Source: United States Air Force
Headline: Around the Air Force: More Air Force, Space Force Priorities, Flexible Spending Accounts
In this week’s look Around the Air Force, CSAF Gen. David Allvin describes his strategy for defending the homeland and meeting the nation’s security priorities, CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman outlines the USSF’s path to ensure space superiority, and enrollment opens for a new Health Care FSA benefit.
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In its second year combatting child exploitation in northeast Florida, the Inter-agency Child Exploitation and Persons Trafficking Task Force continues its relentless pursuit of child predators, warning them that, with the combined strength of multiple agencies and advanced resources, their abhorrent actions will be exposed, even in the darkest corners of the web.
In 2024, the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force initiated 1,220 investigations and resolved 728 Cyber Tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators seized 122 electronic devices containing over 10 million images and videos, including more than 48,000 identified as child sexual abuse material. As a result, 28 victims were identified, and 66 arrests made, with many cases still active or in various stages of prosecution.
The INTERCEPT Task Force is a unique coalition of local, state, and federal law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Jacksonville, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Together, alongside private sector partners, they adopt a whole-of-government approach and collaborate daily to tackle the complexities on the front lines of child exploitation and human trafficking.
Partnering with Operation Light Shine and supported by donors like the Tim Tebow Foundation, the task force provides law enforcement with essential tools, funding, and training to combat this modern-day slavery of child exploitation and human trafficking. This collaboration enhances their investigative capabilities with advanced technology and expert resources.
Since its inception in March 2023, the Northeast Florida INTERCEPT Task Force has become a national model in the fight against child exploitation, committed to holding offenders accountable and rescuing vulnerable victims. With the full backing of HSI and numerous law enforcement and private sector partners, this task force is resolute in its mission to hold offenders accountable and rescue vulnerable victims.
To report any information about human trafficking, child sexual abuse, or the trafficking in child sexual abuse material immediately to your local sheriff’s office. Those who wish to remain anonymous can report information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through their tip line at (800) 843-5678 or report it to them online at report.cybertip.org.
Source: US State of New York
EW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of A.S., a minor, who died on September 13, 2023, following a motor vehicle collision involving a member of the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) in Suffolk County on September 9, 2023. Following a thorough investigation, which included review and analysis of video footage from a nearby residence, interviews with the involved officer and civilian witnesses, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.
On the evening of September 9, an SCPD officer was driving southbound on William Floyd Parkway responding to a medical emergency in a marked police vehicle with the emergency lights and siren activated. William Floyd Parkway has four main lanes – two southbound and two northbound – divided by a grass median. The southbound roadway, north of Adobe Drive, has two additional lanes, a left-turn lane and a right-turn lane. The posted speed limit on William Floyd Parkway in the vicinity of Adobe Drive is 30 MPH. As the officer approached the intersection with Adobe Drive/Beacon Street, she maneuvered around a car stopped ahead of her and entered the travel lane to the right of the left-turn lane and proceeded into the intersection through a green traffic light, traveling at a speed over 85 MPH. When the officer entered the intersection, she struck A.S., who was riding his bicycle east from Beacon Street across William Floyd Parkway. A.S. was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries on September 13, 2023.
Under OSI’s analysis of New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, Penal Law, and case law from New York’s highest court, a police officer who causes a death while properly responding to an emergency in a police vehicle cannot be charged with a crime unless the officer acts recklessly or intentionally. The criminal charge that requires recklessness is Manslaughter in the Second Degree, in which a person is guilty when they recklessly cause the death of another person. “Recklessly” means that the person consciously disregards a “substantial and unjustifiable” risk of death and that their actions are a “gross deviation” from a reasonable standard of conduct.
In this case, while the officer caused A.S.’s death, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation from the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable officer in the same circumstances, or that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. The officer was speeding because she was responding to an emergency. She took precautionary measures by activating her vehicle’s emergency lights and siren, and when the officer saw A.S., she attempted to swerve around him. There was not any evidence that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol, or that she was otherwise distracted at the time of the crash. OSI therefore will not pursue charges against the officer.
Determining the possibility of alcohol impairment is an essential component of investigating vehicular crashes. In this case, the officer was never administered a Portable Breath Test (PBT) after the incident. While there is no evidence that the officer driving the car was impaired by drugs or alcohol, OSI recommends that all precinct supervisors be trained in the administration of PBTs and field sobriety tests so that any on-duty or off-duty police officer, or any civilian, involved in a motor vehicle collision can be tested as close to the time of the collision as practicable to ensure the most accurate results.
OSI also recommends that SCPD equip all police vehicles with dashboard cameras that automatically record when officers activate the police car’s emergency lights to foster transparency, accountability, and evidence gathering. In this case, the officer’s vehicle was equipped with a dashcam, but the officer did not activate the dashcam when she activated the car’s emergency lights or sirens.
Source: US State of New York
EW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today advanced new legislation to protect consumers and small businesses from unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices. The Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices, or FAIR Business Practices Act, is a program bill from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and championed in the state legislature by Senator Leroy Comrie and Assemblymember Micah Lasher. This legislation will strengthen New York’s consumer protection law, GBL §349, to protect New Yorkers from a wide array of scams, including deed theft, artificial intelligence (AI)-based schemes, online phishing scams, hard-to-cancel subscriptions, junk fees, data breaches, and other unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices. Forty-seven other states and federal law already prohibit unfair practices, making New York’s current law both antiquated and inadequate.
The FAIR Business Practices Act would also help stop lenders, including auto lenders, mortgage servicers, and student loan servicers, from deceptively steering people into higher cost loans. It would reduce unnecessary and hidden fees, stop unfair billing practices by health care companies, and prevent companies from taking advantage of New Yorkers with limited English proficiency. With the federal government rolling back protections for consumers and small businesses, the FAIR Business Practices Act authorizes OAG and victims to seek civil penalties and restitution against businesses that use unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices against vulnerable New Yorkers.
“In New York right now, companies can make canceling a subscription so hard it seems impossible; nursing homeowners can sue relatives of deceased former residents; and debt collectors can steal Social Security benefits,” said Attorney General James. “This legislation will put a stop to this all. At a time when the federal government is making life harder, we want to make life easier for New Yorkers. The FAIR Business Practices Act will close loopholes that make it too easy for New Yorkers to be scammed, and will allow my office to go after anyone who violates the law and look forward to working with my partners in state government to ensure that as Washington retreats from protecting consumers, New York steps up to lead.”
“Strong consumer protection tools are essential for protecting Americans from unfair and abusive business practices,” said former FTC Chair Lina Khan. “At the FTC, we used these tools to tackle a range of exploitative tactics, from outrageous subscription traps and predatory scams to dangerous commercial surveillance. By passing a strong consumer protection bill, New York lawmakers can empower Attorney General James to fully defend New Yorkers’ pocketbooks, privacy, and economic freedoms.”
“Businesses should compete by providing great products and superior service, not by devising schemes to rip people off,” said former CFPB Director and FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra. “We need stronger state laws to combat abuses that harm families and honest businesses. With stronger laws on the books, Attorney General James and state law enforcement across the country can stop the scourge of junk fees and other crimes against consumers.”
“When unscrupulous actors take advantage of New Yorkers through online scams, junk fees, and hidden costs, our community and our economy suffer,” said Senator Leroy Comrie. “From unfair debt collection to deed theft, too many consumers have been hurt by abusive and deceptive practices. Let’s get the FAIR Business Practices Act passed this year and put the power back in the hands of the people, ensuring that businesses play fairly and put New York on par with 47 other states that already have these protections. I’m proud to work alongside Assemblyman Micah Lasher and Attorney General Letitia James to bring much-needed protections to the people who need them most.”
“Consumer protection equals affordability. Every year, billions of hard-earned dollars are extracted from American consumers by companies, big and small, that take advantage of us,” said Assemblymember Micah Lasher. “And as we speak, Donald Trump, who ran on the issue of affordability, is turning the lights off at the Federal agencies responsible for protecting our pocketbooks. The news today is that New York is going to fight back with the FAIR Business Practices Act. Making sure that the Attorney General has the tools she needs to look out for New Yorkers is one of the best ways we can stop the damage Trump is trying to do. By passing this bill, we will protect consumers from the high costs of unfair business practices and make sure they can spend the money they earn on the things they need. It is an honor to stand together in this fight with Attorney General James, who is a beacon for New York and for the nation in this moment of darkness, and with Senator Comrie, who has taught me a great deal over many years about combining conviction and common sense to deliver for constituents.”
New York’s current consumer protection law, GBL §349, was passed in 1970 and only prohibits deceptive business acts and practices, leaving consumers vulnerable to unfair or abusive acts by companies. The FAIR Business Practices Act will protect New Yorkers from unfair and abusive business acts, such as:
On February 9, the Trump administration ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to stop all work protecting consumers and decline any new cases. The CFPB is an independent agency that oversees big banks, lenders, credit card companies, and mortgage servicers and ensures companies are following federal consumer protection laws. As a result of the Trump administration’s actions, the nation’s largest banks are no longer being closely watched for compliance with key consumer protections by any federal regulator. The administration’s efforts to destroy the CFPB could also prevent consumers from reporting issues of fraud or deception.
“For months, I battled my student loan servicer over errors that delayed my payments, cost me critical progress toward loan forgiveness, and left me in financial limbo—all with no clear explanation or accountability,” said Erik Krause, a student loan borrower. “My case is just one of many. Too often, consumers are left vulnerable to mismanagement from financial institutions with little recourse. The legislation advanced by Attorney General James and the bill sponsors will change that, ensuring real protections for millions of New Yorkers against these unfair and harmful practices.”
“Nearly every one of the small business clients I advise has had some experience with predatory lenders,” said Eda Henries, Founder & Managing Principal of Henries and Co. in Brooklyn. “This is the case because traditional banks have largely exited the small business lending space, meaning that when a small business owner needs capital they often turn to non-traditional lenders that can offer quick turnarounds on underwriting and disbursing a loan. But the flip side of that is these loans come with hidden interest rates that are very high and extremely onerous repayment terms. What may look like growth funding or growth capital often ends up being a debt trap. New York must stop allowing bad actors in the lending space to act without guardrails and should provide small businesses with more meaningful protections from abusive practices by these lenders, vendors, and other predatory businesses. That is why I support Attorney General James’ efforts to advance the FAIR Business Practices Act.”
“I am a co-op owner and up to date on my mortgage,” said Richard Barrett, a senior homeowner in Harlem. “Last year my mortgage servicer – a company I never even chose to do business with – improperly paid my entire building’s property taxes and is demanding that I reimburse them even though they are entitled to a refund from the City. I believe this practice is unfair and abusive and that Attorney General James’ FAIR Act would incentivize the company to fix the problem it created, instead of taking advantage of New Yorkers due to New York’s weak consumer protection laws.”
“New York once stood as a model of consumer protection, but over time has fallen behind most other states in this regard,” said Carolyn Carter, Deputy Director of the National Consumer Law Center. “New Yorkers are especially vulnerable in this moment as our strongest line of defense – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission – are being eroded, and there are no state-level protections in New York against unfair and abusive market conduct. From large financial transactions such as student loan borrowing and auto sales to the everyday “subscription” economy, we see consumers fall victim to nefarious business practices without the ability for redress. NCLC applauds the Attorney General, Senator Comrie, and Assemblyman Lasher for championing the Fair Business Practices Act which will again make New York a leader in general consumer protection laws and promote a fairer economy for all.”
“All too often we see seniors and their families fall victim to predatory business practices such as unfair debt collection by nursing homes, home repair scams, and financial exploitation,” said Karen Nicolson, CEO and Executive Director of the Center for Elder Law and Justice. “Our attorneys work tirelessly to help secure redress for our clients, but New York’s weak general consumer protection law – which notably does not ban unfair or abusive business activity – limits our ability to secure restitution. We applaud Attorney General James, Senator Comrie, and Assemblymember Lasher for championing the FAIR Business Practices Act which will better protect aging New Yorkers from nefarious marketplace conduct, hold bad actors accountable, and ensure that victims will be made whole.”
“Every single day we hear from older adults who have been victims of scams,” said Ann Marie Cook, President and CEO of Lifespan of Greater Rochester. “Scams are serious crimes that, at a minimum, disrupt a person’s life and usually impact their financial future for a long time. At Lifespan we work to educate older adults, protect them against unscrupulous people, and help them if they have been scammed. I want to sincerely thank Attorney General Letitia James for her leadership on this issue and for protecting all consumers from deceptive practices.”
New Yorkers, especially seniors, veterans, low-income New Yorkers, and immigrant communities, are most vulnerable to these types of unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices. The FAIR Business Practices Act will authorize OAG and impacted individuals to bring a civil case against individuals or companies that engage in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices to seek penalties and restitution. This legislation has been introduced in the State Senate and State Assembly, and Attorney General James will work to have it advanced and signed into law so New York consumers are better protected regardless of what happens on the federal level.
Source: US State of New York
overnor Kathy Hochul today announced that Hempstead will receive $10 million in funding as the Long Island winner of the eighth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and Farmingdale will receive $4.5 million as the Long Island winner of the third round of NY Forward. For Round 8 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Round 3 of the NY Forward Program, each of the State’s 10 economic development regions receive awards from each program, to make for a total State commitment of $200 million in funding and investments to help communities boost their economies by transforming downtowns into vibrant neighborhoods.
“Long Island’s downtowns are more than hubs for business, they’re the infrastructure that inspires people to build a better world around them,” Governor Hochul said. “By investing nearly $15 million in revitalizing Hempstead and Farmingdale, we’re creating stronger communities that honor their history and possibility — paving a path for generations of Long Islanders to experience all they have to offer.”
To receive funding from either the DRI or NY Forward program, localities must be certified under Governor Hochul’s Pro-Housing Communities Program — an innovative policy created to recognize and reward municipalities actively working to unlock their housing potential. Governor Hochul’s Pro-Housing Communities initiative allocates up to $650 million each year in discretionary funds for communities that pledge to increase their housing supply; to date, 287 communities across New York have been certified as Pro-Housing Communities. This year, Governor Hochul is proposing an additional $100 million in funding to cover infrastructure projects necessary to create new housing in Pro-Housing Communities, and a further $10 million to technical assistance to help communities seeking to foster housing growth and associated municipal development.
Many of the projects funded through the DRI and NY Forward support Governor Hochul’s affordability agenda. The DRI has invested in the creation of more than 4,400 units of housing — 1,823 of which are affordable or workforce. The programs committed over $8.5 million to 11 projects that provide affordable or free child care and child care worker training. DRI and NY Forward have also invested in the creation of public parks, public art (such as murals and sculptures) and art, music and cultural venues that provide free outdoor recreation and entertainment opportunities.
$10 Million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Award for the Village of Hempstead
Hempstead’s Main Street is the social, retail and civic heart of the community, serving as a key destination for the Village, Town and County. Its strategic location offers walkable access to essential transit services, commercial corridors and cultural institutions, including restaurants, Denton Green and the Nassau County African American Museum. Signature buildings with distinctive facades line the street, adding to its character and enhancing its unique visual identity. With a vibrant mix of arts, culture and retail, Hempstead seeks to transform its Main Street into a thriving hub of activity, community and commerce. Specific community goals include creating a broad mix of housing opportunities, increasing business and service offerings, enhancing cultural arts and fostering recreation and entertainment.
$4.5 Million NY Forward Award for the Village of Farmingdale
The Village of Farmingdale’s downtown is a compact area mixed with small parcels and dense building coverage, mixed land uses and charming architecture. It is situated among some of the most popular tourist destinations in New York State. Due to the Village’s characteristics, Farmingdale is focusing on projects that will yield dramatic and positive effects, thereby advancing an active downtown with a strong sense of place. The Village seeks to attract new businesses, encourage a diverse population, improve downtown living and quality of life and enhance the pedestrian walkability and cyclability of the downtown.
New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said, “Residents and visitors of Long Island have witnessed first-hand how impactful the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs have been for countless communities and the entire region. Now, the Villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale will receive this critical funding that will help to jumpstart their downtowns and join in on the wave of revitalization that is sweeping our state. Congratulations to both of these communities, and we look forward to working with you throughout this process!”
Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs continue to be transformative forces for communities across Long Island. With these strategic investments in Hempstead and Farmingdale, New York State is supporting locally-driven solutions that will create vibrant, walkable downtowns while expanding housing opportunities and strengthening local economies. These projects demonstrate the State’s commitment to building sustainable, prosperous communities that attract both residents and businesses.”
New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, “Today’s $14.5 million in transformative NY Forward and the Downtown Revitalization Initiative investments demonstrate Governor Hochul’s continued commitment to rewarding communities that are serious about expanding housing and economic opportunities for current and future residents. As two of the 287 current participants in the Governor’s Pro-Housing Communities program, Farmingdale and Hempstead have unlocked access to today’s funding that will enrich their neighborhoods and grow the housing supply through targeted investment. We thank these communities for their commitment to improving housing supply and congratulate them on today’s awards.”
LIREDC Co-Chairs Linda Armyn, President & CEO at Bethpage Federal Credit Union and Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, President of Long Island University, said, “Hempstead and Farmingdale presented compelling visions for their downtown corridors that will create new opportunities for housing, business growth, and community engagement. The Village of Hempstead’s focus on enhancing its historic Main Street while expanding housing and cultural amenities, coupled with Farmingdale’s plans to strengthen its walkable downtown core, exemplify the kind of forward-thinking development that will benefit Long Island for generations to come. We look forward to working with both communities as they implement their strategic investment plans.”
State Senator Siela Bynoe said, “This Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant will provide much-deserved investment to the Village of Hempstead. As we’ve seen in Westbury Village, this grant will have a transformational impact on Hempstead’s downtown by improving walkability, and creating opportunities through investment in the Village’s commercial downtown. In Westbury Village, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative provided a blueprint for innovation to address our housing and infrastructure needs, and it is exciting to see Hempstead have this same opportunity. I’d like to thank the Governor and the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council for their commitment to helping to empower our communities.”
Assemblymember Noah Burroughs said, “I’m pleased to hear that finally the Village Of Hempstead is being recognized as the great hub in Nassau County as well as Long Island. Today I was notified that the Village of Hempstead has been awarded the downtown revitalization initiative. I would like to thank Governor Hochul for seeing the vision we have in the 18th assembly district. This brings us one step closer to having a downtown that the residents could be proud to visit, shop, dine and enjoy on a daily basis.”
Village of Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs said, “Hempstead is a proud, hardworking community, and this $10 million investment will go a long way in making our downtown a place where families, businesses, and visitors can thrive. We’re incredibly grateful to Governor Hochul for believing in Hempstead and for giving us the tools to build a stronger, more vibrant future. This funding means more opportunities for local businesses, more housing for our residents, and a downtown that truly reflects the energy and diversity of our village. We’re excited to get to work and make this vision a reality.”
Village of Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand said, “On behalf of Myself and the Board of Trustees, all Farmingdale Village Residents, Our Merchants & Local Community; we are thrilled to have won a $4.5 million grant for a Performing Arts Center! Thank you to New York State! We are so fortunate and thankful for the incredible efforts of all involved who helped secure the grant, it’s truly spectacular news for our community! As everyone knows, Farmingdale Village has been going through an incredible Revitalization and has become a downtown destination. Our (BID) Business Improvement District was formed in 2021, and shortly thereafter; our Downtown was designated as “the Culinary Quarter Mile”. Farmingdale Village was also voted Best LI Downtown 2025 – in the Four Leaf (Formerly BFCU), Annual contest, the last 10 out of 11 years! In the Village; we all work as a team; and there are also many Music Fests (“Music on Main, etc..); Art Shows and basically Culture Everywhere! But the one desire was always for a Cultural Arts Center! So this is the Icing on the Cake; the Farmingdale Village Cake! We are beyond thrilled and our community will be dancing in the street! (Literally!) Thank You!”
Nassau County Legislator Scott Davis said, “Thank you, Governor Hochul, for selecting the Village of Hempstead as a recipient of the 2025 Downtown Revitalization Program Award in the amount of $10,000,000. These funds will provide much needed assistance in helping to make the vision of a vibrant downtown become a reality. I look forward to seeing the village continue on the path toward a promising future for residents and a destination for visitors.”
Hempstead and Farmingdale will now begin the process of developing a Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize their downtowns. A Local Planning Committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders will lead the effort, supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners. The Strategic Investment Plan will guide the investment of DRI and NY Forward grant funds in revitalization projects that are poised for implementation, will advance the community’s vision for their downtown and that can leverage and expand upon the State’s investment.
The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council conducted a thorough and competitive review process of proposals submitted from communities throughout the region and considered all criteria before recommending these communities as nominees.
About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative
The Downtown Revitalization Initiative was created in 2016 to accelerate and expand the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods in all ten regions of the state to serve as centers of activity and catalysts for investment. Led by the Department of State with assistance from Empire State Development, Homes and Community Renewal and NYSERDA, the DRI represents an unprecedented and innovative “plan-then-act” strategy that couples strategic planning with immediate implementation and results in compact, walkable downtowns that are a key ingredient to helping New York State rebuild its economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to achieving the State’s bold climate goals by promoting the use of public transit and reducing dependence on private vehicles. Through eight rounds, the DRI will have awarded a total of $900 million to 89 communities across every region of the State.
About the NY Forward Program
First announced as part of the FY22 Enacted Budget, Governor Hochul created the NY Forward program to build on the momentum created by the DRI. The program works in concert with the DRI to accelerate and expand the revitalization of smaller and rural downtowns throughout the State so that all communities can benefit from the State’s revitalization efforts, regardless of size, character, needs and challenges.
NY Forward communities are supported by a professional planning consultant and team of State agency experts led by DOS to develop a Strategic Investment Plan that includes a slate of transformative, complementary and readily implementable projects. NY Forward projects are appropriately scaled to the size of each community; projects may include building renovation and redevelopment, new construction or creation of new or improved public spaces and other projects that enhance specific cultural and historical qualities that define and distinguish the small-town charm that defines these municipalities. Through three rounds, the NY Forward program will have awarded a total of $300 million to 60 communities across every region of the State.
Source: US State Government of Utah
An indictment was unsealed yesterday in the Northern District of Georgia charging eight members and associates of the GoodFellas Gang for their alleged roles in a criminal enterprise engaged in attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and attempted carjacking in and around Atlanta.
According to the indictment, the GoodFellas are a violent gang that heavily recruits members in Atlanta neighborhoods, local jails, and Georgia Department of Corrections facilities. Members engage in violence to enhance the violent reputation of the gang.
As alleged in the indictment, six of the defendants shot and attempted to murder four victims. Additionally, two GoodFellas members and associates allegedly attempted a carjacking and assaulted three victims with a dangerous weapon.
Frank Hubbert, also known as Capo Frank, 38; Montavis Jones, also known as Nigel Woods, Jitt, and Git, 37; Darian Sheppard, also known as Lil D, 27; De’Andre Jackson, also known as Gen, Glock, and Glizzy, 22; Ephram Marshall, also known as Lil E, 24; Tahj Rankine, also known as Biggz, 26; and Leonunte Carson, also known as Lil Tae, 22, are each charged with multiple counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and with using a firearm during these crimes.
Hubbert and Ahday Nelson-George, also known as Baby K, 25, are each charged with multiple counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and attempted carjacking.
Seven of the defendants face a maximum penalty of life in prison; Nelson-George faces a maximum penalty of 75 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Supervisory Official Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia, and Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case with valuable assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Fulton County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office; Georgia Department of Corrections; and the Atlanta Police Department.
Trial Attorney Sarah J. Rasalam of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Renaud for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: Government of Canada News
Whitby, Ontario, March 13, 2025 — Members of the media are invited to an infrastructure announcement with Ryan Turnbull, Member of Parliament for Whitby, Her Worship Elizabeth Roy, Mayor of the Town of Whitby, and Matt Gaskell, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Whitby.
Date:
Friday, March 14, 2025
Time:
11:30 a.m. EDT
Location:
Whitby 55+ Recreation Services
801 Brock Street South
Whitby, ON L1N 4L4
Source: Government of Canada News
Sydney, Nova Scotia, March 14, 2025 — Members of the media are invited to an infrastructure announcement with Jaime Battiste, Member of Parliament for Sydney–Victoria; Mike Kelloway, Member of Parliament for Cape Breton–Canso; and His Worship Cecil Clarke, Mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
Date:
Monday, March 17, 2025
Time:
10 a.m. ADT
Location:
Transit Cape Breton Depot
227 Welton Street,
Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 5R9
Source: US State of Missouri
For Immediate Release: March 14, 2025
Secretary Hoskins Removes 18,637 Deceased Voters from Rolls in First 60 Days of New Administration
JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Just 60 days into his tenure, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, CPA, has taken decisive action to strengthen election integrity by removing 18,637 deceased voters from the state’s voter rolls. This swift and thorough cleanup—achieved in partnership with local election authorities—underscores the administration’s commitment to ensuring accurate, transparent, and secure elections.
“In Missouri, we are taking action—not just making promises—when it comes to election integrity,” said Secretary Hoskins. “By working hand-in-hand with local election officials, we have removed outdated registrations, strengthening confidence in our elections and making sure every vote cast is legitimate.”
Real Work, Real Results: 18,637 Removals in First 60 Days
From day one, the Secretary Hoskins’ office prioritized legally required voter roll maintenance, working closely with local election authorities (LEAs) and boards of elections (BOEs) to identify and remove ineligible registrations.
These efforts were carried out accurately, efficiently, and in full compliance with state and federal election laws.
Strengthening Trust in Missouri’s Elections
This comprehensive voter roll cleanup is part of a broader initiative to protect the integrity of Missouri’s elections. In addition to removing deceased voters, the Secretary of State’s office worked with local officials to ensure that inactive, duplicate, and ineligible registrations were properly addressed, in line with federal and state law.
By proactively maintaining voter rolls, Missouri is reinforcing public confidence in its elections, ensuring that every valid vote counts and that election processes remain fair, transparent, and secure.
“This is a team effort,” added Secretary Hoskins. “Local election officials across Missouri deserve credit for their diligence and partnership in making sure our voter rolls remain up to date.”
A Commitment to Continued Action
In his first 60 days as Missouri’s Secretary of State, Denny Hoskins has focused on election integrity, business advocacy, public engagement, and content oversight. All administration news is available online at sos.mo.gov/news.
In addition to his administration’s leadership on voter roll clean up compliance, Secretary Hoskins has led efforts against the Corporate Transparency Act, supported public education initiatives like the “Don’t Fall for the Call” fraud awareness campaign, and took a firm stance on digital content oversight by temporarily suspending funding to OverDrive over concerns about inappropriate material, pending a policy review to placate parental concerns involving taxpayer-subsidized content available to K-12 students.
Additionally, Hoskins prioritized transparency in elections, hosting Missouri’s first public voting equipment demonstration and advocating for SAVE Act reforms to enhance voter verification. These early actions reflect his commitment to efficient governance, election security, and public trust.
The Hoskins administration remains committed to ongoing election integrity efforts, including additional voter list maintenance, public transparency initiatives, and continued collaboration with local election authorities.
A report on the first 60 days of action, with a breakdown of voter roll clean up compliance is attached.
About Secretary of State Denny Hoskins
Denny Hoskins, CPA, was elected Missouri’s 41st Secretary of State in November 2024. With a strong background in business and public service, he is committed to improving government efficiency, transparency, and supporting Missouri families.
For more information, please contact: Rachael Dunn, Director of Communications, via email at [email protected].
Source: US State of Connecticut
A new exhibit of words, images, and audio collected from around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic now on display at Homer Babbidge Library offers a rare glimpse at how people captured history even as it was being made.
Picturing the Pandemic, created by the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP) and Seeing Truth: Art, Science, Museums, and Making Knowledge, opened at UConn Storrs on Thursday, Mar. 6.
Anthropologists Sarah Willen (UConn) and Katherine Mason (Brown University) started the PJP five years ago to collect people’s reflections on how the pandemic was affecting their lives as it happened.
“We cared about giving people a space to reflect and we cared about documenting, chronicling, and preserving people’s real-time record of their experiences during a time that none of us understood,” said Willen, a professor of anthropology at UConn and co-director the Research Program on Global Health and Human Rights at the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute.
From May 2020 to May 2022, the PJP collected weekly journal entries that allowed people to chronicle the countless ways the pandemic and its attendant disruptions manifested in their lives. In its first wave, the project collected nearly 27,000 entries from 1,800 people around the world.
The goal was to create an archive that would exist into the future so people could better understand how the pandemic was experienced by people living through it.
“We wanted to make an archive that would last and that would be useful to other people in the future, and we made a promise that people would be able to keep everything that they contributed,” said Willen.
The exhibit at Babbidge Library consists of panels featuring photographs and excerpts from journal submissions, highlighting a key component of the project: the variety of ways participants were able to express themselves and document their lives.
“We wanted ‘journaling’ to be defined as broadly as possible. People could write, they could upload audio journal entries, or they could upload photographs,” said Willen.
At the opening ceremony, Willen and other members of the UConn community who supported the development of the project spoke about its growth since the start of the pandemic.
Willen thanked the University and other sponsors for supporting the project, including the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, the Humanities Institute, and the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP).
“Documents, diaries, letters, drawings and memoirs created by those who participated in or witnessed events of the past tell us something that even the best written article or book may not convey,” said Anne Langley, Dean of UConn Library.
“Its global dimension is really critical; The multiple languages which were used, the fact that you could audio journal or video journal,” said Kathryn Libal, professor of social work and human rights and director of the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. “It opens up a new way for us to think about collective archiving in the present for future commemoration and scholarly works.”
The exhibition was curated by Willen, Mason, and Alexis Boylan, professor of art and art history at UConn, along with PJP postdoctoral fellow Heather Wurtz and a large team of students and curation partners.
“The images will not let us forget. They remind us of feelings that we had that we maybe put away, of ideas of things and people that we wanted to be but maybe did not work out in that moment, but that we still remember and hold on to,” said Boylan.
With the exhibit located in the middle of a heavily visited area at UConn, many students, faculty, staff, and visitors will have a chance to reflect on their lives in the five years since the pandemic.
Globally, as well as in the United States, people are repressing a lot about the impact the pandemic had, and continues to have, on our lives, said Willen. By offering visitors a chance to look back on this time, the exhibition invites people to consider how their own lives, and the broader world, have changed.
Before coming to Storrs, the exhibition made earlier stops in Hartford, Providence, Heidelberg (Germany), Mexico City and Toronto. For this new iteration, the curators added a new center panel that recognizes the importance of science and of having an infrastructure for knowledge building and social interaction.
“If we pull apart the components of that infrastructure, a lot of things fall apart,” said Willen. “Our capacity to do science falls apart. Our capacity to prepare people for their careers falls apart. Our capacity to provide public spaces in which we can come together and interact with each other – like libraries and museums – falls apart.”
“We’re hoping that this will be a chance for people to see the structures we’ve built in our society to support, connect with, and nurture each other, and to help each other understand who we are in the world, will only exist if we protect them,” said Willen.
Willen especially urges student visitors to the exhibit to think deeply about how their majors, fields, and research can help us collectively confront the problems that society is facing.
“Let’s not lose sight of those values, of how we can put our tools to work to grapple with real-life problems using data and our capacities for analysis and reflection,” said Willen.
The Pandemic Journaling Project and the Picturing the Pandemic exhibition were only possible because UConn believed in them, said Willen.
“We brought our skills to the table, and our students brought theirs, and many different institutes and departments at the university said, yes, this is worthwhile, and they gave us the resources to start collecting people’s narratives and experiences,” said Willen. “Bringing the exhibit to Babbidge Library is our thank you note to UConn.”
Picturing the Pandemic: Images from the Pandemic Journaling Project will be on display in the entryway to the Homer Babbidge Library from March 5 to March 20.
Source: US State of Missouri
MARCH 14, 2025
Jefferson City — Today, in honor of Pilot Grove Area Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Donald R. Kammerich, Governor Mike Kehoe ordered U.S. and Missouri flags be flown at half-staff at government buildings in Cooper County, the Fire Fighters Memorial of Missouri in Kingdom City, and firehouses statewide on Saturday, March 15, 2025, from sunrise to sunset.
“Donald Kammerich’s life was dedicated to his family, hard work and giving back to his Cooper County community,” Governor Mike Kehoe said. “For over 35 years, he put himself at risk to protect others from fires and emergencies as a volunteer with the Pilot Grove Area Fire Protection District. He rose to the rank of Deputy Chief because of his bravery, reliability, and unshakeable commitment to his neighbors and community. Claudia and I are keeping his family and fellow firefighters in our prayers.”
On March 10, Deputy Chief Kammerich, 64, and the Pilot Grove Area Fire Protection District responded to and extinguished two different natural cover fires in the late morning and afternoon. Kammerich suffered a medical emergency in his home and passed away that evening.
The flags will be held at half-staff on the day Deputy Chief Kammerich is laid to rest. To view the Governor’s proclamation, click here.
###
Source: APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Canada is providing a total of CAD 2 million over the next three fiscal years to support APEC’s efforts in promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region.
The contribution, delivered through a grant arrangement with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) reinforces Canada’s commitment to translating APEC’s policy directions into tangible outcomes that benefit all member economies.
“This contribution is a significant step in our commitment to ensuring that economic growth in the Asia-Pacific is both inclusive and sustainable,” said Alan Bowman, Canada’s Senior Official for APEC. “By supporting targeted capacity-building initiatives and the work of the Policy Support Unit, we are helping to build a resilient regional economy where even the most vulnerable communities can benefit.”
Under the grant arrangement, payments will be made in three instalments: CAD 667,000 in 2025; CAD 667,000 in 2026; and CAD 666,000 in 2027. The funds are designated to support key capacity building initiatives that help bridge gaps in economic participation and drive sustainable development.
Canada’s contribution will support three critical areas of APEC’s work. First, it will bolster the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sub-Fund, which aims to directly involve developing economies’ MSMEs in project activities that promote inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
Second, the Women and the Economy Sub-Fund will receive support to advance women’s economic participation, enhancing legal and institutional frameworks to empower female entrepreneurs and workers.
Finally, a portion of the funds will be directed to the APEC Policy Support Unit, the research and analysis arm of APEC, to strengthen its ability to provide high-quality, evidence-based policy recommendations.
APEC-funded projects play a vital role in translating the policy directions set by APEC Economic Leaders and Ministers into practical actions. Each year, APEC provides funding for over 100 projects that aim to enhance trade, drive innovation, and promote sustainable development. Canada’s new contribution will add to these efforts by strengthening the capacity of member economies to implement reforms that are critical for long-term prosperity.
Eduardo Pedrosa, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, highlighted the broader impact of Canada’s contribution. “Canada’s support for our inclusive and sustainable growth initiatives reinforces the shared vision of an Asia-Pacific that is dynamic, open, and resilient. This funding will enhance our ability to deliver quality research, build capacity, and support projects that create real economic opportunities for people across the region.”
In addition to supporting MSMEs and women’s economic empowerment, the grant will assist in furthering projects that improve the quality of APEC’s deliberations and decision-making processes. The Policy Support Unit provides critical data, analysis, and policy support that help APEC member economies design and implement initiatives aimed at achieving balanced and sustainable growth.
By contributing to these targeted sub-funds, Canada is not only reinforcing its longstanding commitment to regional cooperation but also setting a precedent for how public funds can be used to foster long-term economic security and prosperity. The impact of this grant will be felt through improved trade environments, strengthened regulatory frameworks, and enhanced capacities that empower businesses and communities alike.
For further details and media inquiries, please contact:
[email protected]
Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
CHANTILLY, Va. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and law enforcement partners apprehended 214 illegal aliens during an enhanced targeted enforcement operation focusing on transnational organized crime, gangs, and egregious illegal alien offenders in Northern Virginia March 1 to 13.
“Our communities in Virginia are safer today because our law enforcement officers stood between them and the danger. During this enforcement operation, ICE and our law enforcement partners targeted the most dangerous alien offenders in some of the most gang-infested neighborhoods in Northern Virginia, and this resulted in 214 arrests,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russ Hott. “Over 200 arrests in such a brief time is an impressive number by any measure. It is truly awe-inspiring to see what can be accomplished with the level of cooperation shared among our federal, state and local law enforcement partners. Everyone was truly invested in the success of this joint operation. ICE will continue our mission to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing illegal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities.”
ICE and their law enforcement partners targeted transnational criminal organizations known to operate in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. These organizations include the notorious MS-13 and 18th Street gangs.
“The agents and officers involved in this enhanced operation truly made a difference in the Northern Virginia communities. The apprehension of 214 alien offenders is impressive and was only made possible through strong partnerships,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher Heck. “The level of dedication to this operation by the entire team was impressive to witness. Each of our law enforcement partners brought their own expertise to the mission. This was truly a team effort. ICE will continue to work tirelessly to dismantle transnational criminal organizations working in our neighborhoods.”
“The level of support ICE received from our partner law enforcement organizations was inspiring,” said Hott. “In the spirit of illicit gang activity, we are making gang members an offer they can’t refuse; leave the United States now. If you don’t, we will find you, and there will be consequences. We will arrest and prosecute you to the full extent of the law.”
Among those arrested during the enhanced targeted operation include:
Partner law enforcement participating in the operation were: U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia; FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Office of the Governor; the Office of the Attorney General; Virginia State Police; and Virginia Department of Corrections.
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.
Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in our communities on X: @EROWashington.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
Fourth Quarter Revenue shows Growth Across All Service Lines by 35% YoY to $49.9 Million
Full Year Revenue Grows 11% YoY to $140.4 Million
Self-Service Revenue Grew by 45% YoY for the Quarter and 78% for the Full Year
Adjusted EBITDA Improved by 42% YoY for the Quarter and 104% for the Full Year
(All monetary figures are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated)
TORONTO, March 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — illumin Holdings Inc. (TSX: ILLM and OTCQB: ILLMF) (“illumin” or the “Company”), a journey advertising technology company that empowers marketers to make smarter decisions about communicating with online consumers, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.
Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights
Fiscal Year 2024 Highlights
Simon Cairns, illumin’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We delivered strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter, which rose 35% year-over-year fueled by increases across all of our revenue lines. During the quarter, we continued to see considerable revenue growth in self-service, which grew 45% year-over-year. This also represents our third consecutive quarter of managed service growth, which increased 28% year-over-year. These results indicate that more companies are recognizing the value of both our managed service and self-service solutions. In addition, we continued to see substantial growth and momentum in our exchange services business, which increased 39% from the prior year.”
Mr. Cairns added, “As these results show, the customer-centric approach we implemented in the second half of 2024, which focuses on marketing and selling more effectively and efficiently, has proven to be very successful in helping us bring on new customers and expanding our relationships with existing clients. This approach lets us leverage our technology platform and offer our clients a full range of answers, whether it be self-service, managed campaigns, exchange services or a hybrid approach, if that best fits their evolving needs. Our results also showcase our success to date in advancing our illumin self-service roadmap and addressing operational efficiencies throughout our organization. We are extremely pleased with our progress to date and look forward to continuing this momentum in 2025.”
“As we advance into 2025, we know our first quarter is the toughest due to impacts of seasonally lower client spend-which is extra challenging this year due to more recent heightened economic instability. As a management team, we’re focused on winning the year as we advance on our platform to drive leads through better marketing and a new brand strategy. We will deliver a quicker selling process to onboard customers, improve platform stickiness, and more effectively present a choice of options on how customers can be supported over their lifecycle with us.”
Elliot Muchnik, illumin’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, “During the fourth quarter, we reported a significant year-over-year increase in total revenue, reflecting growth in self-service, managed service and exchange services revenue, which helped drive a year-over-year improvement in Adjusted EBITDA of 42% and 104% for the quarter and year, respectively. As we look ahead into 2025, operational discipline remains a priority for us so we can further grow our Adjusted EBITDA while funding continued product development and expansion of our sales and marketing capabilities.”
The following table presents a reconciliation of Net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods ended:
| (in $000s) | Three months ended | Twelve months ended | ||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | December 31, | December 31, | |||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Net income (loss) for the period | $ | 4,127 | $ | (2,579 | ) | $ | 867 | $ | (10,987 | ) | ||
| Adjustments: | ||||||||||||
| Finance income, net | (414 | ) | (528 | ) | (1,821 | ) | (2,122 | ) | ||||
| Foreign exchange loss (gain) | (3,617 | ) | 2,034 | (5,066 | ) | 2,827 | ||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 1,309 | 1,110 | 5,355 | 5,482 | ||||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 826 | 82 | 988 | (1,095 | ) | |||||||
| Share-based compensation | 850 | 1,141 | 3,732 | 5,725 | ||||||||
| Severance expenses | 835 | 940 | 1,195 | 1,307 | ||||||||
| Nasdaq-related costs | – | 431 | 736 | 1,813 | ||||||||
| Other non-recurring expenses | 31 | 157 | 347 | 157 | ||||||||
| Total adjustments | (180 | ) | 5,367 | 5,466 | 14,094 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA1 | $ | 3,947 | $ | 2,788 | $ | 6,333 | $ | 3,107 | ||||
Conference Call Details:
Date: Friday, March 14, 2024
Time: 8:30AM Eastern Time
To register for the conference call webcast and presentation, please visit https://events.illumin.com/q4-2024-earnings-call.
Please connect 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure time for any software download that may be needed to hear the webcast. A recording of the conference call webcast will be available after the call by visiting the Company’s website at https://illumin.com/investor-information/.
Non-IFRS Measures
This press release makes reference to certain non-IFRS Accounting Standard measures (“non-IFRS measures”). These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS Accounting Standards (“IFRS”), do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management’s perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. We use non-IFRS measures including “revenue less media-related costs”, “Gross margin”, and “Adjusted EBITDA” (as well as other measures discussed elsewhere in this press release).
The term “Gross margin” refers to the amount that “revenue less media-related costs” represents as a percentage of total revenue for a given period. Gross margin is used for internal management purposes as an indicator of the performance of the Company’s solution in balancing the goals of delivering excellent results to advertisers while meeting the Company’s margin objectives and, accordingly, the Company believes it is useful supplemental information.
“Adjusted EBITDA” refers to net income (loss) after adjusting for finance costs (income), impairment loss, fair value gain, income taxes, foreign exchange loss (gain), depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, acquisition and related integration costs, severance expenses and adjustments to the carrying value of investment tax credits receivable. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of the results generated by the Company’s main business activities before taking into consideration how those activities are financed and taxed and prior to taking into consideration depreciation of property and equipment and certain other items listed above. It is a key measure used by the Company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate the Company’s operating performance, to prepare annual budgets and to help develop operating plans.
These non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and thus highlight trends in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. We believe that securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers, and that these non-IFRS measures are relevant to their analysis of the Company.
About illumin:
illumin is evolving the digital advertising landscape by empowering marketers to achieve transformative results through its customer-centric approach. Featuring a unified canvas built around the open web, illumin lets brands and agencies seamlessly plan, build, and execute campaigns across the entire marketing funnel—connecting programmatic channels, email, and social media within a single platform. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, illumin serves clients across North America, Latin America, and Europe. For more information, visit illumin.com.
Disclaimer with regard to forward looking statements
Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company’s belief that the NCIB is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders and that underlying value of the Company may not be reflected in the market price of the Shares. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, illumin does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.
For further information, please contact:
| Steve Hosein Investor Relations illumin Holdings Inc. 416-218-9888 x5313 investors@illumin.com |
David Hanover Investor Relations – U.S. KCSA Strategic Communications 212-896-1220 dhanover@kcsa.com |
|
Please note that the following financial information is an extract from the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (the “Financial Statements”) provided for readers’ convenience and should be viewed in conjunction with the Notes to the Financial Statements, which are an integral part of the statements. The full Financial Statements and MD&A for the period may be found by accessing SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com.
illumin Holdings Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
| December 31, 2024 |
December 31, 2023 |
|||||||
| Assets | ||||||||
| Current assets | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 55,952 | $ | 55,455 | ||||
| Accounts receivable | 44,650 | 32,136 | ||||||
| Income tax receivable | 613 | 3,301 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other | 2,864 | 4,123 | ||||||
| 104,079 | 95,015 | |||||||
| Non-current assets | ||||||||
| Other assets | 115 | 63 | ||||||
| Property and equipment | 7,406 | 9,329 | ||||||
| Intangible assets | 9,352 | 7,618 | ||||||
| Goodwill | 4,870 | 4,870 | ||||||
| 125,822 | 116,895 | |||||||
| Liabilities | ||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 39,148 | 26,488 | ||||||
| Income tax payable | 137 | 717 | ||||||
| Borrowings | 48 | 131 | ||||||
| Lease obligations | 1,513 | 1,726 | ||||||
| 40,846 | 29,062 | |||||||
| Non-current liabilities | ||||||||
| Borrowings | – | 47 | ||||||
| Deferred tax liability | 1,241 | 1,001 | ||||||
| Lease obligations | 4,702 | 6,087 | ||||||
| 46,789 | 36,197 | |||||||
| Shareholders’ equity | 79,033 | 80,698 | ||||||
| 125,822 | 116,895 | |||||||
illumin Holdings Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars, except share amounts)
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | 140,389 | $ | 126,318 | ||||
| Media-related costs | 74,931 | 66,023 | ||||||
| Gross profit | 65,458 | 60,295 | ||||||
| Operating expenses | ||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 25,927 | 26,104 | ||||||
| Technology | 20,407 | 19,695 | ||||||
| General and administrative | 15,069 | 14,666 | ||||||
| Share-based compensation | 3,732 | 5,725 | ||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 5,355 | 5,482 | ||||||
| 70,490 | 71,672 | |||||||
| Loss from operations | (5,032 | ) | (11,377 | ) | ||||
| Finance income, net | (1,821 | ) | (2,122 | ) | ||||
| Foreign exchange loss (gain) | (5,066 | ) | 2,827 | |||||
| (6,887 | ) | 705 | ||||||
| Net income (loss) before income taxes | 1,855 | (12,082 | ) | |||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 988 | (1,095 | ) | |||||
| Net income (loss) for the year | 867 | (10,987 | ) | |||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share | 0.02 | (0.20 | ) | |||||
| Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) | ||||||||
| Items that may be subsequently reclassified to net income (loss): | ||||||||
| Exchange loss on translating foreign operations | (980 | ) | (1,860 | ) | ||||
| Comprehensive loss for the year | (113 | ) | (12,847 | ) | ||||
illumin Holdings Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Expressed in thousands of Canadian dollars)
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Cash provided by (used in) | ||||||||
| Operating activities | ||||||||
| Net income (loss) for the year | $ | 867 | $ | (10,987 | ) | |||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash flows | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 5,355 | 5,482 | ||||||
| Finance income, net | (1,821 | ) | (2,122 | ) | ||||
| Share-based compensation | 3,732 | 5,725 | ||||||
| Foreign exchange loss (gain) | (5,066 | ) | 2,827 | |||||
| Severance expense | 789 | 850 | ||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) | 988 | (1,095 | ) | |||||
| Change in non-cash operating working capital | ||||||||
| Accounts receivable | (11,578 | ) | (296 | ) | ||||
| Prepaid expenses and other | 1,361 | (2,906 | ) | |||||
| Other assets | (53 | ) | 185 | |||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 11,883 | (1,811 | ) | |||||
| Income taxes refunded (paid), net | 1,573 | 99 | ||||||
| Interest received | 2,101 | 2,658 | ||||||
| 10,131 | (1,391 | ) | ||||||
| Investing activities | ||||||||
| Additions to property and equipment | (1,690 | ) | (867 | ) | ||||
| Additions to intangible assets | (4,257 | ) | (4,375 | ) | ||||
| (5,947 | ) | (5,242 | ) | |||||
| Financing activities | ||||||||
| Repayment of term loans | – | (4,411 | ) | |||||
| Proceeds from international loans | – | 1,181 | ||||||
| Repayment of international loans | (130 | ) | (1,435 | ) | ||||
| Payment of leases | (2,132 | ) | (3,020 | ) | ||||
| Repurchase of common shares for cancellation | (5,310 | ) | (15,313 | ) | ||||
| Proceeds from the exercise of stock options | 33 | 7 | ||||||
| (7,539 | ) | (22,991 | ) | |||||
| Decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (3,355 | ) | (29,624 | ) | ||||
| Impact of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents | 3,852 | (862 | ) | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents – beginning of year | 55,455 | 85,941 | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents – end of year | 55,952 | 55,455 | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of non-cash transactions | ||||||||
| Adjustments to property and equipment under leases | – | 4,403 | ||||||
| Unpaid additions (reversals) to property and equipment, net | (734 | ) | 734 | |||||
| Unpaid taxes on share repurchases | 7 | – | ||||||
1Nasdaq-related costs are listing fees and directors’ and officers’ insurance specific to the Company’s Nasdaq listing and have been reclassed below Adjusted EBITDA as they are not recurring. The prior year numbers have been adjusted to conform to the current year presentation.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
CALGARY, Alberta, March 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Athabasca Oil Corporation (TSX: ATH) (“Athabasca” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) has approved the renewal of the Corporation’s normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) to purchase up to 50,432,973 common shares during the 12-month period commencing March 18, 2025 and ending March 17, 2026 or such earlier time as the NCIB is completed or terminated at the option of Athabasca. The Company’s current NCIB is scheduled to expire on March 17, 2025.
Athabasca’s renewal of its NCIB is based on the strength of the balance sheet and the Company’s commitment to augmenting shareholder returns through a buyback program. The Company’s capital allocation framework balances material near-term return of capital initiatives for shareholders, with a multi-year growth trajectory of cash flow per share. Athabasca sees intrinsic value not reflected in the current share price and in 2025 is planning to allocate 100% of Free Cash Flow to shareholders through buybacks.
Pursuant to the NCIB, the maximum number of common shares to be purchased represents 10% of the public float, as defined by the TSX. As of March 4, 2024, the Company had a public float of 504,329,730 common shares and 513,745,684 common shares issued and outstanding. Purchases will be made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and/or alternative trading systems in Canada at market prices prevailing at the time of the acquisition. The number of common shares that can be purchased pursuant to the NCIB is subject to a daily maximum of 594,362 common shares (which is equal to 25% of the average daily trading volume on the TSX of 2,377,450 from September 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025), with the exception that one block purchase in excess of the daily maximum is permitted per calendar week. Common shares acquired under the NCIB will be cancelled.
In connection with the NCIB, Athabasca will enter into an automatic share purchase plan (“ASPP”) with its designated broker to allow for purchases of its common shares under the NCIB during blackout periods. Such purchases would be at the discretion of the broker based on parameters established by the Company prior to any blackout period or any period when it is in possession of material undisclosed information. Outside of these blackout periods, common shares will be repurchased in accordance with management’s discretion, subject to applicable law.
Under the Company’s current NCIB that is scheduled to expire on March 17, 2025, the Company was approved by the TSX to repurchase up to 55,423,786 common shares, being 10% of the public float. As of March 4, 2024, the Company has repurchased 51,574,700 common shares through market purchases on the TSX and other alternative Canadian securities trading platforms, at a volume-weighted average purchase price of approximately $5.12 per common share. The Company expects to fully execute the annual NCIB allotment before termination, for the second consecutive year.
About Athabasca Oil Corporation
Athabasca Oil Corporation is a Canadian energy company with a focused strategy on the development of thermal and light oil assets. Situated in Alberta’s Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the Company has amassed a significant land base of extensive, high quality resources. Athabasca’s light oil assets are held in a private subsidiary (Duvernay Energy Corporation) in which Athabasca owns a 70% equity interest. Athabasca’s common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol “ATH”. For more information, visit www.atha.com.
| For more information, please contact: | |
| Matthew Taylor | Robert Broen |
| Chief Financial Officer | President and CEO |
| 1-403-817-9104 | 1-403-817-9190 |
| mtaylor@atha.com | rbroen@atha.com |
Reader Advisory:
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The actual number of common shares that will be repurchased under the NCIB, and the timing of any such purchases, will be determined by the Company on management’s discretion, subject to applicable securities laws. There cannot be any assurances as to how many common shares, if any, will ultimately be acquired by the Company.
Source: NASA
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sparkling spiral galaxy paired with a prominent star, both in the constellation Virgo. While the galaxy and the star appear to be close to one another, even overlapping, they’re actually a great distance apart. The star, marked with four long diffraction spikes, is in our own galaxy. It’s just 7,109 light-years away from Earth. The galaxy, named NGC 4900, lies about 45 million light-years from Earth.
This image combines data from two of Hubble’s instruments: the Advanced Camera for Surveys, installed in 2002 and still in operation today, and the older Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, which was in use from 1993 to 2009. The data used here were taken more than 20 years apart for two different observing programs — a real testament to Hubble’s long scientific lifetime!
Both programs aimed to understand the demise of massive stars. In one, researchers studied the sites of past supernovae, aiming to estimate the masses of the stars that exploded and investigate how supernovae interact with their surroundings. They selected NGC 4900 for the study because it hosted a supernova named SN 1999br.
In the other program, researchers laid the groundwork for studying future supernovae by collecting images of more than 150 nearby galaxies. When researchers detect a supernova in one of these galaxies, they can refer to these images, examining the star at the location of the supernova. Identifying a supernova progenitor star in pre-explosion images gives valuable information about how, when, and why supernovae occur.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli (claire.andreoli@nasa.gov)NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency
Headline: FEMA Hiring Local Residents to Support Wildfires Recovery
FEMA Hiring Local Residents to Support Wildfires Recovery
LOS ANGELES – FEMA has launched a hiring process to continue its support of California’s recovery from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires in Los Angeles County
California residents who are interested in a temporary position with FEMA and a variety of emergency management functions can apply through USAJobs
gov
Applicants will be called for interviews, and those hired will join a recovery team already in place, composed of local and federal workers, voluntary agencies, and community organizations
The following departments have positions available in Los Angeles County: Acquisitions, Civil Rights, External Affairs, Disaster Field Training Operations, Hazard Mitigation, Human Resources, Individual Assistance, Interagency Recovery Coordination, Information Technology, and Public Assistance and Planning
Working for the federal government has many perks, including excellent benefits, flexible work schedules, opportunities for professional growth, stability, and lateral movement across agencies
Interested applicants can visit USAJobs
gov to apply
For questions about a position or if you need additional information, please email: FEMA-DR4856-LocalHire@fema
dhs
gov
FEMA does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor
Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during any part of the hiring process, should contact FEMA-DR4856-LocalHire@fema
dhs
gov
Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis
Follow FEMA online, on X @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol, on FEMA’s Facebook page or Espanol page and at FEMA’s YouTube account
For preparedness information follow the Ready Campaign on X at @Ready
gov, on Instagram @Ready
gov or on the Ready Facebook page
alberto
pillot
Thu, 03/13/2025 – 22:53
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency
Headline: Additional Counties Now Eligible for FEMA Public Assistance
Additional Counties Now Eligible for FEMA Public Assistance
FRANKFORT, Ky
— Additional counties in the commonwealth of Kentucky have been added to the major disaster declaration for the FEMA Public Assistance program for Kentucky’s severe storms and flooding in February
Estill and Simpson counties added to the flooding disaster declaration for assistance under the Public Assistance program for emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance
Adair, Allen, Ballard, Barren, Bell, Boyd, Breathitt, Butler, Caldwell, Carlisle, Clay, Crittenden, Cumberland, Elliott, Floyd, Green, Hancock, Hart, Harlan, Hickman, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Letcher, Livingston, Marshall, Martin, McLean, Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Perry, Pike, Rockcastle, Spencer, Union and Wayne counties added for all categories of Public Assistance, including direct federal assistance
Commonwealth, local and territorial governments, and certain private-nonprofit organizations in these designated counties are eligible for assistance for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities
Learn more about the Public Assistance program
For the latest information about Kentucky’s recovery, visit fema
gov/disaster/4860
Follow FEMA on X at x
com/femaregion4 or on Facebook at facebook
com/fema
sarah
cleary
Thu, 03/13/2025 – 20:46
Source: NASA
Written by Denise Buckner, student collaborator at University of Florida
Perseverance is hard at work on Mars, overcoming obstacles for scientific exploration! Just a few sols after successfully sealing the challenging Green Gardens core, Perseverance roved on to the Broom Point workspace to collect another sample called Main River. Broom Point is situated a few hundred meters down-slope from where Green Gardens was collected, and the Science Team chose to explore this area because orbiter images show some intriguing, alternating light and dark layers.
Upon reaching the workspace, images captured by Perseverance confirm that these distinct layers are visible on the ground, as well. Layers are interesting because they record different geological events that occurred in the planet’s past, which may include deposition of sediments, lava flows, or volcanic ash. By conducting proximity science with rover instruments and collecting a core to return to Earth for future analyses, the team is investigating what this material is composed of and how it was emplaced.
When the team is planning to collect a sample from an outcrop, the first step is to abrade the rock, grinding away the top few millimeters and smoothing out the surface so the SHERLOC and PIXL instruments can move in and conduct their scans. Although Perseverance has abraded more than 30 rocks across Jezero crater, new rocks still present unique challenges. While abrading the Slants River target at Broom Point, the rock unexpectedly fractured, resulting in an uneven surface. SHERLOC and PIXL require just a few millimeters of clearance to safely approach the rock, and while PIXL was able to reach the broken surface, the topography looked a little more dicey for SHERLOC.
The team’s engineers and rover planners took stock of the situation and decided to use WATSON, SHERLOC’s companion camera, to snap some images of the abrasion patch from another angle. These images built a surface model of the small cracks and crevices, and with this knowledge in hand, the team found a way to safely maneuver the instrument to the same spot that PIXL scanned, and collected a co-located spectroscopy map. Once this abrasion proximity science was completed, the rover went on to drill and seal the Main River core, an activity that went off without a hitch.
With another core in the bag, Perseverance is off to the next workspace, ready to tackle whatever challenges may lie ahead!
Source: US Global Legal Monitor
On January 28, 2025, we presented a Lunch & Learn webinar on the ins and outs of locating congressionally mandated reports. A recording of that class is now available online for anyone to watch.
This recording provides an overview of reports that are required to be delivered to Congress, including methods for locating these materials through archival, print, and online resources. Additionally, this presentation discusses why and how federal agencies are required by law to submit thousands of reports to Congress and congressional committees each year. Because these resources historically have been difficult to find, this webinar takes a deep dive into methods for using finding aids to track reports that were submitted to Congress and provides examples and demonstrations showing the steps for locating these reports.
You can now watch a recording of this webinar here:
Subscribe to In Custodia Legis – it’s free! – to receive interesting posts drawn from the Law Library of Congress’s vast collections and our staff’s expertise in U.S., foreign, and international law.
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on Mar 13, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
KA ʻOIHANA O KA LOIO KUHINA
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
ANNE LOPEZ
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LOIO KUHINA
CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL FIREWORKS RESULTS IN SENTENCING FOR TWO MEN; CHARGES FOR ONE WOMAN IN SEPARATE STINGS
News Release 2025-42
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025
HONOLULU – The Department of the Attorney General successfully prosecuted two men for selling illegal aerial fireworks in the community prior to the new year, following law enforcement sting operations to identify and arrest distributors of illegal fireworks.
Wolfgang Clark pled no contest today and was granted a deferred plea to two counts of felony fireworks offenses, in violation of sections 132D-14 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. On February 19, 2025, Daniel C. Young pled no contest and was granted a deferred plea to two counts of felony fireworks offenses, in violation of sections 132D-14 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.
A violation for each offense currently is a class C felony offense that carries up to five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Both defendants were granted a deferred plea over the state’s objection, are required to pay a fine of $5,000, and will be under court supervision for four years.
In addition to sting operations, the Illegal Fireworks Task Force is also working to interdict shipments of fireworks entering the state through Hawaiʻi’s ports. On March 11, 2025, Explicit Pyrotechnics, LLC., and its owner, Josephine Quintanilla, also known as Josephine Langas and Josephine Henderson, was charged with Importation of Fireworks Without a Valid License or Permit, a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The requisite federal and state permits are required to import fireworks into the state. While in possession of a federal permit, Explicit Pyrotechnics, LLC., is alleged to have imported fireworks into the state without first obtaining a state permit.
“The judgments in these cases are a step in the right direction for holding distributors accountable,” said Mike Lambert, director of the Department of Law Enforcement. “If we are able to increase the penalties for fireworks distributors this legislative session, the Department of Law Enforcement is confident that we can reduce the availability of fireworks in our community.”
The cases were investigated by the Illegal Fireworks Task Force, which included the Hawaiʻi Department of Law Enforcement and the Honolulu Police Department. The cases are prosecuted by the Criminal Justice Division of the Department of the Attorney General.
“I want to extend my sincerest thanks to the law enforcement agencies involved in the Illegal Fireworks Task Force, as well as to my Criminal Justice Division staff, for all their hard work investigating these illegal operators and bringing them to justice,” said Attorney General Anne Lopez. “Together we will do everything in our power to enforce the law so that what happened on New Year’s Eve never happens again.”
Criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
# # #
Media contacts:
Dave Day
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1284
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov
Toni Schwartz
Public Information Officer
Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1252
Cell: 808-379-9249
Email: [email protected]
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on Mar 13, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND GENERAL SERVICES
KA ʻOIHANA LOIHELU A LAWELAWE LAULĀ
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
KEITH A. REGAN
COMPTROLLER
KA LUNA HOʻOMALU HANA LAULĀ
MEOH-LENG SILLIMAN
DEPUTY COMPTROLLER
KA HOPE LUNA HOʻOMALU HANA LAULĀ
DAGS LOOKS TO FILL ENGINEERING AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION INSPECTOR JOBS ACROSS STATE
Some Jobs are Part of the Operation Hire Hawaiʻi (OH-HI) Project to Hire Federal Workers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025
HONOLULU — Engineers and building construction inspectors of all experience levels are wanted at the state of Hawaiʻi Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS).
The top engineering jobs are supervisory positions whose salary range tops out at more than $16,000 a month. The staff engineer job openings requiring entry level experience are Engineer II jobs that start at nearly $6,000 a month.
The building construction inspector jobs salary range goes from slightly more than $6,000 a month to just over $7,000 a month. Inspectors, in addition to their salaries, can also earn a shortage differential that varies by position, and can be substantial.
The open civil service positions and their locations are:
Engineering Program Manager in Kona and on Maui
Engineer II, III, IV and V on Maui
Engineer III, IV and V on Oʻahu and on Hawaiʻi Island
Building Construction Inspector I and II on Maui
Building Construction Inspector II on Oʻahu
Building Construction Inspector II and III on Hawaiʻi Island
Building Construction Inspector III on Kauaʻi
DAGS Director and Comptroller Keith Regan said, “There’s a lot of uncertainty and movement in the workforce right now due to the federal Department of Government Efficiency layoffs and ongoing efforts to downsize. We hope to be part of the solution for people needing a new job or simply seeking more secure employment. We want people to know that we have good paying, stable, high-level jobs on all the islands on which DAGS has a presence.”
DAGS Public Works Administrator Gordon Wood said, “We have a variety of engineering jobs, and mostly all of them are related to project management. Our architects, engineers, and building construction inspectors play such a critical role in our state. Without them, the facilities the state needs to provide services to the public can’t get built.”
Wood added the positions help keep the state’s economy flowing. “DAGS currently has 67 projects on Oʻahu alone worth roughly $520 million in construction. We have eight building construction inspectors overseeing them. That means each inspector is responsible for $65 million in construction.”
DAGS Central Services Administrator James Kurata noted, “Central Services completes the project delivery cycle; Public Works builds facilities and we maintain them. We are always looking for engineers who can help us with facility maintenance so the state departments who work out of those buildings can seamlessly continue to serve the public.”
RESOURCES
(Image courtesy: DAGS)
# # #
Media contact:
Diane Ako
Communications Officer
Department of Accounting and General Services, State of Hawaiʻi
Cell: 808-764-7256
Source: US State of California 2
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Andrew King, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director of Data Operations Strategy at the Office of Data and Innovation. King has been Manager of the Data Operations Section at the California Air Resources Board since 2023, and has held several positions since 2018, including Staff Air Pollution Specialist, Air Pollution Specialist for the Transportation Analysis Section, and Air Pollution Specialist for the Criteria Pollutant Inventory Section. He was an Economist at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control from 2017 to 2018. King was a Managing Consultant at Red Peak Economic Consulting from 2013 to 2017. He was a Senior Accountability Analyst at the California Charter Schools Association from 2012 to 2013. King earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $168,468. King is a Democrat.
Lavelle Parker, of Rancho Cucamonga, has been appointed Warden of California Institution for Women, where he has been serving as Acting Warden since 2024 and was Chief Deputy Warden in 2024. Lavelle was Chief Deputy Warden at California Rehabilitation Center from 2020 to 2024. He was Associate Warden at California Institution for Men from 2012 to 2020. Lavelle held several positions at California State Prison, Los Angeles from 1992 to 2012, including Correctional Counselor III, Correctional Captain, Correctional Counselor II Supervisor, Correctional Counsel I, and Correctional Officer. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $193,524. Parker is registered without party preference.
Yolanda Franco-Clausen, of Hayward, has been appointed to the California Sex Offender Management Board. Franco-Clausen has served as a Police Officer for the City of Palo Alto Police Department since 2016. They were a Job Development Coordinator at Employment and Community Options in 2016. Franco-Clausen was the Co-Founder and Executive Director of PLAYNICE Productions, Inc., from 2013 to 2014. They are a member of the Palo Alto Police Officers Association. Franco-Clausen earned a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern California School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Franco-Clausen is a Democrat.
Sarah Metz, of Alameda, has been appointed to the California Sex Offender Management Board. Dr. Metz has been Director of the Division of Trauma Recovery Services in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco since 2019. She was a Staff Psychologist and Clinical Coordinator at the University of California, San Francisco Trauma Recovery Center from 2015 to 2019. Dr. Metz was a Clinical Psychologist at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System from 2011 to 2015, where she was previously a Healthcare Specialist from 2010 to 2011. She earned a Doctor of Psychology degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University, a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from Loyola College in Maryland, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from Towson University. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Dr. Metz is a Democrat.
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on Mar 13, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
KA ‘OIHANA KUMUWAIWAI ‘ĀINA
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
DAWN CHANG
CHAIRPERSON
MAUI AND KAUA‘I STREAMS FLOWING AT RECORD-LOW LEVELS
Recent Rain has Helped, but Drought Conditions Expected to Persist
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025
ALAKA‘I PLATEAU, Kaua‘i – To the untrained eye the water level in Kawaikōī Stream, which drains a portion of the vast Alaka‘i Plateau on Kaua‘i, looks fine. The trained eyes and stream flow measurements by hydrologists with the state Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) tell a far different story.
“This stream is flowing at record low flows for the last seven to nine months. Right now, we’re at about 20% of normal flow for this time of year, which does not bode well for the dry season. This is typically the wettest part of the year,” explains Dr. Aryon Strauch, CWRM’s lead hydrologist.
Without significant rainfall between now and the start of the “normal” dry season, this winter’s drought conditions across much of Hawai‘i are expected to worsen significantly.
“We are seeing record-low flows in terms of the entire period of record on Kawaikōī, that’s about 109 years. In some of the East Maui streams, 105 years. But we’ve not seen low flows like this across the state to this extent ever before,” Strauch said.
Some streams are already completely dry and that’s affecting water availability for drinking water supplies, for traditional and customary practices, and for agriculture.
Water managers like Mike Faye (pronounced fi-yah), of the Kekaha Agriculture Association, will be faced with distributing a dwindling supply of water to ag users and unless conditions improve, expect some to be left high and dry.
“Our role is to take care of the infrastructure which consists of two ditch systems that come out of the mountains in Kōkeʻe – the Kekaha ditch and the in Kōkeʻe ditch,” Faye remarked. The association also operates two hydroelectric plants which it maintains, along with 30 miles of power lines and 30 miles of roads. If water flows continue to drop, the power they produce could cease along with water delivery to the nine leasees on mauka lands above Kekaha and the Mānā Plain. That is 13,000 acres in total, which formerly supported Kauaʻi’s plantation-era sugar industry. The agriculture tenants are licensed through the state’s Agribusiness Development Corporation.
Strauch added, “One of the benefits of having long-term data sets is being able to talk about the severity of the drought conditions being observed relative to 100 years of record, and by explaining that these are unprecedented flows.”
“For the last nine months, we’ve only had maybe 12 days of peak flow conditions, which is very unusual, and we can compare that to a normal year, where we might have 60 days of peak flow conditions. The availability of water is just severely limited. Despite the water flowing in the stream, it’s just not flowing very much,” Strauch said.
While water from the Kōkeʻe ditch continues to spill into Pu‘u Lua Reservoir, even without measurements, Strauch and his team can tell the volume is quite low. Every day the shoreline expands as water levels in the popular trout-fishing spot continue to drop.
Using sophisticated instruments and data from permanent stream flow measurement stations, the CWRM team regularly monitors conditions of 80 waterways statewide. The outlook is particularly bleak in west Kaua‘i and in east and west Maui.
“Honokōhau Stream, in West Maui, the medium flow for this time of year is about 20 cubic feet per second (CFS), or about 12 to 13 million gallons per day,” Strauch said. Last week the stream was flowing at eight to nine CFS, or five and a half to six million gallons per day, which was, a third or 25% of normal flows. Recent rains have improved the Honokōhau Stream flow to 11.8 CFS.
Wailuku River in ʻĪao Valley saw improved stream flow over the past week, moving from 15 CFS to 22 CFS. “Normal flow is about 25 and again, these flows are supplying water for drinking water supply. They’re supplying water for in-stream values, and it becomes a real challenge to manage water demand and water availability when we’re trying to protect a number of competing public trust uses,” Strauch said.
Rain-rich East Maui is experiencing the same thing. Record-breaking low stream flows. Maui County has already imposed various stages of water conservation because of the current water shortage and for what’s predicted across the summer and into the next wet season.
Strauch concluded, “Obviously this impacts people who are directly reliant on the streams. But long-term agriculture and other off-stream uses that may not be the priority of the public trust uses of water, they’re going to suffer, because we just don’t have enough water right now to meet the demands.” He hopes late winter rains will continue to improve the water situation statewide, but in case that doesn’t happen, water conservation will be key, he said.
# # #
RESOURCES
(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)
HD video – West Kaua‘i stream flow conditions (March 6, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ma0woqqwwcenbqlu4u2zy/Drought-West-Kaua-i-Stream-Flow-Conditions-March-6-2025.mov?rlkey=nfc61ohx8kbmrgd88n2yigqg3&st=s1rdzr7c&dl=0
(Shot sheet/transcription attached)
HD video – East Maui stream flow conditions (March 3, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dpuw7g63xpx6chkstx692/Maui-Nui-stream-flow-conditions.mov?rlkey=1cks70yioim4sbw0au7neqvq1&st=d9y5ai26&dl=0
Photographs – West Kaua‘i stream flow conditions (March 6, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/un2u70jhbuugru7d4pgw9/APw2XLO0V6pRkzGfqP1vzyI?rlkey=ej79e4oq6qxbga73zcs5n4p8h&st=yjnqgsay&dl=0
Photographs – East Maui stream flow conditions (March 3, 2025):
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/96ukxmrob9eeusd36k7vr/AB02qGEIHMfeR2P-I26zxkQ?rlkey=9rsl5gid0t5t7qktz2eeplkod&st=p2iuqx5p&dl=0
U.S. Geological Survey water data:
https://Dashboard.waterdata.USGS.gov
Media Contact:
Dan Dennison
Communications Director
Hawaiʻi Dept. of Land and Natural Resources
808-587-0396
Email: Dlnr.comms@hawaii.gov
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on Mar 13, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
KA ʻOIHANA O KA LOIO KUHINA
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
ANNE LOPEZ
ATTORNEY GENERAL
LOIO KUHINA
ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ LEADS MULTISTATE COALITION SUING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO STOP DISMANTLING OF U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND PROTECT STUDENTS
News Release 2025-41
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025
HONOLULU – Attorney General Anne Lopez today led a coalition of 21 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. On March 11, the Trump administration announced that the U.S. Department of Education would be firing approximately 50 percent of its workforce as part of its goal of a “total shutdown” of the department. Attorney General Lopez and the coalition today filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the targeted destruction of this critical federal agency that ensures tens of millions of students receive a quality education and critical resources.
“Neither a president nor his administration can abolish or render useless a department of the United States on a whim. Students in Hawaiʻi—from K-12 to the University of Hawaiʻi—rely upon the U.S. Department of Education, its programs and its public servants because they are supported by federal laws passed by Congress,” said Attorney General Lopez. “There is no higher calling in government than to fight for a better future for our children. My department will proudly fight for that future, including for federal support for low-income children and students with disabilities and for combatting discrimination in education.”
“The U.S. Department of Education plays a critical role in ensuring that students—especially those with the greatest needs—have access to the resources and opportunities they deserve. Federal education dollars support essential services in our public schools, including special education and school meal programs, and provide salaries for more than 1,100 of our dedicated full-time educators and staff,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Education Superintendent Keith T. Hayashi. “Any effort to dismantle this agency threatens not only these vital programs but also the stability of our entire public education system. We appreciate the leadership of Attorney General Lopez in standing up for students, families and educators, and we remain committed to advocating for the resources necessary to best support our students.”
“The proposed elimination of 50% of U.S. Department of Education employees raises serious concerns about the future of critical student services and programs that support educational access,” said University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel. “While the full impact on our university system is still unknown, we anticipate significant disruptions if these reductions move forward as planned. Currently, more than 270 positions across our 10-campus system are funded through U.S. Department of Education resources. These employees and the programs they administer play a crucial role in supporting our students—particularly through initiatives such as Title III, which strengthens UH’s capacity to serve Native Hawaiian students, and Title VII, which upholds essential protections against discrimination. Any reduction in these areas would not only affect our institution but also diminish opportunities for the many communities we serve.”
Solicitor General Kalikoʻonālani Fernandes and Special Assistant to the Attorney General Dave Day jointly stated: “We are all molded by the education we receive as children and young adults. The Department of the Attorney General will challenge all unlawful attempts to deprive the next generation of educational opportunities and privileges promised to them by the laws of this nation.” Hawaiʻi is represented in this litigation by Solicitor General Fernandes, Special Assistant to the Attorney General Day, and Deputy Solicitor General Ewan Rayner.
The U.S. Department of Education’s programs serve nearly 18,200 school districts and over 50 million K-12 students attending roughly 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools throughout the country. Its higher education programs provide services and support to more than 12 million postsecondary students annually. Students with disabilities and students from low-income families are some of the primary beneficiaries of U.S. Department of Education services and funding. U.S. Department of Education funds for special education include support for assistive technology for students with disabilities, teacher salaries and benefits, transportation to help children receive the services and programming they need, physical therapy and speech therapy services, and social workers to help manage students’ educational experience. The U.S. Department of Education also supports students in rural communities by offering programs designed to help rural school districts that often lack the personnel and resources needed to compete for competitive grants.
As Attorney General Lopez and the coalition assert in the lawsuit, dismantling the U.S. Department of Education will have devastating effects for states like Hawaiʻi. The administration’s lay-off is so massive that the U.S. Department of Education will be incapacitated and unable to perform essential functions. As the lawsuit asserts, the administration’s actions will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support. They will gut U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. They would additionally hamstring the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work study programs.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General Lopez and the coalition are seeking a court order to stop the administration’s policies to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education by drastically cutting its workforce and programs. Attorney General Lopez and the coalition argue that the administration’s actions to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education are illegal and unconstitutional. The department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous different laws creating its various programs and funding streams. The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the Executive Branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress.
This lawsuit is led by Attorney General Lopez and the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, and New York. Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
A link to the virtual press conference Attorney General Lopez held today with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, and New York Attorney General Letitia James can be found here.
# # #
Media contacts:
Dave Day
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1284
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov
Toni Schwartz
Public Information Officer
Hawai‘i Department of the Attorney General
Office: 808-586-1252
Cell: 808-379-9249
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://ag.hawaii.gov
Source: US State of California 2
What you need to know: California is expanding its collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to leverage cutting-edge technologies to protect public health and help Los Angeles rebuild.
LOS ANGELES – As part of the state’s ongoing actions to support Los Angeles County’s wildfire recovery, Governor Gavin Newsom announced today that the state is expanding its collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to monitor air and water using cutting-edge technologies.
The collaboration will provide the state with additional data on water and air quality – helping California protect communities in and around the Palisades and Eaton fire areas.
Governor Gavin Newsom
JPL is the largest employer of those impacted by the Eaton Fire. In the weeks following the firestorm, the Governor visited the NASA JPL facility in La Cañada Flintridge for a conversation with employees impacted by the Eaton Fire. Nearly 200 JPL employees lost their homes or were displaced due to damage to their homes.
By harnessing advanced data and imaging tools, California and JPL are taking proactive steps to protect public health, strengthen resilience, and accelerate recovery efforts for Altadena and the Palisades communities. This work includes:
Track all of LA’s recovery at CA.gov/LAfires.
Previous collaborations between California and JPL have produced innovative new technologies to address California’s natural resource and environmental challenges. In 2023, JPL, California, and other partners created VIRGO – Visualization of In-situ and Remotely-Sensed Groundwater Observations – an online mapping tool from NASA that enables water managers and end-users to explore groundwater changes in California.
The NASA facility also partnered with CAL FIRE to use soil moisture sensors to support the state’s fire management and prevention efforts. JPL helped California launch pollution-tracking satellites last year and partners with the state on drought monitoring.
The new collaboration builds upon existing efforts being carried out by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, with support from CARB, which includes deploying highly advanced mobile air monitors and community air monitoring for toxics to complement the robust regional monitoring network.
Altogether, the district’s air monitoring stations in the Eaton and Palisades burn areas, along with other regulatory air monitors across the greater Los Angeles area are collecting vital air pollution and toxics data. Initial monitoring shows levels do not pose an immediate risk to public health. Track LA’s recovery, including the latest air quality results, at CA.gov/LAfires.
Source: US State of Hawaii
Posted on Mar 13, 2025 in Main
HONOLULU — Engineers and building construction inspectors of all experience levels are wanted at the state of Hawaiʻi Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS).
The top engineering jobs are supervisory positions whose salary range tops out at more than $16,000 a month. The staff engineer job openings requiring entry level experience are Engineer II jobs that start at nearly $6,000 a month.
The building construction inspector jobs salary range goes from slightly more than $6,000 a month to just over $7,000 a month. Inspectors, in addition to their salaries, can also earn a shortage differential that varies by position, and can be substantial.
The state is recruiting the building construction inspectors under the Operation Hire Hawaiʻi (OH-HI) initiative announced by Governor Josh Green, M.D. It is a targeted outreach featuring an expedited hiring process, fast-tracking qualified applicants into job opportunities throughout Hawaiʻi.
Most of the engineering jobs (all but the program managers) are being recruited under the state Department of Human Resources Wikiwiki Hire program, which is also a fast-tracked process. The Wikiwiki Hire program can speed up the hiring process by months.
The open civil service positions and their locations are:
Engineering Program Manager in Kona and on Maui
Engineer II, III, IV and V on Maui
Engineer III, IV and V on Oʻahu and on Hawaiʻi Island
Building Construction Inspector I and II on Maui
Building Construction Inspector II on Oʻahu
Building Construction Inspector II and III on Hawaiʻi Island
Building Construction Inspector III on Kauaʻi
DAGS Director and Comptroller Keith Regan said, “There’s a lot of uncertainty and movement in the workforce right now due to the federal Department of Government Efficiency layoffs and ongoing efforts to downsize. We hope to be part of the solution for people needing a new job or simply seeking more secure employment. We want people to know that we have good paying, stable, high-level jobs on all the islands on which DAGS has a presence.”
DAGS Public Works Administrator Gordon Wood said, “We have a variety of engineering jobs, and mostly all of them are related to project management. Our architects, engineers, and building construction inspectors play such a critical role in our state. Without them, the facilities the state needs to provide services to the public can’t get built.”
Wood added the positions help keep the state’s economy flowing. “DAGS currently has 67 projects on Oʻahu alone worth roughly $520 million in construction. We have eight building construction inspectors overseeing them. That means each inspector is responsible for $65 million in construction.”
DAGS Central Services Administrator James Kurata noted, “Central Services completes the project delivery cycle; Public Works builds facilities and we maintain them. We are always looking for engineers who can help us with facility maintenance so the state departments who work out of those buildings can seamlessly continue to serve the public.”
If you would like to apply, DAGS job listings are at https://ags.hawaii.gov/employment/.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
CHP reminds public to take precautions against measles during travel
According to the latest information released by the World Health Organization, over 127 000 measles cases (including at least 38 deaths) were reported in Europe and Central Asia last year, double the number of cases reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997. Children under 5 accounted for more than 40 per cent of the cases, as childhood measles vaccination coverage remained suboptimal in some countries. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also reported that the majority of paediatric cases have never been vaccinated against measles. In the ongoing measles outbreaks in North America, the United States and Canada have each recorded more than 200 cases so far this year, with cases mainly affecting children who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. In neighboring areas, measles outbreaks continued to occur from time to time in the past year in Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.
Hong Kong has recorded one imported measles case
The Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the DH, Dr Edwin Tsui, reiterated that vaccination is the most safe and effective preventive measure against measles. Healthy people in general can enjoy long-term, even lifelong protection after receiving measles vaccination as recommended. Two doses of measles-containing vaccine can confer protection of up to 97 per cent.
“The measles situation outside Hong Kong reflects the risk of outbreak due to inadequate vaccination coverage. Under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme, the overall immunisation coverage in Hong Kong has been maintained at a very high level through the immunisation services provided by the DH’s Maternal and Child Health Centres and the School Immunisation Teams. As evidenced by the findings on vaccination coverage of primary school students and the territory-wide immunisation surveys conducted regularly by the DH, the two-dose measles vaccination coverage has remained consistently high, well above 95 per cent, and the local seroprevalence rates of measles virus antibodies reflect that most of the people in Hong Kong are immune to measles. On the whole, the risk of a large-scale outbreak in Hong Kong is low. However, as a city with a high volume of international travel, Hong Kong still faces the potential risk of measles importation. Locally, a small number of people who have not completed a measles vaccination (such as non-local born people including new immigrants, foreign domestic helpers, overseas employees and people coming to Hong Kong for further studies) are still at risk of being infected and spreading measles to other people who do not have immunity against measles, such as children under 1 year old who have not yet received the first dose of measles vaccine,” he said.
Dr Tsui added that people born before 1967 could be considered to have acquired immunity to measles through natural infection, as measles was endemic in many parts of the world and in Hong Kong at that time. He urged people born in or after 1967 who have not yet completed the two doses of measles vaccination or whose measles vaccination history is unknown, to consult their family doctors as soon as possible to complete the vaccination and ensure adequate protection against measles. For those who plan to travel to measles-endemic areas, they should check their vaccination records and medical history as early as possible. If they have not been diagnosed with measles through laboratory tests and have never received two doses of measles vaccine or are not sure if they have received measles vaccine, they should consult a doctor at least two weeks prior to their trip for vaccination.
The incubation period of measles (i.e. the time from infection to the onset of illness) is seven to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. When such symptoms appear, people should wear surgical masks, stay home from work or school, avoid crowded places and contact with unvaccinated people, especially those with weak immune systems, pregnant women and children under 1 year old. Those who suspect they are infected should consult their doctors as soon as possible and inform healthcare workers of their history of exposure to measles.
For more information on measles, members of the public may visit the CHP’s thematic webpageIssued at HKT 18:33
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) signed between Hong Kong and Bahrain in March last year will enter into force on March 21, following the completion of the two sides’ respective internal procedures required.
Under the IPPA, the two governments undertake to provide investors of the other side with fair, equitable and non-discriminatory treatment of their investments, compensation in the event of expropriation of investments, and the right to free transfers abroad of investments and returns. The IPPA also provides for settlement of investment disputes under internationally accepted rules, including arbitration.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, said, “By enabling investors of Hong Kong and Bahrain to enjoy corresponding protection of their investments in the host economies, the IPPA will enhance confidence of investors, expand investment flows and further strengthen the economic and trade ties between the two places.
“The Government has been actively seeking to expand Hong Kong’s global economic and trade networks with a view to assisting enterprises and investors in opening up markets. We are exploring the signing of IPPAs with Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Egypt and Peru, as well as exploring IPPAs or free trade agreements with emerging markets including potential partners in the Middle East and other regions along the Belt and Road,” he added.
The IPPA with Bahrain is the second of its kind signed by the current-term Government, following the IPPA signed with Türkiye. It is also the 24th investment agreement that Hong Kong has signed with a foreign economy.
The other foreign economies that have signed IPPAs with Hong Kong are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, Austria, the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Source: US State of Connecticut
In the second season of “Severance,” there’s an unexpected character: a child supervisor named Miss Huang, played by actress Sarah Bock, who matter-of-factly explains she’s a child “because of when I was born.”
Miss Huang’s deadpan response is more than just a clever quip. Like so much in the Apple TV+ series, which has broken viewership records for the streaming service, I think it reveals a devastating truth about the role of work in the 21st century.
As a scholar of childhood studies, I also see historical echoes: What constitutes a “child” – and whether one gets to claim childhood at all – has always depended on when and where a person is born.
An age of innocence?
Americans are deeply invested in the idea of childhood as a time of innocence, with kids protected by doting adults from the harsh realities of work and making ends meet.
However, French historian Philippe Ariès famously argued that childhood, as many understand it today, simply did not exist in the past.
Using medieval art as one resource, Ariès pointed out that children were often portrayed as miniature adults, without special attributes, such as plump features or silly behaviors, that might mark them as fundamentally different from their older counterparts.
Looking at baptism records, Ariès also discovered that many parents gave siblings the same name, and he explained this phenomenon by suggesting that devastatingly high child mortality rates prevented parents from investing the sort of love and affection in their children that’s now considered a core component of parenthood.
While historians have debated many of Ariès’ specific claims, his central insight remains powerful: Our modern understanding of childhood as a distinct life stage characterized by play, protection and freedom from adult responsibilities is a relatively recent historical development. Ariès argued that children didn’t emerge as a focus of unconditional love until the 17th century.
Kids at work
The belief that a child deserves a life free from the stress of the workplace came along still later.
After all, if Miss Huang had been born in the 19th century, few people would question her presence in the workplace. The Industrial Revolution yielded accounts of children working 16-hour days and accorded no special protection because of their tender age and emotional vulnerability. Well into the 20th century, children younger than Miss Huang routinely worked in factories, mines and other dangerous environments.
To today’s viewers of “Severance,” the presence of a child supervisor in the sterile, oppressive workplace of the show’s fictional Lumon Industries feels jarring precisely because it violates the deeply held belief that children are occupants of a separate sphere, their innocence shielding them from the dog-eat-dog environs of competitive workplaces.
Childhood under threat
As a child worker, Miss Huang might seem like an uncanny ghost of a bygone era of childhood. But I think she’s closer to a prophet: Her role as child-boss warns viewers about what a work-obsessed future holds.
Today, the ideal childhood – access to play, care and a meaningful education – is increasingly under threat.
As politicians and policymakers insist that children are the future, many of them refuse to support the intensive caregiving required to transform newborns into functioning adults. As philosopher Nancy Fraser has argued, capitalism relies on someone doing that work, while assigning it little to no monetized value.
Child-rearing in the 21st century exists within a troubling paradox: Mothers provide unpaid child care for their own children, while those who professionally care for others’ children – predominantly women of color and immigrants – receive meager compensation for this essential work.
In other words, economic elites and the politicians they support say they want to cultivate future workers. But they don’t want to fund the messy, inefficient, time-consuming process that raising modern children requires.
The show’s name comes from a “severance” procedure that workers undergo to separate their work memories from their personal ones. It offers a darkly comic version of work-life balance, with Lumon office workers able to completely disconnect their work selves from their personalities off the clock. Each is distinct: A character’s “innie” is the person they are at the job, and their “outtie” is who they are at home.
I see this as an apt metaphor for how market capitalism seeks to separate the slow, patient work required to raise children and care for other loved ones from the cold-eyed pursuit of economic efficiency. Parents are expected to work as if they don’t have children and raise children as if they don’t work.
The result is a system that makes traditional notions of childhood – with its unwieldy dependencies, its inefficient play and its demands for attention and care – increasingly untenable.
Capitalism’s ideal child
Plummeting global fertility rates around the world speak to this crisis in child care, with the U.S., Europe, South Korea and China falling well below the birth rate required to replace the existing population.
Even as Elon Musk frets about women choosing not to have children, he seems eager to restrict any government aid that would provide the time or resources that raising children requires.
Accessible health care, affordable, healthy food and stable housing are out of the reach of many. The current administration’s quest for what it calls “government efficiency” is poised to shred safety net programs that help millions of low-income children.
In the midst of this dilemma, Miss Huang offers a surreal solution to the problems children pose in 2025.
She is, in many ways, capitalism’s ideal child. Already a productive worker as a tween, she requires no parent’s time, no teacher’s patience and no community’s resources. Like other workers and executives at Lumon, she seems to have shed the inefficient entanglements of family, love and play.
In this light, Miss Huang’s clever insistence that she is a child “because of when I was born” is darkly prophetic. In a world where every moment must be productive, where caregiving is systematically devalued and where human relationships are subordinated to market logic, Miss Huang represents a future where childhood survives only as a date on a birth certificate. All the other attributes are economically impractical.
Viewers don’t yet know if she’s severed. But at least from the perspective of the other workers in the show, Miss Huang works ceaselessly and, in doing so, proves that she is no child at all.
Or rather, she is the only kind of child that America’s economic system allows to thrive.
Originally published in The Conversation.