more than five, that was what was put to use by all government facilities, the secretariat as well as Presidential quarters of government functionaries.
“But truth be told, it is quite economical to manage. It runs on used oil which is what we call condemned oil that comes from vehicles and other generating sets.
“Now, for eight years, that administration did not allow the deployment of the remaining units even the one that was deployed, the use of it was discontinued, so to say, and that made the contractors that imported the units to run into some kinds of financial inadequacies because the only unit that was deployed or delivered was not fully installed, even what you are seeing in Oke-Mosan are remnants of one unit that has not been fully installed.
“The remaining units were stored in the importers’ warehouse and some other borrowed warehouse facilities and that was accumulating cost, so, that importer decided now to take us to court to recover cost because it wasn’t by the doings of that importer that the things were stored longer than necessary in the storage facility.”
Hazzan said shortly before Amosun’s government left office, the contractors had taken the state government to court asking for damages for abandoning the equipment in his warehouse. ,,
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Contact: [email protected] | https://punchng.com/political-bickering-thwarts-ogun-n9bn-power-scheme-amosun-abiodun-abandon-daniels-project/ | 2022-04-01T01:54:02Z |
Michigan State's Nia Clouden earns All-America honors from WBCA and Associated Press
Michigan State star guard Nia Clouden has added more awards to her already impressive resume as the WNBA Draft nears.
On Thursday, Clouden was named a honorable mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. This comes two weeks after the senior was also named All-America honorable mention by the Associated Press, and 11 days before the WNBA Draft.
Clouden is being projected as high as the No. 4 overall pick by the Indiana Fever, as well as at No. 6 overall (Indiana Fever) and No. 11 overall (Las Vegas Aces).
In her four-year career, Clouden was named first team All-Big Ten as a senior and junior, as well as second team All-Big Ten as a sophomore, and honorable mention All-Big Ten as a freshman. She is one of just seven Spartans to be named All-Big Ten in all four years of her collegiate career.
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This season as a senior, Clouden led the Spartans with 20 points per game, the fifth-highest mark in the Big Ten Conference. She led the league in free throw shooting at 88.8 percent, and was ninth in the Big Ten in both assists per game (4.2) and overall shooting percentage (43.4 percent). Clouden added 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game to her stat line.
Clouden led the Spartans in scoring in each of her final three seasons in East Lansing. She averaged 16.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game over her career.
Michigan State women's basketball went 15-15 overall this season, with a 8-9 mark in Big Ten play. The Spartans won one game in the Big Ten Tournament, before being eliminated by top-seeded Ohio State.
On Dec. 20, 2021, Clouden broke the school record for points in a single game when the she dropped 50 in a double overtime loss to Florida Gulf Coast. | https://www.si.com/college/michiganstate/basketball/michigan-state-spartans-basketball-nia-clouden-named-honorable-mention-all-american-033122 | 2022-04-01T01:54:02Z |
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app. | https://sportspyder.com/mlb/baltimore-orioles/articles/39012294 | 2022-04-01T01:54:03Z |
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Even as inflation bites, corporate profits remain flush
NEW YORK (AP) — What’s immune to high inflation? So far, the profits at big U.S. companies.
Businesses are facing higher gasoline and heating bills, just like consumers, in addition to higher expenses for labor and raw materials. But unlike many middle- and lower-income Americans, they’ve been making more than enough extra income to cover the additional costs.
Big companies have successfully raised prices for their products, from cups of coffee to auto parts to cans of paint, because their customers have kept lining up regardless. The result: record profits at the end of 2021 as revenue rose and a good chunk of each $1 of that revenue made it to the bottom line.
“A lot of the price pressures are just getting passed along” from companies to their customers, said Alex Arnon, associate director of policy analysis at the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a research initiative.
What’s uncertain is how much longer the trend may last, before customers sharply cut back on their purchases. A U.S. government report on Thursday will show how much buying consumers did in February after taking higher prices into account. In April, more clues will arrive as companies line up to tell Wall Street how much profit they made during the first three months of 2022.
The last such round of conference calls for CEOs was a rousing success for the companies. With customers itching to spend, and many sitting on savings built up with help from U.S. government stimulus programs, CEOs often pointed to “low elasticities of demand.” That’s an economist’s way of saying customers continued to buy even when prices were rising, and it means companies have less incentive to keep prices low.
“The overwhelming message from most companies in this earnings season is still that demand remains strong and continues to exceed their ability to meet it,” Deutsche Bank Chief Strategist Binky Chadha wrote in a recent report about the fourth-quarter results.
The coffee giant Starbucks raised prices once in October and then again in January, for example. Executives recently told Wall Street it was planning more increases to help “mitigate cost pressures.”
Those past price bumps didn’t discourage Starbucks customers, John Culver, group president, North America and chief operating officer, told analysts during a call last month. “To the contrary, our customer demand continues to grow.”
He made the comments after Starbucks reported a 31% jump in profit for the latest quarter from the prior year. Wall Street expected even stronger growth.
Companies aren’t able to blindly raise prices across the board. At Amphenol, which sells fiber optic connectors, antennas and other products to manufacturers, CEO Adam Norwitt said prices are easier to raise in some markets than others.
“We were there for our customers through the pandemic,” he said in a call with analysts. “We were there for them when maybe others were not through the supply-chain crisis. And so that, all things being equal, should position us well to be able to ask nicely of our customers that they should share in that.”
Amphenol reported record earnings per share and record revenue for the last three months of 2021.
Earnings across S&P 500 companies jumped a little more than 30% in the latest quarter. Margins, which show how much profit companies make off every $1 in revenue, remained near record levels, even as expenses sometimes rose by hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the last three months of 2021, companies in the S&P 500 held onto $12.40 of every $100 in revenue as profit, according to FactSet. That’s down a bit from previous quarters, but still above the average of $11 over the last five years.
For the first three months of 2022, analysts expect a further dip to $12.20, partly because costs continue to rise.
The story for many U.S. households has been more painful, with the least wealthy Americans hit hardest by the price increases coming from companies. Even though many workers got raises last year, they often weren’t enough to cover higher bills.
The typical working household making $40,000 to $60,000 earned $2,193 more in 2021 than the year before, according to an analysis by Penn Wharton Budget Model. That fell short of the $2,712 in additional costs due to inflation, leaving that household $519 in the hole.
And the pressure may crank even higher after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which caused extreme price swings for oil, wheat and other commodities the region produces.
“The consumer has been able to accept higher prices, so far,” said Nate Thooft, chief investment officer of multi-asset solutions at Manulife Investment Management. “I say so far because the game is being ramped up again with gas prices at all-time highs.”
The war’s exact effect on inflation is unclear. Oil prices have been nearly as quick to plunge as to surge recently, for example, given all the uncertainties.
Economists aren’t surprised corporate profit margins have remained so high, which they say is a result of the economy roaring out of its coronavirus-caused shutdown. Buyers are increasing their purchases faster than businesses can increase the amount of stuff on shelves to sell.
“There’s so much capital out there, it’s so easy to get and almost free” with interest rates near record lows, said Ann Miletti, head of active equity at Allspring Global Investments. “It’s not surprising that growth rates have stayed higher, margins have been more sustainable and consumers have had more in their pockets to spend.”
Now the Federal Reserve has begun raising interest rates off record lows, which should slow purchases. U.S. households may also be set to return to more “normal” buying activity, no longer fueled by as much government stimulus. They may also exhaust the pent-up demand from the pandemic.
The hope among economists is that capitalism will also do what it does, and the high profit margins signal to companies they should ramp up production to maximize their sales. New competitors should also be attracted after seeing the big profits available. All that should lead to slowdowns in price increases and a steady erosion of margins.
That’s the optimistic scenario in the eyes of Arnon at the Penn Wharton Budget Model. But he acknowledges worse-case scenarios that could lead corporate profit margins and inflation to stay high. They chiefly center around an economy that’s no longer well-functioning or competitive.
“If two years from now, we’re talking about margins going up from here,” he said, “that would be the clearest signal.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wtok.com/2022/03/30/even-inflation-bites-corporate-profits-remain-flush/ | 2022-04-01T01:54:02Z |
WHL
All Times Local
Western Conference
B.C. Division
U.S. Division
Eastern Conference
East Division
Central Division
Note: x - clinched playoff berth; y - clinched division; Two points for a team winning in overtime or shootout; the team losing in overtime or shootout receives one which is registered in the OTL or SOL columns.
Tuesday's results
Winnipeg 8 Moose Jaw 1
Wednesday's results
Everett at Portland, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert 2 Brandon 1
Swift Current 6 Lethbridge 4
Regina 3 Saskatoon 2
Calgary 3 Medicine Hat 2
Kamloops 8 Prince George 2
Friday's games
Calgary at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Winnipeg at Regina, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday's games
Edmonton at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 6 p.m.
Winnipeg at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Regina at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Everett at Tri-City, 6:05 p.m.
Spokane at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday's games
Swift Current at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Kamloops at Prince George, 2 p.m.
Red Deer at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Spokane at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Tuesday's games
Regina at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m. | https://www.thehour.com/news/article/HKO-WHL-Standings-17049892.php | 2022-04-01T01:54:03Z |
Jennifer Kupcho and Minjee Lee shared the lead in the Chevron Championship at six-under 66 after morning play Thursday in the first round of the major tournament’s final edition at Mission Hills.
Defending champion Patty Tavatanakit and 2013 winner Inbee Park were among the afternoon starters in the event ending a half-century run in the mountain-framed desert oasis.
Unable to find a sponsor willing to remain at Mission Hills, the tournament that started in 1972 as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle and became a major in 1983 is shifting to Houston next year under a six-year deal with Chevron.
Kupcho birdied Nos 11 through 14 in sunny and calm conditions to get to eight under, then bogeyed the next two holes. She birdied four of the first five holes and finished with nine birdies and three bogeys.
“I really like the layout of this golf course, the beautiful shape that it’s in every year,” Kupcho said. “It always is so fun to be here, so just taking advantage of how much I like the course and the atmosphere.”
Winless on the LPGA Tour, the 24-year-old from Colorado won the 2018 NCAA individual title for Wake Forest and took the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur the following year. She arrived at Mission Hills early after missing the cut last week at Aviara in Carlsbad.
“Honestly I just don’t like that course last week,” Kupcho said. “It doesn’t set up for my eye, so I really didn’t think much of it. I just used the two days that I did have on the weekend to come here and practice.”
Lee birdied all four par 5s in a bogey-free round.
“It was perfect,” Lee said. “Not like a breath of wind when we played. Maybe just a tiny bit. But conditions are great. Putting greens are rolling real nice. I don’t think you can get better than that.”
The 25-year-old Australian, ranked fourth in the world, won the Evian Championship last summer for her first major title and sixth LPGA Tour victory.
“I know I have one under my belt, but I do want a little bit more,” Lee said. “I just think I have a little bit more belief in myself and my game so I can be a little bit more comfortable just hitting the shots that I choose.”
Anna Nordqvist, Caroline Masson and Pajaree Anannarukarn were tied for third at 68, and 2014 winner Lexi Thompson was another stroke back with Lauren Stephenson.
Thompson marveled at the conditions on the course she first played as a 14-year-old amateur.
“I’ve never seen it this good,” Thompson said. “It always surprises me every year. It’s always better. But the greens are amazing. I’m one to putt and usually aim at things along the way, and there is just not an imperfection on greens to aim at. It’s a good problem.”
Thompson played alongside top-ranked Jin Young Ko, the 2019 winner who failed to make a birdie in a 74 that ended her streak of under-par rounds at 34.
“I was hitting lots of great shots, but my putting wasn’t good on the green,” Ko said. “I couldn’t see the break as much or speed, everything was wrong. I don’t know what happened.” | https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/mar/31/chevron-championship-mission-hills-first-round | 2022-04-01T01:54:04Z |
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – A South Carolina middle school student said he was walking down the hall with a friend when the friend pulled out a gun and shot another student Thursday afternoon.
The victim of the shooting at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville County was pronounced dead at an area hospital, according to Nexstar’s WSPA. Community activist Bruce Wilson, a family friend, identified the student as 12-year-old Jamari Cortez Bonaparte Jackson.
“We were friends, and we were just walking down the hallway. He was walking really fast, and he looked really nervous. … And all of a sudden, he just reaches in his backpack, just pulls out a gun, fires one shot,” a seventh grader identified only as Michael said. “I didn’t think twice. I just ran.”
Michael said he had never seen his friend walk like that or act that nervous, but he didn’t realize a shooting was about to happen.
When he saw his friend pull a gun out of his backpack, he remembered thinking, “Oh my God. He’s about to shoot the school.”
Michael said students started screaming, running to classrooms and locking the doors.
He said the shooter “just ran.”
Michael said it will be difficult to move past the deadly incident, stating, “It is going to be hard to sleep because I just know I could have lost my life that day too.”
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office took the shooter into custody in close proximity to the school.
“We are all devastated by today’s tragedy,” Jackson’s family said in a statement. “We love Jamari dearly and we would ask that our privacy be respected as we grieve during this very difficult time.”
“My heart breaks for this young boy’s family and my prayers are with them tonight,” said Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis in a statement. “Additionally, I will be praying for the other young boy who pulled the trigger and his family. I cannot fathom what would cause someone to do this to another human being and especially at that age, but I know it’s a situation where we all need to turn to God.”
Greenville County Schools Superintendent Dr. Burke Royster released this statement Thursday evening:
We are deeply saddened to hear that the student victim in the shooting at Tanglewood Middle School passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his fellow students, the staff members at the school and everyone who knew this child. This is an absolute tragedy, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support his family and the Tanglewood community as they mourn the young life that was lost today.
Dr. Burke Royster
We want to recognize the tremendous response from Principal Walles and the staff at Tanglewood, the school resource officer, Sheriff Hobart Lewis, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, EMS, and the multiple local, state and federal law enforcement agencies who all responded rapidly in accord with our emergency response plan.”
The principal of Tanglewood Middle School, Dr. Graysen Walles, also released this statement:
My heart goes out to the family of our student who passed away, and my prayers are with them. Our entire Tanglewood family is hurting with this news and from the events that took place today. Our school is mourning and will work together to heal and process this tragedy.”
Dr. Graysen Walles
Greenville County Schools announced that attendance on Friday will be optional in order to provide “counseling support for both students and staff.” | https://www.localsyr.com/news/national/its-going-to-be-hard-to-sleep-south-carolina-student-says-he-was-walking-with-shooter/ | 2022-04-01T01:54:04Z |
After nearly a six-month manhunt, the Mobile Police Department reported 19-year-old Hezekiah Kaniel Belfon was arrested in Florida this morning.
Belfon is accused of bringing a handgun into Ladd-Peebles Sports and Entertainment Complex during a Vigor-Williamson game on Oct. 15, 2021, and shooting at a rival “gang,” injuring five, according to preliminary testimony by investigators.
MPD Cpl. Katrina Frazier notified the media Thursday morning authorities located Belfon and took him into custody. He was on MPD’s most wanted list and was last known to have been in Troy. Two others have been arrested in connection with the shooting — 19-year-old Jai Scott and a juvenile.
The outburst of violence was the second high school football game shooting at the facility in five years. In August 2019, a 17-year-old opened fire at the close of a Williamson-LeFlore game, injuring nine. The event spurred officials to overhaul security protocols and admission policies.
Finger-pointing after the most recent event drove a wedge between the Ladd-Peebles Board of Directors and the Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS), ultimately leading school officials to expedite their decision to leave the facility. The system announced plans earlier last year for new football stadiums for the schools who used Ladd-Peebles.
Security footage from Ladd shows the three individuals leaving the stadium during the fourth quarter of the football game, where they are believed to have retrieved the firearm. Defense attorneys have maintained neither Scott nor the juvenile were aware Belfon would shoot.
During a December court hearing, state prosecutors said the surveillance tape also shows one of the victims, 18-year-old Jakobe Morgan, at the top of a ramp near the west concourse of the facility arguing with Scott.
Detectives testified after the two are seen engaging each other, as many as 20 individuals joined Morgan on the ramp and began to run towards Scott and the others. That is when Belfon allegedly pulled his firearm and quickly fired four shots at the group. Authorities said the incident lasted a matter of seconds. The juvenile suspect was in possession of a firearm at the time of the shooting but never brandished it.
Investigators in Troy were able to recover a 9mm handgun from a vehicle believed to be the weapon used in the incident. Troy University wide receiver Reggie Todd has been accused of aiding Belfon while on the lam and was suspended from play through the end of the Trojans’ season.
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Already a member of the Lagniappe family? Sign in by clicking here | https://lagniappemobile.com/breaking-man-wanted-for-ladd-peebles-shooting-arrested/ | 2022-04-01T01:54:04Z |
WHL
All Times Local
Western Conference
B.C. Division
U.S. Division
Eastern Conference
East Division
Central Division
Note: x - clinched playoff berth; y - clinched division; Two points for a team winning in overtime or shootout; the team losing in overtime or shootout receives one which is registered in the OTL or SOL columns.
Tuesday's results
Winnipeg 8 Moose Jaw 1
Wednesday's results
Everett at Portland, 7 p.m.
Prince Albert 2 Brandon 1
Swift Current 6 Lethbridge 4
Regina 3 Saskatoon 2
Calgary 3 Medicine Hat 2
Kamloops 8 Prince George 2
Friday's games
Calgary at Swift Current, 7 p.m.
Moose Jaw at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Winnipeg at Regina, 7 p.m.
Medicine Hat at Lethbridge, 7 p.m.
Spokane at Kamloops, 7 p.m.
Prince George at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Portland at Everett, 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City at Seattle, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday's games
Edmonton at Red Deer, 7 p.m.
Lethbridge at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Brandon at Saskatoon, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Portland, 6 p.m.
Winnipeg at Moose Jaw, 7 p.m.
Regina at Prince Albert, 7 p.m.
Everett at Tri-City, 6:05 p.m.
Spokane at Vancouver, 7 p.m.
Victoria at Kelowna, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday's games
Swift Current at Calgary, 2 p.m.
Kamloops at Prince George, 2 p.m.
Red Deer at Edmonton, 4 p.m.
Spokane at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Tuesday's games
Regina at Brandon, 7 p.m.
Saskatoon at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.
Kelowna at Prince George, 7 p.m. | https://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/article/HKO-WHL-Standings-17049892.php | 2022-04-01T01:54:04Z |
Town of Riverside celebrates 100th anniversary with exhibition, walking tour
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Windsor is celebrating the Town of Riverside’s centennial this month with a new museum exhibition and a walking tour through the east-end community.
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The Chimczuk Museum is offering free admission on Saturday to its exhibition on Riverside, which examines the town’s history from early French settlement to the rum-running and speakeasies of the 1920s to its eventual annexation by the City of Windsor in 1966.
Incorporated on May 3, 1921, the Town of Riverside initially included 2,600 acres of land and 1,155 citizens. It is the youngest of the border cities that now compose Windsor.
On April 23, Museum Windsor will host a walking tour to highlight some of the area’s architecture, early French families, its relationship with the Detroit River, and some prohibition-era stories. Advance registration is required and space is limited.
To purchase a ticket, call 519-253-1812 or visit Museum Windsor at 401 Riverside Dr. W. | https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/town-of-riverside-celebrates-100th-anniversary-with-exhibition-walking-tour | 2022-04-01T01:54:04Z |
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Pat Wright has passed
Thursday, March 31, 2022Patricia Jenkins Jarrett Wright, affectionately known by many as 'PJ', has died. Wright passed at her Montego Bay home on the morning of Wednesday, March 30. She was 69.
Wright, who revolutionised the hair, beauty, fashion and style industry, was the poster child of cancer survival, having fought the disease valiantly and publicly for 45 years. Indeed, in the last five years of her life, she became a live food advocate opening Wright Life Live Food Eatery at the Fairview Shopping Centre in Montego Bay, with a second at Round Hill Hotel and Villas, Hanover, and a third at Devon House, in Kingston.
Wright also added author to her already long list of accomplishments when she penned The Wright Life.
Wright leaves two sons, Sajato Jarrett and Peter Wright, and a granddaughter Najah.
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The Australian Test wicketkeeper whom it is said paid the price for being too nice and didn't sledge enough, has retired from cricket.
Peter Nevill, who played 17 Tests for Australia in 2015 and 2016, called stumps on his career on Friday.
One of only four men to play over 100 games for NSW, Nevill's last match came against Tasmania at the SCG in February in a season ruined by a shoulder injury.
He also took a record 310 catches for the state, going with the 61 he pouched for Australia in Test cricket.
But he will forever be remembered as the man who embodied the proverb 'nice guys finish last.'
A specialist wicketkeeper who rarely spilled a chance behind the stumps but averaged a modest 22.28 with the bat, Nevill was one of the casualties of Australia's Hobart horror show against South Africa in 2016.
It was said at the time the axe had fallen on Nevill because he hadn't shown the required aggression or sledge enough behind the stumps.
He responded with a glorious 179 for NSW, but was unable to regain his Test place and never played for Australia again.
When asked how he'd like to be remembered, Neville said: "I'd say as someone who got the most out of the ingredients they had.
"I've been fortunate to have played for as long as I have. It is hard to condense (my career) into something short and sweet.
"However, there's the opportunities I've had; the experiences; the people I've met; being able to travel the world, the ups ... and downs."
Nevill got his chance on the 2015 Ashes after several tours in and around the Australian squad.
The Melbourne-born talent also featured in Australia's dominant 2015-16 summer with series wins over New Zealand and West Indies.
But the spotlight was put on Australia's batting after a poor tour of Sri Lanka in 2016, before five were axed after the team was flogged by South Africa in Hobart.
Ultimately, he finished his career as NSW's most-capped captain in the state's history and a two-time winner of the Sheffield Shield.
"Peter has given outstanding service to Cricket NSW," Cricket NSW Lee Germon said.
"He has provided authentic, purpose centred leadership throughout his exceptional career.
"He has embodied, and exemplified, our values of humility and excellence." | https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/cricket/ex-test-gloveman-peter-nevill-retires-c-6285154 | 2022-04-01T01:54:06Z |
Ex-minor leaguer ran major league sports betting operation
By BRIAN MELLEY
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former minor league pitcher was the ringleader of an illegal sports betting operation in California that used former pro athletes as bookies and active players as clients. Prosecutors said Thursday that Wayne Nix has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to run an illegal gambling operation. They say he used his sports connections to recruit three former Major League Baseball players and a former pro football player as bookies. Clients included an MLB coach who lost $4,000 at one point and a professional football player who lost $245,000. One client wagered $5 million on the Super Bowl. | https://ktvz.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/03/31/ex-minor-leaguer-ran-major-league-sports-betting-operation-2/ | 2022-04-01T01:54:06Z |
"Cheer Boxes," Now En Route to Poland, Meant to Bring Joy to the Youngest Who Have Been Displaced
LAS VEGAS, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Realty ONE Group, a modern, purpose-driven lifestyle brand and ONE of the fastest growing franchisors in the world, set off on a crusade only three short weeks ago to collect tens of thousands of shoe boxes of toys, "cheer boxes," for Ukrainian children who have been displaced by the war.
The idea came from the daughters of the company's CEO and founder, Kuba Jewgieniew, who wanted children to help children in need. Jewgieniew's parents and family are from Poland while his wife, Luba Jewgieniew, was born and raised in Ukraine. The family originally hoped to collect just 300 boxes, but the result was well beyond anything the girls or the company could have expected.
"People helping people is what our COOLTURE (cool + culture) is all about," said Kuba Jewgieniew, CEO and Founder of Realty ONE Group. "Our entire ONE family across 45 states shared their love along with local schools, hospitals, neighbors and other real estate companies and it was ONE of the most amazing things I've ever experienced.
In total, Realty ONE Group estimates it collected more than 30,000 cheer boxes stuffed with toys, some clothing and loving, hand-crafted notes to all ages of Ukrainian children. The boxes began to overflow at the company's several hub offices in Orange County, Phoenix and Las Vegas, and now have been crated and shipped to the east coast where they'll make the final trek overseas to the south of Poland where Jewgieniew's family will drive distribution efforts.
Realty ONE Group has a long legacy of giving back through its 501(c)3, ONE Cares, having impacted nearly 300,000 lives in 2021, giving back more than $200,000 to organizations everywhere while planting 139,000 trees through its ONE Tree, ONE World program to make the earth greener as we expand our footprint around the world.
The UNBrokerage, as it's known in the industry, now has more than 17,000 real estate professionals in more than 400 offices in 45 states, Washington D.C. and Canada and will be opening in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Italy, Singapore and Spain, in addition to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
Learn more at www.OwnAOne.com.
For "cheer box" photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.5611210098907890&type=3
About Realty ONE Group
Founded in 2005, Realty ONE Group is an industry disruptor, radically changing the face of real estate franchising with its unique business model, fun coolture, technology infrastructure and superior support for its real estate professionals. The company has rapidly evolved to include more than 17,000 real estate professionals in over 400+ offices across 45 U.S. states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Canada, Italy, Spain, Singapore and Costa Rica. Realty ONE Group ranks in the top one percent in the nation by REAL Trends, has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top 5 Real Estate Franchise and has been on Inc. 500's list of the Fastest-Growing Companies for seven consecutive years. Realty ONE Group is surging ahead, opening doors, not only for its clients but for real estate professionals and franchise owners. To learn more, visit www.RealtyONEGroup.com.
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SOURCE Realty ONE Group | https://www.kmvt.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/realty-one-group-collects-tens-thousands-toys-ukrainian-refugee-children/ | 2022-04-01T01:54:06Z |
Sea turtle release set Wednesday in Marathon
The Marathon Turtle Hospital will hold a public sea turtle release Wednesday, March 30, at Sombrero Beach in Marathon.
The public is invited to watch as Leonardo, a juvenile green sea turtle rescued in July during an in-water research study in the Lower Keys, is returned to the wild.
Leonardo was treated at the Turtle Hospital for fibropapillomatosis. Treatment included tumor removal surgeries, chemotherapy eye drops, broad spectrum antibiotics, fluid treatment, vitamins, and a healthy diet of greens and mixed seafood.
According to hospital officials, Leonardo is healthy and ready to return to the sea. The sea turtle will arrive in the turtle ambulance at 12:40 p.m., with release promptly at 1 p.m. | https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556262492924/sea-turtle-release-set-wednesday-in-marathon | 2022-04-01T01:54:07Z |
What Syracuse is Getting in Judah Mintz
Syracuse basketball picked up a big commitment Thursday in guard Judah Mintz, ranked as the 33rd best player in the class by SI All-American. We spoke with Oak Hill Academy Player Development Coach Mike Lee to find out what the Orange is getting in Mintz and how fits at Syracuse.
SCOUTING REPORT
Lee: "He's got a lot of strengths. He's really good off the dribble. He's a really good shooter even though he doesn't shoot a lot of three pointers, but his percentages are really high. I joked with him one time at practice, 'what's it like to be such a great three point shooter for no reason?' He's a really good three point shooter and you'll see it. He's a good, instinctive defender. He's good at getting easy buckets, knowing when to leak out to get easy buckets. His weakness is sometimes he can overcomplicate the game. He can dribble too much or make things more difficult than they need to be. But when he plays a simple game, he's really, really good. Like tonight, we lost but he had like 21 (points) and seven (assists). He played really well. It was so simple. When he keeps it simple he's a five star, no question."
ZONE DEFENDER
Lee: "One thing is he likes the zone. A lot of players, especially young players, don't understand how important a zone defense is. They think, 'let's go mano a mano' and play man, but sometimes the zone is the better defense. He understands that and he's good in the zone. Especially at the top of the zone getting into passing lanes, making passes go high instead of quick chest passes, so everybody can rotate. I think he will fit in great in the (Syracuse) zone. He's really good at leaking out and getting easy buckets. So at the top of the zone, he lets other guys get the rebounds and then he gets out and scores for us. I think he's going to be a great fit."
HOW HE TRANSLATES TO THE ACC LEVEL RIGHT AWAY
Read More
Lee: "He's a leader. He's vocal. He tells guys what to do, he's not shy, he can definitely lead. Another thing that he's really good at, that he didn't get to showcase as much because he wasn't running the point here, is that he's a really, really good passer. He's a great passer. As long as he just simplifies it and makes the right plays, he'll be ready to play right away. It's going to be a really difficult transition for him to his complicated moves that he likes to do, but it'll be a very easy transition when he just goes and makes the right play, the right pass, the score. I think he's ready to do those things right now."
WHAT IS HE LIKE OFF THE COURT?
Lee: "He's a great guy. He went on a few visits and he'll bring back a t-shirt for my son and he'll autograph it for him. I love the guy. He's like family to me."
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