Source: Securities and Exchange Commission
In 2010, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy asked the Library of Congress’s Federal Research Division to prepare a report on behavioral traits of U.S. investors (Report). We are issuing this Investor Bulletin to remind investors about the Report’s findings and highlight the investing behaviors identified in the study that can undermine investment performance.
Source: Securities and Exchange Commission
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors basic information that may help them make informed financial decisions and avoid common scams.
Whether you’re a first-time investor or have been investing for many years, there is some basic information you should know about investing. Below is a list of ten investing-related pieces of information that may help you make sound financial decisions and avoid fraud.
Checking the background of an investment professional is easy and free. Details on an investment professional’s background and qualifications are available through the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website and FINRA BrokerCheck. If you have any questions on checking the background of an investment professional, call the SEC’s toll-free investor assistance line at (800) 732-0330.
It can be costly to ignore the fees associated with buying, owning, and selling an investment product. Expenses vary from product to product, and even small differences in these costs can translate into large differences in earnings over time. An investment with high costs must perform better than a low-cost investment to generate the same returns for you. In addition, some products are designed to be long-term investments. If you need your money early, you may need to pay substantial surrender fees.
Diversification can help reduce the overall risk of an investment portfolio. By picking the right mix of investments, you may be able to limit your losses and reduce the fluctuations of your investment returns without sacrificing too much in potential gains. Some investors achieve diversification through ownership of mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.
Promises of high returns, with little or no associated risk, are classic warning signs for fraud. Every investment carries some degree of risk and the potential for greater returns comes with greater risk. Ignore so-called “can’t miss” investment opportunities or those promising “guaranteed returns” or, better yet, report them to the SEC.
Any offer or sale of securities must be either registered with the SEC or exempt from registration. Otherwise, it is illegal. SEC registration is important because it provides investors access to key information about the company’s management, products, services, and finances. While many companies that do not register or file reports with the SEC may be legitimate investments, you assume more risk when you invest in a company about which little or no information is publicly available. Investors should always check whether an offering is registered with the SEC by using the SEC’s EDGAR database or contacting the SEC’s toll-free investor assistance line at (800) 732-0330.
It can be risky to invest heavily in shares of any individual stock. In particular, you should think twice before investing heavily in shares of your employer’s stock. If the value of your employer’s shares declines significantly, or the company goes bankrupt, you may lose money and there’s a chance you might lose your job, too.
Some investments provide tax advantages. For example, employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts generally provide tax advantages for retirement savings, and 529 college savings plans also offer tax benefits. Individuals who are interested in learning about the tax impact of their investment decisions should consult their tax adviser or visit the IRS website.
Mutual funds, like other investments, are not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC or any other government agency. This is true even if you buy a mutual fund through a bank and the fund carries the bank’s name.
The key to avoiding investment fraud, including scams that target specific groups, is using independent information to evaluate financial opportunities. We see too many investors who might have avoided trouble and losses if they had asked questions from the start and verified the answers with sources outside of their family, community, or group.
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Examples of Common Persuasion Tactics Used In Investment Scams Research shows that con-artists are experts at the art of persuasion, often using a variety of influence tactics tailored to the vulnerabilities of their victims. Common tactics include:
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Unbiased resources are available to help individuals make informed investing decisions. Whether checking the background of an investment professional, researching an investment, or learning about new products or scams, unbiased information can be a significant advantage for investing wisely. A good starting point for this information is the SEC’s Investor.gov website.
RELATED INFORMATION
We offer educational materials so that investors can develop an understanding of the securities industry and learn how to avoid costly mistakes and fraud. Our educational materials also provide tips on how investors can invest wisely. Investors can order our free publications by calling (800) SEC-0330, or access them on the Internet through the SEC’s Investor.gov website. For additional educational information for investors, see the SEC’s Investor.gov website or the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy’s homepage.
Source: Government of Canada News
October 18, 2024 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Department of Finance Canada
When children have access to healthy food, they do better in school and are set up to succeed.
The federal government’s generational investments like the Canada Child Benefit, which provides families with up to nearly $8,000 per child, per year, help cover the costs of essentials children need. We’re building on this support by providing healthy meals at school, so children have what they need to learn, grow, and succeed—regardless of their family’s circumstances.
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Wab Kinew, Premier of Manitoba, alongside the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, announced that the governments of Canada and Manitoba have reached an agreement to expand school food programs in Manitoba. This agreement, made possible by the federal government’s $1 billion National School Food Program, will enhance and expand Manitoba’s existing school food programs to provide meals to about 19,080 more kids every year, starting this school year.
Manitoba is the second province, after Newfoundland and Labrador, to sign an agreement with the federal government for the new National School Food Program. Today’s agreement includes an initial federal investment of approximately $17.2 million over the next three years to ensure more kids get the nutritious food they need to thrive.
The federal government invites all provinces and territories to help more kids get access to school food by reaching these agreements. It is one of the best investments we can make to lower costs, support families, and care for the next generation.
With an investment of $1 billion over five years, the National School Food Program will feed up to 400,000 more kids across Canada every year. This is a generational investment, especially in the most vulnerable children, who are most impacted by a lack of access to food. Through today’s agreement, the federal government is helping children across Manitoba reach their full potential.
“Giving our children the best start in life is an essential part of fairness for every generation. Today’s agreement with Manitoba will ensure that over 19,000 more children get the food they need at school, starting this year, while saving a family with two kids up to $800 on groceries annually. Our National School Food Program will cut costs for families and help build a Canada where every child is set up to succeed.”
– The Honourable Chrystia Freeland,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
“Kids can’t learn on an empty stomach. We made a commitment to Manitoba families that we’d make sure kids across our province had access to food when they go to school, and we’ve delivered on that promise. Kids across Manitoba can now get a meal or a snack when they need one, so they can concentrate, learn and reach their full potential.”
– The Honourable Wab Kinew,
Premier of Manitoba
“It’s wonderful to see another province partner with us to deliver our National School Food Program. This agreement with the Government of Manitoba means that more of the top-quality, local food that our hardworking farmers produce will reach kids who need it and help set them up for success in the classroom and beyond.”
– The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay,
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
“Today, we’re delivering a promise to the kids and parents of Manitoba—a promise that every child will have access to the healthy meals they need to succeed. It’s simple: when kids eat well, they learn better, play harder, and feel good. And for parents, it gives them peace of mind, knowing that their kids are getting the fuel they need to focus on just being kids. We will keep working to make sure that every family across Canada benefits from this program.”
– The Honourable Jenna Sudds,
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
“Every child deserves the best start in life. And that begins with ensuring that no one goes to school on an empty stomach. I’m incredibly proud that Manitoba is the second province to sign onto our National School Food Program, so we can fill the gap and make sure every child has the chance to thrive.”
– The Honourable Dan Vandal,
Minister of Northern Affairs
In Budget 2024, the federal government launched a new National School Food Program, providing $1 billion over five years, to provide meals for up to 400,000 more kids each year, ensuring all children have the food they need to have the best start in life, regardless of their family circumstances.
On June 20, 2024, the federal government released the National School Food Policy, as the foundation for collaborative and complementary action by all orders of government to improve access to food at school.
In addition to the National School Food Program, the federal government launched the new School Food Infrastructure Fund in September, which will deliver $20.2 million to help not-for-profit organizations invest in infrastructure and equipment to support school food programming across Canada.
In addition to today’s $17.2 million federal investment, the Government of Manitoba is investing $30 million to create a Universally Accessible School Nutrition Program for 2024-2025, which will deliver funding through three streams:
To give every child the best start in life, the federal government is also:
Katherine Cuplinskas
Deputy Director of Communications
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Katherine.Cuplinskas@fin.gc.ca
Media Relations
Department of Finance Canada
mediare@fin.gc.ca
613-369-4000
Phone: 1-833-712-2292
TTY: 613-369-3230
E-mail: financepublic-financepublique@fin.gc.ca
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem Science, Director of Oxford Net Zero, University of Oxford
The UK government has given the go-ahead to carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) schemes worth £22 billion (US$28.6 billion). Critics are insisting that this technology – which involves capturing carbon as it is emitted or taking it back out of the atmosphere, then pumping it into rocks deep underground – is unsafe, unproven and unaffordable. Defenders are responding with painstaking rebuttals.
Could the whole debate be missing the point? I think it is better to focus on the big picture – why we need CCS to work – rather than playing whack-a-mole with every objection to individual projects.
The case for CCS boils down to waste disposal: we are going to make too much carbon dioxide (CO₂), so we need to start getting rid of it, permanently.
By burning fossil fuels and producing cement alone, we will generate more CO₂ than we can afford to dump into the atmosphere to have any chance of limiting global warming to close to 1.5°C – even after accounting for the capacity of the biosphere and oceans to mop it up.
So, we need to start disposing of that CO₂, safely and permanently, on a scale of billions of tonnes a year by mid-century. And the only proven way of doing this right now is to re-inject it back underground.
The world is not giving up fossil fuels any time soon, and the transition is going to be difficult enough without tying our hands by ruling out using CCS technology.
The questions we should be asking are: will “green hydrogen” – a low-carbon fuel produced from water using renewable electricity – be a cheaper way of dealing with lulls in renewable energy generation than gas-fired power plants fitted with CCS? And, can we get by entirely on recycled steel, and eliminate the use of conventional cement in construction, when steel and cement are notoriously hard to produce without fossil fuels?
If the answer to any of these questions, anywhere in the world, turns out to be “no” – or even “not by 2050” – then we need CCS.
Would taking CCS off the table focus minds and make us abandon fossil fuels faster? Perhaps, but it could equally make us abandon climate targets – ultimately, the most expensive option of all.
We should be conscious of “lifecycle emissions” for all forms of energy – including, for example, green hydrogen made with electricity from solar panels that were manufactured using coal-fired power. The right response is to find cleaner suppliers of solar panels for green hydrogen, and cleaner suppliers of gas for blue hydrogen. The wrong response is to give up on either fuel source.
What about offsetting continued fossil fuel use with nature-based solutions, such as restoring ecosystems and rewilding? Unfortunately, we are already maxing out nature’s credit card.
In the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) scenarios in which warming is kept close to 1.5°C, we need to eliminate deforestation almost immediately, and restore a cumulative total of 250 billion tonnes of CO₂ to the biosphere over the coming 75 years – by restoring forests and wetlands, for example.
Over the same period, we also need to dispose of four times that amount of CO₂ back underground through various forms of CCS – after slashing the amount of CO₂ we produce by 75%-80%.
We cannot bank on stuffing an additional trillion tonnes of CO₂ into the biosphere over the next 75 years – especially as more Earth system feedbacks emerge and accelerate, whereby carbon stored at the Earth’s surface is re-released to the atmosphere as the world warms, forests burn, and peatlands dry out.
To limit global warming to the extent the planet urgently requires, we need a means of permanent CO₂ disposal that does not make further demands on the biosphere. But at the same time as enabling CCS technology, we also need to make sure its availability does not encourage yet more CO₂ emissions.
This is where critics of government policy may have a point. If CCS is widely available and heavily subsidised, will that just encourage individuals and companies to use more fossil fuels? The danger is real, but it doesn’t mean we should abandon CCS. We need to be smart about how it is implemented.
Given the way the first CCS projects were set up by the previous UK government, an initial injection of £22 billion from taxpayers is, by now, the only way to kickstart a CO₂ disposal industry. But this should not become an endless subsidy which allows private industry to keep profiting from selling the stuff that causes global warming, while taxpayers pay for the clean-up.
Fortunately, there is another way. The EU has shown, in its Net Zero Industry Act, how regulation can force the fossil fuel industry to contribute to the cost of CCS without relying on US-style subsidies.
The UK government could make it clear that, by mid-century, anyone selling fossil fuels in the UK will be responsible for permanently disposing all CO₂ generated by their activities and the products they sell.
Pricing in safe CO₂ disposal would make fossil fuels more expensive, potentially adding 5p per kWh to the cost of natural gas over the next 25 years. That’s cheap compared with the cost of just dumping CO₂ into the atmosphere.
It is possible, and even affordable, to ensure fossil fuel use falls to meet our available CO₂ disposal capacity. There again, building a global CO₂ disposal industry from a standing start in only 25 years will be hard.
Fortunately, the UK has the right geology, skills and expertise, as well as a history of innovation in climate policy. It also has a clear interest in getting involved in what should become one of the major industries of the second half of this century. And it has a moral obligation, having pioneered taking fossil carbon out of the Earth’s crust, to join the first wave of countries putting it back.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Get our award-winning weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 35,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.
Myles Allen receives funding from the Strategic Research Fund of the University of Oxford and the European Commission. He is a member of the Advisory Board of Puro.Earth.
– ref. Getting carbon capture right will be hard – but that doesn’t make it optional – https://theconversation.com/getting-carbon-capture-right-will-be-hard-but-that-doesnt-make-it-optional-241515
Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
West Hants RCMP Detachment has arrested a youth after they uttered threats toward other youths at a high school.
On October 16, at approximately 5:40 p.m., West Hants RCMP received a report that a youth told other youths about plans to bring a weapon to school the following day and target specific students.
Officers immediately followed up with witnesses then attended a residence later that evening and arrested a youth. The investigating officers also executed a search warrant at a residence and seized a firearm and two replica firearms, as well as other evidence relevant to the investigation.
“Safety concerns for schools, such as threats, are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly,” says Cst. Richard Collins, School Safety Resource Officer at West Hants RCMP Detachment. “I’m glad the witnesses who heard these threats were brave enough to talk about them with people they trust because it allowed us to take steps that may have prevented potential violence from taking place.”
The youth, who will face charges of Uttering Threats, was released on conditions pending an appearance in Windsor Provincial Court on December 6.
The investigation is ongoing and is being led by the West Hants RCMP.
File #: 2024-1530161
Source: US State of North Carolina
Headline: ‘Saturday at the QAR Lab’ Showcases Blackbeard’s Flagship
‘Saturday at the QAR Lab’ Showcases Blackbeard’s Flagship
jejohnson6
Before it was a pirate ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge was known by another name.
The ship, La Concorde, was a slave-trading vessel that became the infamous pirate Blackbeard’s flagship.
Archaeological Conservators and Researchers with the N.C. Office of State Archaeology will explain the history of the ship Nov. 2 during their “Saturday at the QAR Lab” tours of the Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab in Greenville.
Artifacts will be displayed, including gold grains, grenades and cannons recovered from the ship, which was wrecked near Beaufort Inlet over 300 years ago.
Register for the “Saturday at the QAR Lab” for a free guided tour from the archaeologists and conservators responsible for preserving, documenting and investigating this ship with two names!
Tours will run every 30 minutes from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and last approximately 90 minutes. Space is limited, and reservations are required. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour time. Tours are free and open to all ages, but registration is required.
Visit https://www.qaronline.org/visit/saturday-at-the-qar-lab to reserve your tour time.
The QAR Lab at East Carolina University is located at 1157 VOA Site C Rd., Greenville.
For additional information, please call (252) 744-6721. The Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project and Queen Anne’s Revenge Conservation Lab, and the Office of State Archaeology are within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Source: Government of Canada News
Today, the Honourable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, announced almost $15.5 million, over the next five years, for 12 projects that focus on youth dating violence prevention across Canada. These projects will promote healthy relationships through the delivery and testing of innovative, evidence-based interventions, as well as training for service providers and educators.
October 17, 2024 | Calgary, Alberta | Public Health Agency of Canada
Youth dating violence can have long-lasting health and social consequences, including physical injury, mental health impacts, higher-risk of substance use and difficulties in future relationships. The Government of Canada is committed to providing the support to help youth develop and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Today, the Honourable Ya’ara Saks, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, announced almost $15.5 million, over the next five years, for 12 projects that focus on youth dating violence prevention across Canada. These projects will promote healthy relationships through the delivery and testing of innovative, evidence-based interventions, as well as training for service providers and educators. These initiatives will help foster safe environments where young people can form positive, healthy relationships free from abuse. By supporting these efforts, we can help reduce the prevalence of dating violence and help provide a safer future for youth living in Canada.
The successful funding recipients are community associations and non-profit organizations as well as universities from across Canada, who are all dedicated to delivering and testing impactful programs and interventions that will make a lasting difference for youth and their communities. They include the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre and Sexual Assault Services Association, the University of Calgary, Université du Québec à Montréal, the University of Windsor, the Coaching Association of Canada, Family Service Saskatoon, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, L’Anonyme, Lakehead University, Elizabeth Fry Toronto, the Students Commission of Canada, and the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre.
“Young people deserve to grow up in safe, nurturing environments, free from the fear of violence and abuse, especially in their romantic relationships. By supporting these 12 initiatives, we are giving young people across Canada more tools and resources to foster healthy relationships and build a better, safer future for themselves and their communities.”
The Honourable Ya’ara Saks
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
Nearly half of Canadian teens (45%) report experiencing dating violence since age 15.
The 12 projects announced today are the result of a call for proposals.
The nearly $15.5 million investment supports projects that scale up, deliver, and further test youth dating violence prevention interventions that have been shown to be effective, as well as those that meet the needs of key populations, such as youth with a disability, Black and racialized youth, and those who are part of immigrant, refugee and newcomer communities.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is investing up to $21 million per year until 2026, and more than $14 million ongoing to support projects that promote safe relationships, prevent youth dating violence, family violence and child maltreatment, and equip health professionals and service providers to recognize and respond safely to gender-based violence.
As part of the federal Gender-based Violence Strategy, the Government of Canada has invested more than $800 million since 2017, with $44 million per year ongoing in preventing gender-based violence (including family violence), supporting victims, survivors, and their families and promoting a responsive justice system.
In addition, the Government of Canada invested $539.3 million over five years (2022 to 2027), to support provinces and territories in their efforts to implement the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence.
Yuval Daniel
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Ya’ara Saks
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
819-360-6927
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Lea Paterson announced as Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body.
Today, Thursday 17 October 2024, the Government has announced that Lea Paterson will be the new Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB).
Lea brings extensive experience from public policy, regulation, HR and financial journalism. She has held a number of senior roles at the Bank of England, including serving as the Bank’s Executive Director of People & Culture, and as the organisation’s first Director of Independent Evaluation.
Lea is currently a Board Member at the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, an independent member of Warwick University’s Remuneration Committee, and a Civil Service Commissioner. She also holds a number of voluntary and community roles.
As Chair of the SSRB, Lea will provide strong leadership at a senior level and a clear direction of the policy, financial and operational levers that impact on remuneration decisions, especially in the public sector.
The SSRB provides independent advice to the Prime Minister and senior ministers on the pay of many of the nation’s top public servants.
The SSRB’s remit covers senior civil servants, the judiciary, the senior military, certain senior managers in the NHS, Police and Crime Commissioners and chief police officers.
This is a Prime Ministerial appointment with Cabinet Office being the sponsoring department. The appointment process for this role was in full accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Code of Practice.
The Rt Hon Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said:
Congratulations to Lea on her appointment as Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body.
This role requires someone with financial expertise, strong leadership skills and dedication to public service, and Lea’s skills and experience across many relevant fields will be invaluable.
I wish her the best of luck in her new role.
Lea Paterson, incoming Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body, said:
I’m delighted to have been appointed as Chair of the Senior Salaries Review Body.
I’m looking forward to working with colleagues to deliver independent, evidence-based advice that not only helps to attract and retain great talent for our public services, but also ensures value for money for the taxpayer.
I would also like to thank the outgoing Chair Pippa Lambert for her sterling leadership of the SSRB.
Ends
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kieran Maguire, Senior Teacher in Accountancy and member of Football Industries Group, University of Liverpool
When the Premier League broke away from the rest of English football in 1992, its 22 clubs generated £205 million in its debut season, and the average player earned £2,050 a week. Thirty years later, despite having two fewer clubs, the league’s revenue had increased by 2,850% to £6.1 billion and the average player earned £93,000 a week.
At the heart of this extraordinary growth is an American revolution. In the Premier League’s inaugural season, football was still in recovery from the horrors of the stadium disasters at Hillsborough and Heysel. Owners tended to be from the local area and with a business background. The only foreign owner was Sam Hamman at Wimbledon, a Lebanese millionaire who bought the club on a whim having reportedly been much more interested in tennis. The season ended with Manchester United (under Alex Ferguson) winning the English game’s top league for the first time in 26 years.
Now, if the Texas-based Friedkin Group’s recent deal to buy Everton goes through, 11 of the 20 Premier League clubs will be controlled or part-owned by American investors. The US – long seen as football’s final frontier when it comes to the men’s game – suddenly can’t get enough of English “soccer”.
Four of the Premier League’s “big six” are American-owned – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – while a fifth, Manchester City, has a significant US minority shareholding. Aston Villa, Fulham, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Ipswich Town also have varying degrees of American ownership.
And it’s not even just the glamour clubs at the top of the tree. American investment has also been significant lower down the football pyramid, led by the high-profile acquisition of then non-league Wrexham by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, and Birmingham City’s purchase by US investors including seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. American investment in football has reached places as geographically diverse as Carlisle and Crawley in England, and Aberdeen and Edinburgh in Scotland.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
So why the American obsession with English football? And how real are concerns that these US owners could collude to “Americanise” the traditions of the Premier League – whether by reducing the risk of relegation, introducing some form of “draft pick” system, or moving matches and even clubs to other cities?
Manchester United was the first Premier League club to come under American ownership – after a row about a horse.
In 2005, United was owned by a variety of investors including Irish businessmen and racehorse owners John Magnier and J.P. McManus. Their erstwhile friend Ferguson, the United manager, thought he co-owned the champion racehorse Rock of Gibraltar with them – a stallion worth millions in stud rights. They disagreed – and their bitter dispute was such that Magnier and McManus decided to sell their shares in the football club.
The Miami-based Glazer family – already involved in sport as owners of NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – had already been buying up small tranches of shares in United, but the sudden availability of the Irish shares allowed Malcolm Glazer to acquire a controlling stake for £790 million (around £1.5 billion at today’s prices).
The fact Glazer did not actually have sufficient funds to pay for these shares was a solvable problem. In the some-might-say commercially naive world of top-flight English football before the Premier League, Manchester United was a club without debt, paying its way without leveraging its position as one of the world’s most famous football clubs. Glazer saw the opportunity this presented and arranged a leveraged buy-out (LBO), whereby the football club borrowed more than £600 million secured on its own assets to, in effect, “buy itself” in 2005.
Despite the need to meet the high interest costs to fund the LBO, United continued winning trophies under Ferguson – including three Premier League titles in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2009, as well as a Champions League victory in 2008. Amid this success, the club felt that ticket prices were too low and set about increasing them, with matchday revenue increasing from £66 million in 2004/05 to over £101 million by 2007/08.
Commercial income was another area the Glazers were keen to increase. United set up offices in London and adopted a global approach to finding new official branding deals ranging from snacks to tractor and tyre suppliers – doubling revenues from this income source too.
But in this new, more aggressive world of “sweating the asset”, the debts lingered – and most United fans remained deeply suspicious of their American owners. (Following their father’s death in 2014, the club was co-owned by his six children, with brothers Avram and Joel Glazer becoming co-chairmen.)
Today, despite its partial listing on the New York Stock Exchange and the February 2024 sale of 27.7% of the club to British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a reputed £1.25 billion, United still has borrowings of more than £546 million, having paid cumulative interest costs of £969 million since the takeover in 2005. But with the club now valued at US$6.55 billion (around £5bn), it represents a very smart investment for the Glazer family.
Indeed, while the prices being paid for football clubs across Europe have reached record levels, they are still seen as cheap investments compared with US sports’ leading franchises. Forbes’s annual list of the world’s most valuable sports teams has American football (NFL), baseball (MLB) and basketball (NBA) teams occupying the top ten positions, with only three Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City – in the top 50.
With NFL teams having an average franchise value of US$5.1 billion and NBA $3.9 billion, many English football clubs still look like a bargain from the other side of the pond.
The latest to join this US bandwagon, the Friedkin Group – a Texas-based portfolio of companies run by American businessman and film producer Dan Friedkin – is reported to have offered £400m to buy Everton, despite the club’s poor financial state.
“The Toffees” have been hit by loss of sponsorships as well as two sets of points deductions for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, leading to revenue losses from lower league positions. While the new stadium being built at Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore dock has been yet another financial constraint, it will at least increase matchday income from the start of next season.
A wider reason for the relative bargain in valuations of European football clubs is the risk of relegation – something that is not part of the closed leagues of most US sports. While the threat of relegation (and promise of promotion) has always been an integral part of English and European football, the jeopardy this brings for supporters – and a club’s finances – does not exist in the NFL, NBA, Major League Soccer and similar competitions.
The Premier League, with its three relegation spots at the end of each season, has featured 51 different clubs since it launched in 1992. Only six clubs – Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton – have been ever present, with Arsenal now approaching 100 years of consecutive top-flight football.
Other Premier League clubs have experienced the dramatic cost-benefit of relegation and promotion. Oldham Athletic, who were in the Premier League for its first two seasons, now languish in the fifth tier of the game, outside the English Football League (EFL). In contrast, Luton Town, who were in the fifth tier as recently as 2014, were promoted to the Premier League in 2023 – only to be relegated at the end of last season.
While it is difficult to compare football clubs with basketball and American football teams, the financial difference between having an open league, with relegation, and a closed league becomes apparent when you look at women’s football on both sides of the Atlantic.
Angel City, a women’s soccer team based in Los Angeles, only entered the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022 and is yet to win an NWSL trophy. But last month, the club was sold for US$250 million (£188m) to Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and TV journalist Willow Bay – the most expensive takeover in the history of women’s professional sport.
In comparison, Chelsea – seven-time winners of the English Women’s Super League and one of the most successful sides in Europe – valued its women’s team at £150 million ($US196m) earlier this summer. While there are a number of factors to this price differential, the confidence that Angel City will always be a member of the big league of US soccer clubs – and share very equally in its revenue – will have made its new owners very confident in the long-term soundness of their deal.
A further attraction for American investors is the potential to enter two markets – one mature (men’s football) and one effectively a start-up (the women’s game) – in a single purchase. In the US, the top men’s and women’s clubs are completely separate. But in Europe, most top-flight women’s teams are affiliated to men’s clubs – with the exception of eight-time Women’s Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, which split from the French men’s club when Korean-American businesswoman Michele Kang bought a majority stake in the women’s team in February 2024).
While interest in, and hence value of, the WSL is now growing fast, the women’s game in England is dwarfed by viewer ratings for the Premier League – the most watched sporting league in the world, viewed by an estimated 1.87 billion people every week across 189 countries.
These figures dwarf even the NFL which, while currently still the most valuable of all sporting leagues in terms of its broadcasting deals, must be looking at the growth of the Premier League with some jealousy. This may explain why some US franchise owners, such as Stan Kroenke, the Glazer family, Fenway Sports Group and Billy Foley, have subsequently purchased Premier League football clubs.
Ironically, for many spectators around the world, it is the intensity and competitiveness of most Premier League matches – brought on in part by the threat of relegation and prize of European qualification – that makes it so captivating. However, billionaire investors like guaranteed numbers and dislike risk – especially the degree of financial risk that exists in the Premier League and English Football League.
In April 2021, 12 leading European clubs (six from England plus three each from Spain and Italy) announced the creation of the European Super League (ESL). This new mid-week competition was to be a high-revenue generating, closed competition with (eventually) 15 permanent teams and five annual additions qualifying from Europe. According to one of the driving forces behind the plan, Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer:
By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.
The problem facing the Premier League’s “big six” clubs – and their ambitious owners – is there are currently only four slots available to play in the Champions League. So, their thinking went, why not take away the risk of not qualifying? However, the proposal was swiftly condemned by fans around Europe, together with football’s governing bodies and leagues – all of whom saw the ESL proposal as a threat to the quality and integrity of their domestic leagues. Following some large fan protests, including at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Manchester City was the first club to withdraw – followed, within a couple of days, by the rest of the English clubs.
Under the terms of the ESL proposals, founding member clubs would have been guaranteed participation in the competition forever. Guaranteed participation means guaranteed revenues. The current financial gap between the “big six” and the other members of the Premier League, which in 2022/23 averaged £396 million, would have widened rapidly.
For example, these clubs would have been able to sell the broadcast rights for some of their ESL home fixtures direct to fans, instead of via a broadcaster. All of a sudden, that database of fans who have downloaded the official club app, or are on a mailing list, becomes far more valuable. These are the people most willing to watch their favourite team on a pay-per-view basis, further increasing revenues.
At the same time, a planned ESL wage cap would have stopped players taking all these increased revenues in the form of higher wages, allowing these clubs to become more profitable and their ownership even more lucrative.
American-owned Manchester United and Liverpool had previously tried to enhance the value of their investments during the COVID lockdowns era via ProjectBig Picture – proposals to reduce the size of the Premier League and scrap one of the two domestic cup competitions, thus freeing up time for the bigger clubs to arrange more lucrative tours and European matches against high-profile opposition.
Most importantly, Project Big Picture would have resulted in changing the governance of the domestic game. Under its proposals, the “big six” clubs would have enjoyed enhanced voting rights, and therefore been able to significantly influence how the domestic game was governed.
Any attempt to increase the concentration of power raises concerns of lower competitive balance, whereby fewer teams are in the running to win the title and fewer games are meaningful. This is a problem facing some other major European football leagues including France’s Ligue 1, where interest among broadcasters has dwindled amid the perceived dominance of Paris St-Germain.
So while to date, American-led attempts to change the structure of the Premier League have been foiled, it’s unlikely such ideas have gone away for good. The near-universal fear of fans – even those who welcome an injection of extra cash from a new billionaire owner – is that the spectacle of the league will only be diminished if such plans ever succeed.
And there is evidence from the women’s game that the US closed league format is coming under more pressure from football’s global forces. The NWSL recently announced it is removing the draft system that is designed (as with the NFL and NBA) to build in jeopardy and competitive balance when there is no risk of relegation.
Top US women’s football clubs are losing some of their leading players to other leagues, in part because European clubs are not bound by the same artificial rules of employment. In a truly global professional sport such as football, international competition will always tend to destabilise closed leagues.
Does this mean that American and other wealthy owners of Premier League clubs seeking to reduce their risks are ultimately fighting a losing battle? And if so, given the potential risks involved in owning a football club – both financial and even personal – why do they keep buying them?
The motivations are part-financial, part technological and, as has always been the case with sports ownership, part-vanity.
The American economy has grown far faster than that of the EU or UK in recent years. Consequently, there are many beneficiaries of this growth who have surplus cash, and here football becomes an attractive proposition. In fact, football clubs are more resilient to recessions than other industries, holding their value better as they are effectively monopoly suppliers for their fans who have brand loyalty that exists in few other industries.
From 1993 to 2018, a period during which the UK economy more than doubled, the total value of Premier League clubs grew 30 times larger. And many fans are tied to supporting one club, helping to make the biggest clubs more resilient to economic changes than other industries. While football, like many parts of the entertainment industry, was hit by lockdown during Covid, no clubs went out of business, despite the challenges of matches being played in empty stadiums.
Added to this, the exchange rates for US dollars have been very favourable until recently, making US investments in the UK and Europe cheaper for American investors.
So, while Manchester United fans would argue that the Glazer family have not been good for the club, United has been good for the Glazers. And Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who bought Liverpool for £300 million in 2010, have recouped almost all of that money in smaller share sales while remaining majority owners of Liverpool.
Despite this, the £2.5 billion price paid for Chelsea by the US Clearlake-Todd Boehly consortium in May 2022 took markets by surprise.
The sale – which came after the UK government froze the assets of the club’s Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, following the invasion of Ukraine – went through less than a year after Newcastle United had been sold by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund for £305 million – approximately twice that club’s annual revenues. Yet Clearlake-Boehly were willing to pay over five times Chelsea’s annual revenues to acquire the club, even though it was in a precarious financial position.
Clearlake is a private equity group whose main aim is to make profits for their investors. But unlike most such investors, who tend to focus on cost-cutting, the Chelsea ownership came in with a high-spending strategy using new financial structuring ideas, such as offering longer player contracts to avoid falling foul of football’s profitability and sustainability rules (although this loophole has since been closed with Uefa, European football’s governing body, limiting contract lengths for financial regulation purposes to five years).
Chelsea’s location in the one of the most expensive areas of London, combined with its on-field success under Abramovich, all added to the attraction, of course. But there are other reasons why Clearlake, along with billionaire businessman Boehly, were willing to stump up so much for the club.
While some British football fans may have viewed the Ted Lasso TV show as an enjoyable if slightly twee fictional account of American involvement in English soccer, it has enhanced the attraction of the sport in the US. So too Welcome To Wrexham – the fly-on-the-wall series covering the (to date) two promotions of Wales’s oldest football club under the unlikely Hollywood stewardship of Reynolds and McElhenney.
The growth in US interest in English football is reflected in the record-breaking Premier League media rights deal in 2022, with NBC Sports reportedly paying $2.7 billion (£2.06bn) for its latest six-year deal.
But as well as football offering one of increasingly few “live shared TV experiences” that carry lucrative advertising slots, there may also be more opportunity for more behind-the-scenes coverage of the Premier League – as has long been seen in US coverage of NBA games, for example, where players are interviewed in the locker room straight after games.
According to Manchester United’s latest annual report, the club now has a “global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers”. Such numbers mean its owners, and many others, are bullish about the potential of the metaverse in terms of offering a matchday experience that could be similar to attending a match, without physically travelling to Manchester.
Their neighbours Manchester City, part-owned by American private equity company Silverlake, broke new (virtual) ground by signing a metaverse deal with Sony in 2022. Virtual reality could give fans around the world the feeling of attending a live match, sitting next to their friends and singing along with the rest of the crowd (for a pay-per-view fee).
Some investors are even confident that advancements in Abba-style avatar technology could one day allow fans to watch live 3D simulations of Premier League matches in stadiums all over the world. Having first-mover advantage by being in the elite club of owners who can make use of such technology could prove ever more rewarding.
More immediately, there are some indications that competitive matches involving England’s top men’s football teams could soon take place in US or other venues. Boehly, Chelsea’s co-owner, has already suggested adopting some US sports staples such as an All-Star match to further boost revenues. Indeed, back in 2008, the Premier League tentatively discussed a “39th game” taking place overseas, but that idea was quickly shelved.
The American owners of Birmingham City were keen to play this season’s EFL League One match against Wrexham in the US, but again this proposal did not get far. Liverpool’s chairman Tom Werner says he is determined to see matches take place overseas, and recent changes to world governing body Fifa’s rulebook could make it easier for this proposal to succeed.
The potential benefits of hosting games overseas include higher matchday revenues, increased brand awareness, and enhanced broadcast rights. While there is likely to be significant opposition from local fans, at least American owners know they would not face the same hostility about rising matchday prices in the US as they have encountered in England.
When the Argentinian legend Lionel Messi signed for new MLS franchise Inter Miami in 2023, season ticket prices nearly doubled on his account. And while there is vocal opposition to higher ticket prices in England, this is not borne out in terms of lower attendances for matches against high-calibre opposition – as evidenced by Aston Villa charging up to £97 for last week’s Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.
Villa’s director of operations, Chris Heck, defended the prices by saying that difficult decisions had to be made if the club was to be competitive.
Manchester United’s matchday revenue per EPL season (£m)
For much of the 2010s, with broadcast revenues increasing rapidly, many Premier League owners made little effort to stoke hostilities with their loyal fan bases by putting up ticket prices. Indeed, Manchester United generated little more from matchday income in the 2021-22 season, as football emerged from the pandemic, than the club had in 2010-11 (see chart above).
However, this uneasy truce between fans and owners has ceased. The relative flatlining of broadcast revenues since 2017, along with cost control rules that are starting to affect clubs’ ability to spend money on player signings and wages, has changed club appetites for dampened ticket prices. This has resulted in noticeable rises in individual ticket and season ticket prices by some clubs.
However, season ticket and other local “legacy” fans generate little money compared with the more lucrative overseas and tourist fans. They may only watch their favourite team live once a season, but when they visit, they are far more likely not only to pay higher matchday prices, but to spend more on merchandise, catering and other offerings from the club.
Today’s breed of commercially aware, profit-seeking US Premier League owners – pioneered by the Glazer family, who saw that “sweating the asset” meant more than watching football players sprinting hard – understand there is a lot more value to come from English football teams. The clubs’ loyal local supporters may not like it, but English football’s American-led revolution is not done yet.
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Kieran Maguire has taught courses and presented on football finance for the Professional Footballers Association, League Managers Association, FIFA and national football associations in Europe.
Christina Philippou is affiliated with the RAF FA, and Premier League education programs.
– ref. Why America is buying up the Premier League – and what it means for the future of ‘soccer’ – https://theconversation.com/why-america-is-buying-up-the-premier-league-and-what-it-means-for-the-future-of-soccer-240695
Source: NASA
Students from Iowa will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronaut Nick Hague answer their prerecorded questions while he’s serving an expedition aboard the International Space Station on Monday, Oct. 21.
Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 11:40 a.m. EDT on NASA+. Students from Iowa State University in Ames, First Robotics Clubs, World Food Prize Global Youth Institute, and Plant the Moon teams will focus on food production in space. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media.
Media interested in covering the event must contact Angie Hunt by 5 p.m., Friday, Oct.18 at amhunt@iastate.edu or 515-294-8986.
For more than 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
-end-
Abbey DonaldsonHeadquarters, Washington202-358-1600Abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston281-483-5111sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Source: Government of Canada regional news
Alberta’s government is committed to providing Albertans with the high-quality health care they need, including access to cancer care research, screening, prevention and patient-centred treatment. About half of Albertans will develop cancer in their lifetime, with more than 23,300 new cancer cases expected this year. Alberta’s government is committed to improving treatments and outcomes for cancer patients and supporting screening and prevention initiatives to prevent future cases.
On Oct. 28, one of the largest government infrastructure projects in the province’s history, the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre (Arthur Child), will officially open services to patients. The Arthur Child has an extensive scope and integration of cancer care services, making it one of the most advanced cancer centres in the world. The centre will open in phases to ensure that the final stages of quality assurance around every aspect of the building are carried out.
“Every life lost to cancer is one too many. For those living with cancer and the family and friends who care for them, the opening of the Arthur Child is a move forward and a point of hope. This centre will not only provide needed cancer care as a world-class research facility, it will also focus on prevention and early detection that we hope will one day lead to a future without cancer.”
With 127,000 square metres of space, including 160 inpatient beds and more than 9,200 square metres dedicated to research, the Arthur Child will provide world-leading care and treatment to patients while driving innovation and working towards a future without cancer. As the cancer care centre for all of southern Alberta, the new Arthur Child has been built to be significantly larger than the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.
“Alberta’s government will continue to do everything it can to prevent future cancer cases and to improve treatment and outcomes. This world-class facility was designed to meet the needs of today while preparing for the future, ensuring Albertans receive the highest level of care possible.”
“Opening the Arthur J.E. Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre is a monumental milestone for cancer patients and their families. This project brought together engineers, patient advisers and medical professionals to create a facility that will affect the lives of Albertans for years to come.”
“This facility is a result of Cancer Care Alberta’s deep dedication to patient-centred care. Designed with our patients’ active involvement, every detail reflects their needs and aspirations. It’s more than just a structure; it’s a beacon of hope where compassionate care meets cutting-edge technology.”
The Arthur Child was created with input from cancer patients and their families. Since 2014, patient and family advisers have volunteered more than 4,800 hours to help bring the project from conception to completion.
The Arthur Child offers both inpatient and outpatient services, placing patients at the centre of a multidisciplinary health system. Research at the facility will focus on prevention, early detection, patient-centred treatment, supportive care and patient experiences and outcomes.
“The excellence in care and research at the Arthur Child is an illustration of the incredible generosity of Albertans. Community support through the OWN Cancer fundraising campaign has helped bring the vision of this world-class facility to life and will transform cancer care in Alberta.”
“The future is brighter for cancer patients in Calgary, Canada and beyond thanks to the research that will happen at the Arthur Child and its translation into better treatments, better patient experiences and better patient outcomes.”
“When I started with the patient and family advisory council for the new cancer centre at its inception in September 2014, I could only dream of what we would be able to accomplish. I did know that I needed this work to help me find purpose and opportunity within the heartbreak of my cancer diagnosis. Now, 10 years later, to be a part of the celebration of these dreams coming to life in such tangible and inspiring ways has me overcome with pride and excitement.”
Source: NASA
Jacquelyn Shuman, FireSense Project Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, originally wanted to be a veterinarian. By the time she got to college, Shuman had switched interests to biology, which became a job teaching middle and high school science. Teaching pivoted to finance for a year, before Shuman returned to the science world to pursue a PhD.
It was in a forest ecology class taught by her future PhD advisor, Herman “Hank” Shugart, that she first discovered a passion for ecosystems and dynamic vegetation that led her into the world of fire science, and eventually to NASA Ames.
While Shuman’s path into the world of fire science was not a direct one, she views her diverse experiences as the key to finding a fulfilling career. “Do a lot of different things and try a lot of different things, and if one thing isn’t connecting with you, then do something different,” Shuman said.
Shuman’s PhD program focused on boreal forest dynamics across Russia, examining how the forest changes in response to climate change and wildfire. During her research, she worked mainly with scientists from Russia, Canada, and the US through the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), where Shugart served as the NEESPI Chief Scientist. “The experience of having a highly supportive mentor, being a part of the NEESPI community, and working alongside other inspiring female scientists from across the globe helped me to stay motivated within my own research,” Shuman said.
After completing her PhD, Shuman wanted to become involved in collaborative science with a global impact, which led her to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). There, she spent seven years working as a project scientist on the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment NGEE-Tropics) on a dynamic vegetation model project called FATES (Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator). As part of the FATES team, Shuman used computer modeling to test vegetation structure and function in tropical and boreal forests after wildfires, and was the lead developer for updating the fire portion of the model.
Fire has also played a powerful role in Shuman’s personal life. In 2021, the Marshall Fire destroyed neighborhoods near her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, causing over $513 million of damage and securing its place as the state’s most destructive wildfire. Despite this, Shuman is determined to not live in fear. “Fire is part of our lives, it’s a part of the Earth system, and it’s something we can plan for. We can live more sustainably with fires.” The way to live safely in a fire-inclusive ecosystem, according to Shuman, is to develop ways to accurately track and forecast wildfires and smoke, and to respond to them efficiently: efforts the fire community is continuously working on improving.
Collaboration is a critical element of wildland fire management. Fire science is a field that involves practitioners such as firefighters and land managers, but also researchers such as modelers and forecasters; the most effective efforts, according to Shuman, come when this community works together. “People in fire science might be out in the field and carrying a drip torch and marching along in the hilltops and the grasslands or be behind a computer and analyzing remote sensing data,” Shuman said. “We need both pieces.”
Protecting communities from wildfire impacts is one of the most fulfilling aspects of Shuman’s career, and a goal that unites this community. “Fire research poses tough questions, but the people who are thinking about this are the people who are acting on it,” Shuman said. “They are saying, ‘What can we do? How can we think about this? What information do we need? What are the questions?’ It’s a special community to be a part of.”
Currently at NASA Ames Research Center, Shuman is the Project Scientist for FireSense: a project focused on delivering NASA science and technology to practitioners and operational agencies. Shuman acts as the lead for the project office, identifying and implementing tools and strategies. Shuman still does ecosystem modeling work, including implementing vegetation models that forecast the impact of fire, but also spends time traveling to active fires across the country so she can help partners implement NASA tools and strategies in real time.
“Right now, many different communities are all recognizing that we can partner to identify the best path forward,” Shuman said. “We have an opportunity to use everyone’s strengths and unique perspectives. It can be a devastating thing for a community and an ecosystem when a fire happens. Everyone is interested in using all this collective knowledge to do more, together.”
Written by Molly Medin, NASA Ames Research Center
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Frank Pallone (6th District of New Jersey)
South Amboy, NJ – Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) has secured $250,000 in federal funding to transform a vacant lot near South Amboy’s Middle High School into a safe and engaging playground specifically designed for young children.
“This funding is a significant investment in South Amboy’s future,” said Pallone. “By creating a safe space where our youngest residents can play and grow, we’re not just building a playground — we’re fostering a sense of community and well-being. This new park will become a valuable gathering spot for families, encouraging outdoor activity and strengthening neighborhood connections. It’s projects like these that truly enhance the quality of life for our residents and ensure that every child has a safe place to play.”
“On behalf of the City of South Amboy and especially our young citizens, I would like to thank Congressman Frank Pallone for the $250,000 appropriation,” said South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry. “This generous funding will go a long way in helping to relocate our David Street park to the Allie Clark Sports Complex. With the expansion of the park more opportunities will be provided for our city’s children to recreate in a healthy and safe environment. Congressman Pallone continues to be a great friend and representative to the City of South Amboy.”
The new preschool play area will feature playground equipment suitable for young children, such as low swings, slides, a sandbox, and play sculptures. This project will not only provide a safe environment for children to play, but also provide healthy outdoor activities.
According to the city, the new funding will create a formal play area of approximately 50’ x 50’ (2,500 sq ft), capable of accommodating up to 33 children at a time, meeting national childcare standards for outdoor play areas. Landscaping plans include shade-providing trees and native plants to encourage children’s interaction with nature. A nearby parking area, which provides easy access for driving parents, will also be repaired and reconfigured to meet safety standards.
The funding for this project was requested by Pallone in the Fiscal Year 2025 annual spending bill. Each year, members of the U.S. House may request community funding projects in their district to direct federal resources toward the biggest needs in their communities.
Source: City of Oxford
The Museum of Oxford has been awarded a £136,309 grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to mark its 50-year anniversary in 2025.
The National Lottery funding will support a new project titled “50 Years and Beyond: Embedding Community Voices”, which aims to engage Oxford’s diverse communities in celebrating and sharing their heritage and the city’s rich history.
As part of the project, the Museum of Oxford will collaborate with Oxford’s communities to co-create an exhibition and year-long programme of events. Working closely with local people, community groups, and Oxfordshire County Council’s Museum Collections Team, the museum will identify existing and new objects, stories, and artefacts that reflect the cultural diversity of Oxford’s residents. These materials will become part of the museum’s permanent collections through loans or acquisition, ensuring they remain accessible to future generations.
The project will invite community contributors to co-curate exhibition content, sharing their perspectives on Oxford’s history and offering new heritage stories. Through expert talks, family activities, and special events, the public programme will celebrate Oxford’s unique heritage while fostering community cohesion.
Public programme: A celebratory year-long series of events including talks, family activities, and exhibitions.
Workforce development: Recruitment of a Cultural Learning and Participation Apprentice, who will undertake a Level 3 apprenticeship, gaining skills in partnership working, consultation, and exhibition development.
Sustainable heritage: The project will establish a cross-generational, cross-community approach, ensuring the museum continues to reflect and represent Oxford’s diverse cultural landscape for years to come.
The Museum of Oxford will begin preparations this autumn, with the project running for 26 months leading up to and beyond the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2025.
“We are delighted to support this project, which thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, will mean that more people will be able to get involved with, protect, and learn about the exciting heritage right on their doorstep. Heritage has a huge role to play in instilling pride in communities and boosting local economies, and this project is a fantastic example of achieving those aims.”
Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund
“We are really pleased to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project is a great opportunity to bring more voices into the Museum of Oxford’s story, ensuring that our heritage reflects the rich diversity of our city. By working closely with local communities, we’re not just celebrating 50 years of the museum, but also creating a lasting legacy that represents everyone who calls Oxford home.”
Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Business, Culture, and an Inclusive Economy at Oxford City Council
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
A man described as ‘arrogant’ by a judge has been sentenced for arranging waste to be illegally dumped on his rural land near Consett.
Peter Snailum, 64, from Whitworth, Spennymoor, appeared at Durham crown court for sentencing on Wednesday 16 October after previously pleading guilty to two offences of depositing waste without an environmental permit.
He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a requirement to complete 90 hours of unpaid work.
The court heard that between January and March 2020, excavation waste was transported from a construction site in Consett to Snailum’s land at School House Farm, Kiln Pit Hill, and illegally dumped.
Snailum had a registered waste exemption for his land at School House Farm. This means that low level waste activity could take place at the site for construction purposes, with limits on the amount and type of waste allowed.
During the Environment Agency investigation, it transpired that more than 5,000 tonnes of waste had been dumped at School House Farm – five times the 1,000 tonnes allowed under the exemption.
It was also clear that the waste was not to be used for construction but in an attempt to level land, activity that would require an environmental permit.
In passing sentence, judge Joanne Kidd criticised Snailum for his arrogance, after hearing that he had twice taunted the Environment Agency officers speaking with him about the illegal activity, saying that they should prosecute him as he would only receive a fine.
The judge was also critical of his insistence on initially denying the charges and taking the case to the crown court, all in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Gary Wallace, area environment manager for the Environment Agency in the North East, said:
Waste crime such as this has a negative impact on the environment and local communities and Snailum was warned he was breaching the law.
His actions also undermined legitimate businesses as he made financial gains by not properly and legally disposing of the waste.
I hope this case sends out the message to others that we take waste crime seriously and those involved can expect to be put before the courts for their actions.
Prosecuting, Holly Clegg told the court that in January 2020, Environment Agency officers attended the site in response to reports of wagons tipping waste there.
Checks showed metal and timber mixed with soils and stone. It was estimated the stockpile was close to the 1,000 tonne exemption limit and Snailum was told to stop accepting further waste to the site.
He said he was importing soils to level around the trees and filling in hollows around the site – he was told the exemption restrictions meant it could only be used for construction.
While the officers were there a wagon arrived which was moving waste from a construction site in Consett to Snailum’s land.
The officers then visited a care home construction site and spoke to the site manager, who told them that to date 871 tonnes had been taken to School House Farm.
A month later follow up visits to both the construction site and School House Farm revealed further deposits had taken place which would exceed the limits of the exemption. On 2 March, Snailum was instructed to cease accepting further waste.
Environment Agency officers were later supplied with and assessed the waste transfer documentation, which showed more than 5,000 tonnes of waste soil and stone had been taken to School House Farm between January and March 2020.
Then, in early 2021 Snailum allowed another large deposit of waste, this time tonnes of supposedly crushed MDF but this was contaminated with various other waste types.
Previously sentenced at Peterlee magistrates’ court on 23 April 2024 for their part in the case were:
Jonathan Mann Developments, of Sandhu House, Delves Lane, Consett, which owned land there that was being developed for the construction of new care homes. It pleaded guilty for its involvement in the illegal waste deposits and were ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £3,832.
Groundworks Direct Ltd excavated and loaded the waste material from the construction site onto wagons supplied by the hauliers. It was ordered to pay a fine and costs of £5,000 in total.
In addition, G O’Brien & Sons Ltd, which collected the waste material and transported it to Snailum’s land, agreed to an enforcement undertaking, paying £5,000 to Durham Wildlife Trust to go towards environmental improvements, and a further £1,600 in costs.
Source: City of Stoke-on-Trent
Published: Thursday, 17th October 2024
More than 150 new homes look set to be built on redundant brownfield land in the city thanks to a successful bid for government funding.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been awarded £2.2 million from the government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 – one of four local authorities in the West Midlands to receive a share of £5.4 million.
As part of its commitment to delivering new homes and jobs in the city, the council has now identified two parcels of land for redevelopment, and work to clear the sites will soon get underway after the proposals were agreed by cabinet earlier this month.
The council is looking to transform the former Brookhouse Green Primary School site, on Wellfield Road in Bentilee, into a new estate for 117 new affordable homes. The site has been vacant since the school closed in 2006.
It is expected that the former Olympus Engineering site, on College Road in Shelton – which was deemed surplus to requirements in 2020 – will also be cleared, to make way for new apartments. This is one of three sites in the north Shelton area of the city which has been earmarked for future residential development.
Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration, said: “Everybody has the right to live in a decent home which is why we are committed to bringing forward these much-needed new homes and raising housing standards in the city.
“In the last 12 months we have made a significant investment in our housing stock with almost 9,000 council-owned homes benefitting from our multi-million-pound capital investment programme, so it would be great to see these long-term vacant sites regenerated, transforming empty brownfield land into thriving new communities.”
The three-year £180 million Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 was launched in July 2022. The primary aim of the Fund is to release local authority-owned land by the end of March 2028 for housing development that otherwise would not come forward during that period.
With the funding, councils are able to cover the cost of decontamination, clearing disused buildings or improving infrastructure such as internet, water and power.
In this latest round of funding, a total of £68 million has been directly awarded to 54 councils in England.
Source: US State of New York
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced new data that shows reported gun violence in New York State is at its lowest point since the state started tracking this data in 2006. Shooting incidents with injury declined 26 percent through September 2024 compared to the same nine-month period last year, as reported by the 28 police departments outside of New York City that participate in New York State’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative. A total of 170 fewer individuals were injured by gun violence in Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative communities, with significant decreases in shooting incidents with injury reported in Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, Troy, Utica and on Long Island. Since taking office, Governor Hochul has secured record-level funding for local law enforcement and district attorneys’ offices, from $30 million during State Fiscal Year 2022 to $392 million in the current fiscal year. At the same time, the New York State Police budget has increased by 30 percent, allowing the agency to hire and train additional troopers, and significantly expand its support to local law enforcement agencies to address major crimes, gun violence and retail theft. Additionally, Governor Hochul directed state landmarks to be lit purple in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Public safety is my number one priority, and New York is leading the nation with proven initiatives that are making communities safer,” Governor Hochul said. “Our record investments in law enforcement and in critical programs like the GIVE initiative are making a real difference in every corner of our state, and my administration will continue fighting to keep New Yorkers safe.”
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The 26 percent decline reflects 476 shooting incidents with injury from January 1 through September 30, 2024, compared to 646 incidents from January 1, through September 30, 2023, and represents the fewest reported since the state began tracking this data in 2006. At that time, only 17 police departments reported this data and received state funding to reduce gun and violent crime. The Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative (GIVE) provides nearly $36 million to 28 police departments, as well as district attorneys’ offices, probation departments and sheriffs’ offices, in 21 counties outside of New York City. The following police departments reported particularly significant declines:
Shooting incidents with injury, shooting victims and shooting homicide data for each of the 28 police departments participating in GIVE are available on the State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) website. In addition, the 476 shooting incidents with injury reported by these 28 police departments are the fewest reported since 2006.
In addition to the collective decrease in gun violence in GIVE communities, the New York City Police Department reported a nearly 9 percent (723 v. 791) decrease in shooting incidents through Oct. 13, 2024.
Overall crime outside of New York City also has declined. The 57 counties outside of the five boroughs collectively reported a 9 percent decrease in index crime during the first five months of 2024, the most recent data available, when compared to the same time in 2023. There are seven index crime categories that are used to gauge overall crime trends: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft. The most significant declines were reported in motor vehicle theft (-27 percent), followed by rape (-14 percent), and murder (-12 percent) when comparing January 1, through May 31, 2024, to that five-month period last year. The NYPD also reported a 2 percent decrease in crime complaints through Oct. 13, 2024.
Earlier this month, Governor Hochul also announced another record-level state investment to further improve public safety: $35 million to strengthen the law enforcement response to intimate partner abuse and domestic violence and better address the needs of survivors. DCJS will administer $5 million to the five New York City District Attorneys’ Offices, and $23 million to law enforcement agencies and service providers in 20 counties outside of the five boroughs to implement the Statewide Targeted Reduction in Intimate Partner Violence (STRIVE) initiative. Up to $7 million will allow the State to provide training and technical assistance, risk assessment tools, and investigative support to participating agencies and improve the domestic violence reduction efforts of state agencies.
STRIVE is modeled after GIVE and plans developed by participating counties must use evidence-based strategies and ensure that community members and programs that serve victims and survivors are actively involved in strategy selection and implementation. One or more of the following strategies must be used: domestic violence high-risk team model, lethality assessment program or intimate partner violence intervention.
Our record investments in law enforcement and in critical programs like the GIVE initiative are making a real difference in every corner of our state”
Governor Kathy Hochul
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Commissioner Rosanna Rosado said, “These reductions in gun violence show that our evidence-based approaches like our street outreach programs, our GIVE Initiative, hot-spots policing and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design are effective. I’d like to thank Governor Hochul, our community partners and law enforcement across the state for investing in our communities and for the work they do to improve public safety for all New Yorkers.”
New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, “Over the years, law enforcement has learned that we are most effective when we work together. Combating gun violence is no small matter and we are fighting this battle on many fronts along with our local, state, and federal partners. The decrease in numbers shows progress is being made and I thank Governor Hochul for her continued support of these integral efforts to tackle gun violence.”
New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Executive Director Kelli Owens said, “Today’s announcement comes as we mark Purple Thursday here in New York, a day to show support for survivors during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The color purple has long been a symbol of peace, courage, survival, honor, and dedication to ending violence. Thank you, Governor Hochul, for standing with survivors and for your continued efforts in finding innovative, effective ways to combat domestic violence and keep all New Yorker’s safe.”
New York State Office of Victim Services Director Bea Hanson said, “We at OVS are proud of the work we do to help prevent violence and to support victims and survivors of crime and their families, including funding victim assistance programs in communities across the state and reimbursing eligible individuals affected by crime for out-of-pocket expenses such as medical care, counseling, lost wages and funeral arrangements. It is great news that our state’s gun violence numbers are decreasing, and we thank Governor Hochul for her successful leadership and her steadfast commitment to supporting survivors.”
NYS Troopers PBA President Charles W. Murphy said, “On this day on which we celebrate the 215th New York State Police Graduation, the New York State Troopers PBA appreciates Governor Hochul’s funding of two additional police academies so that we increase our membership numbers to respond to the needs of all New Yorkers.”
NYC PBA President Patrick Hendry said, “The road to a safer New York starts with strong support for police officers on the streets. We look forward to continuing to work with Governor Hochul and all of our state partners to tackle the challenges facing New York City police officers.”
New York State Police Investigators Association President Tim Dymond said, “We appreciate Governor Hochul’s support for the New York State Police. The additional funding and resources that she has provided over the last two years have made a positive impact on our members and their ability to do their jobs. We look forward to continue working with her and her staff on improving recruitment and finding a solution to retain our most senior experienced members. Together we are making progress on these issues and ensuring that the New York State Police remains as the top law enforcement agency in the country.”
Since Governor Hochul took office, funding for the State Police has increased by $264 million (30 percent) to support additional staffing and an increase in police services. The agency’s budget for FY 2025 is $1.14 billion. This funding supports the hiring and training of nearly 1,000 new Troopers and allows the State Police to address major crime and support local police agencies. This includes $25 million to target and retail theft, and expansion of Community Stabilization Units, which use a multi-pronged approach to interdicting illegal firearms and provide local police agencies with resources to proactively address surges in crime. Other programs that are part of the Governor’s comprehensive plan to improve public safety include:
Governor Hochul also directed landmarks to be lit purple in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The landmarks to be lit include:
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Cogan, PhD Candidate in Politics and Environment, University of York
The artificial intelligence boom has already changed how we understand technology and the world. But developing and updating AI programs requires a lot of computing power. This relies heavily on servers in data centres, at a great cost in terms of carbon emissions and resource use.
One particularly energy intensive task is “training”, where generative AI systems are exposed to vast amounts of data so that they improve at what they do.
The development of AI-based systems has been blamed for a 48% increase in Google’s greenhouse gas emissions over five years. This will make it harder for the tech giant to achieve its goal of reaching net zero by 2030.
Some in the industry justify the extra energy expenditure from AI by pointing to benefits the technology could have for environmental sustainability and climate action. Improving the efficiency of solar and wind power through predicting weather patterns, “smart” agriculture and more efficient, electric autonomous vehicles are among the purported benefits of AI for the Earth.
It’s against this background that tech companies have been looking to renewables and nuclear fission to supply electricity to their data centres.
Nuclear fission is the type of nuclear power that’s been in use around the world for decades. It releases energy by splitting a heavy chemical element to form lighter ones. Fission is one thing, but some in Silicon Valley feel a different technology will be needed to plug the gap: nuclear fusion.
Unlike fission, nuclear fusion produces energy by combining two light elements to make a heavier one. But fusion energy is an unproven solution to the sustainability challenge of AI. And the enthusiasm of tech CEOs for this technology as an AI energy supply risks sidelining the potential benefits for the planet.
Google recently announced that it had signed a deal to buy energy from small nuclear reactors. This is a technology, based on nuclear fission, that allows useful amounts of power to be produced from much smaller devices than the huge reactors in big nuclear power plants. Google plans to use these small reactors to generate the power needed for the rise in use of AI.
This year, Microsoft announced an agreement with the company Constellation Energy, which could pave the way to restart a reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power station, the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history.
However, nuclear power produces long-lived radioactive waste, which needs to be stored securely. Nuclear fuels, such as the element uranium (which needs to be mined), are finite, so the technology is not considered renewable. Renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power suffer from “intermittency”, meaning they do not consistently produce energy at all hours of the day.
These limitations have driven some to look to look to nuclear fusion as a solution. Most notably, Sam Altman of OpenAI has shown particular interest in Helion Energy, a fusion startup working on a relatively novel technological design.
In theory, nuclear fusion offers a “holy grail” energy source by generating a large output of energy from small quantities of fuel, with no greenhouse gas emissions from the process and comparatively little radioactive waste. Some forms of fusion rely on a fuel called deuterium, a form of hydrogen, which can be extracted from an abundant source: seawater.
In the eyes of its advocates, like Altman, these qualities make nuclear fusion well suited to meet the challenges of growing energy demand in the face of the climate crisis –- and to meet the vast demands of AI development.
However, dig beneath the surface and the picture isn’t so rosy. Despite the hopes of its proponents, fusion technologies have yet to produce sustained net energy output (more energy than is put in to run the reactor), let alone produce energy at the scale required to meet the growing demands of AI. Fusion will require many more technological developments before it can fulfil its promise of delivering power to the grid.
Wealthy and powerful people, such as the CEOs of giant technology companies, can strongly influence how new technology is developed. For example, there are many different technological ways to perform nuclear fusion. But the particular route to fusion that is useful for meeting the energy demands of AI might not be the one that’s ideal for meeting people’s general energy needs.
Innovators often take for granted that their work will produce ideal social outcomes. If fusion can be made to work at scale, it could make a valuable contribution to decarbonising our energy supplies as the world seeks to tackle the climate crisis.
However, the humanitarian promises of both fusion and AI often seem to be sidelined in favour of scientific innovation and progress. Indeed, when looking at those invested in these technologies, it is worth asking who actually benefits from them.
Will investment in fusion for AI purposes enable its wider take-up as a clean technology to replace polluting fossil fuels? Or will a vision for the technology propagated by powerful tech companies restrict its use for other purposes?
It can sometimes feel as if innovation is itself the goal, with much less consideration of the wider impact. This vision has echoes of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s motto of “move fast and break things”, where short-term losses are accepted in pursuit of a future vision that will later justify the means.
Sophie Cogan receives funding from the EPSRC Fusion Centre for Doctoral Training.
– ref. Tech bosses think nuclear fusion is the solution to AI’s energy demands – here’s what they’re missing – https://theconversation.com/tech-bosses-think-nuclear-fusion-is-the-solution-to-ais-energy-demands-heres-what-theyre-missing-240580
Source: NASA
Researchers think meltwater beneath Martian ice could support microbial life.
While actual evidence for life on Mars has never been found, a new NASA study proposes microbes could find a potential home beneath frozen water on the planet’s surface.
Through computer modeling, the study’s authors have shown that the amount of sunlight that can shine through water ice would be enough for photosynthesis to occur in shallow pools of meltwater below the surface of that ice. Similar pools of water that form within ice on Earth have been found to teem with life, including algae, fungi, and microscopic cyanobacteria, all of which derive energy from photosynthesis.
“If we’re trying to find life anywhere in the universe today, Martian ice exposures are probably one of the most accessible places we should be looking,” said the paper’s lead author, Aditya Khuller of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Mars has two kinds of ice: frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide. For their paper, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, Khuller and colleagues looked at water ice, large amounts of which formed from snow mixed with dust that fell on the surface during a series of Martian ice ages in the past million years. That ancient snow has since solidified into ice, still peppered with specks of dust.
Although dust particles may obscure light in deeper layers of the ice, they are key to explaining how subsurface pools of water could form within ice when exposed to the Sun: Dark dust absorbs more sunlight than the surrounding ice, potentially causing the ice to warm up and melt up to a few feet below the surface.
Mars scientists are divided about whether ice can actually melt when exposed to the Martian surface. That’s due to the planet’s thin, dry atmosphere, where water ice is believed to sublimate — turn directly into gas — the way dry ice does on Earth. But the atmospheric effects that make melting difficult on the Martian surface wouldn’t apply below the surface of a dusty snowpack or glacier.
Thriving Microcosms
On Earth, dust within ice can create what are called cryoconite holes — small cavities that form in ice when particles of windblown dust (called cryoconite) land there, absorb sunlight, and melt farther into the ice each summer. Eventually, as these dust particles travel farther from the Sun’s rays, they stop sinking, but they still generate enough warmth to create a pocket of meltwater around them. The pockets can nourish a thriving ecosystem for simple lifeforms..
“This is a common phenomenon on Earth,” said co-author Phil Christensen of Arizona State University in Tempe, referring to ice melting from within. “Dense snow and ice can melt from the inside out, letting in sunlight that warms it like a greenhouse, rather than melting from the top down.”
Christensen has studied ice on Mars for decades. He leads operations for a heat-sensitive camera called THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) aboard NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter. In past research, Christensen and Gary Clow of the University of Colorado Boulder used modeling to demonstrate how liquid water could form within dusty snowpack on the Red Planet. That work, in turn, provided a foundation for the new paper focused on whether photosynthesis could be possible on Mars.
In 2021, Christensen and Khuller co-authored a paper on the discovery of dusty water ice exposed within gullies on Mars, proposing that many Martian gullies form by erosion caused by the ice melting to form liquid water.
This new paper suggests that dusty ice lets in enough light for photosynthesis to occur as deep as 9 feet (3 meters) below the surface. In this scenario, the upper layers of ice prevent the shallow subsurface pools of water from evaporating while also providing protection from harmful radiation. That’s important, because unlike Earth, Mars lacks a protective magnetic field to shield it from both the Sun and radioactive cosmic ray particles zipping around space.
The study authors say the water ice that would be most likely to form subsurface pools would exist in Mars’ tropics, between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres.
Khuller next hopes to re-create some of Mars’ dusty ice in a lab to study it up close. Meanwhile, he and other scientists are beginning to map out the most likely spots on Mars to look for shallow meltwater — locations that could be scientific targets for possible human and robotic missions in the future.
News Media Contacts
Andrew GoodJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.818-393-2433andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly WasserNASA Headquarters, Washington202-358-1600karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Source: The Conversation – UK – By Martina Egedusevic, PhD Candidate, Impact Fellow (Green Futures Solutions), University of Exeter
Think of flood prevention and you might imagine huge concrete dams, levees or the shiny Thames barrier. But some of the most powerful tools for reducing flood risk are far more natural and widely recognisable: woodlands and green spaces. Trees offer much more than beauty and oxygen. Here’s how trees help to protect us from floods.
Trees and green spaces hold the key to protecting us against flooding. When rain falls on a forest, trees play a vital role in managing water flow. The canopy of a forest acts like a giant umbrella, catching and holding rainwater before it hits the ground.
This slows down how quickly rain reaches the soil, allowing water to gradually seep into the earth instead of rushing over the ground and straight into rivers and watercourses. This delayed water flow can reduce peak water levels in rivers during heavy storms, helping to prevent flash floods.
One of us (Martina) was involved in a two-year study, which has not been peer reviewed, that used sensor equipment to measure the speed and level of surface water at various locations along two streams in the Menstrie catchment area in Scotland: one with greater tree cover and another with less.
The stream with more trees appeared to have consistently reduced flow discharges compared with the more barren stream. This suggests that young forests may be able to dramatically reduce water runoff during rainfall, potentially preventing water from overwhelming streams and rivers.
As trees grow and mature, their effect on water management could become even more significant. This study adds to a growing body of evidence that shows forests offer a natural defence against floods.
Trees are one of our best allies in adapting to the increasing risks posed by climate change. Trees also remove water from catchments via evapotranspiration, whereby moisture evaporates from the surface of the soil and is released from the plant’s leaves and other surfaces.
Importantly, these processes aren’t just relevant at the scale of rural, catchments. We can use the benefits of trees and plants in our towns and cities as targeted small-scale interventions.
Trees help keep rivers clean and healthy. When there are no trees, rain can wash away a lot of soil (and pollutants) into rivers. This might lead to them having a reduced capacity to convey water. But tree roots act like anchors, binding the soil in place and preventing it from flowing into rivers.
This keeps the rivers clear and stops sedimentation, helping them cope with flood waters better. That, in turn, can prevent flooding and maintain river capacity to protect against future flooding.
In places like the Menstrie catchment, planting trees around rivers helps trap dirt and sediment in the upper parts of the river, keeping the lower parts cleaner.
Ploughed ground can better capture sediment across the catchment because the plough lines act as barriers. They keep the sediment in place more efficiently than other techniques, such as hand-screefing (when someone clears a small spot of ground by hand to plant a tree) and excavator mounding (a process that uses a machine to build little hills to help trees grow better in wet areas), which were less successful in containing the sediment.
Evidence shows that trees are essential for long-term soil stabilisation. Cultivation methods and forestry practices therefore play a crucial role in managing erosion and sediment flow.
Trees improve the soil’s ability to soak up water. Their roots channel deep into the ground, creating preferential flow paths that allow water to absorb into the soil profile, rather than run off on the surface. This process helps reduce the amount of water rushing towards rivers and streams after a heavy rainstorm, which is a major factor in slowing the flow of water and reducing flooding.
How trees are planted, the slope of the land and the type of soil all affect how much water runs off during rainfall. Different planting techniques affect water runoff differently depending on the amount of rain.
During floods, some areas with trees planted (that includes plots with plough cultivation and excavation mounding) have less water runoff compared with unplanted areas without trees.
When heavy rain falls on bare land, water runs off quickly, which can cause floods. Trees, with their roots and fallen leaves, slow this down by helping the ground soak up more water.
This reduces how much water flows into rivers all at once, helping to prevent floods. Planting trees using different layouts, densities and patterns can make this even more effective by helping trees grow better and absorb more water, thereby reducing runoff.
In Somerset, England tree planting projects along rivers, such as those under the Environment Agency’s initiative, have played a crucial role in reducing flood risks.
Since 2020, almost 30,000 trees and shrubs were planted across multiple sites to help slow water flow and protect communities vulnerable to flooding. These trees were strategically placed along riverbanks, including in the Parrett catchment in Somerset, an area known to be prone to flooding.
Underground, tree roots drink up lots of water, slowing how quickly the rainwater flows. And when floodwater hits a forest, the tree trunks act like a natural barrier or wall, slowing the water down so it doesn’t rush all at once to other areas and cause bigger floods. By planning and planting forests to build climate resilience, these positive effects can become even stronger.
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Martina Egedusevic receives funding from the Scottish Forestry Trust.
Daniel Green works for Heriot-Watt University as an Assistant Professor in Nature-based Solutions. He is also a Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
– ref. Five surprising ways that trees help prevent flooding – https://theconversation.com/five-surprising-ways-that-trees-help-prevent-flooding-240242
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Terri Sewell (AL-07)
Part of the largest-ever expansion of K-12 mental health programs in America
Birmingham, AL – Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) announced that Birmingham City Schools have been awarded $3.1 million from the U.S. Department of Education to expand student access to school-based mental health services. The grant is a part of the Biden-Harris Unity Agenda and builds on the historic levels of funding to address youth mental health provided under the Biden-Harris Administration through the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
“Our K-12 schools are on the front lines of America’s mental health crisis, which is why it is so critical that we invest in bringing mental health services directly to our students,” said Rep. Sewell. “Thankfully, the Biden-Harris Administration is tackling this crisis head-on by overseeing the largest-ever expansion of mental health programs in our nation’s K-12 schools. This $3.1 million grant will be a game-changer for our Birmingham community, allowing more students to receive the mental health support they need and deserve.”
Grant funding will be used to boost pre-service preparation for prospective mental health professionals to serve in schools, alleviate cost barriers for attendance, expand professional development opportunities, recruit and train mental health professionals from diverse backgrounds, and provide stipends for interns gaining clinical experience in high-need schools.
“In Birmingham City Schools, we focus on equipping all scholars for success,” said Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan. “In our current post-COVID environment, this means we must meet the needs of the total child. This School-Based Mental Health Grant will help us provide much needed services and support for all our students.”
Since day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, Rep. Sewell has partnered with the President and Vice President to improve the capacity of America’s education system to provide mental health services in schools. Today’s announcement was made possible by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed and was signed into law in 2022 with Rep. Sewell’s support. It is part of a $70 million nationwide investment to strengthen the pipeline of school-based mental health professionals. It advances the goal set out by President Biden and Vice President Harris to double the number of school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other school-based mental health professionals across America.
Find more information here.
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Source: US State of North Carolina
Headline: NCDHHS Supports Child Care Facilities Impacted by Hurricane Helene to Reopen Safely, Return to Serving Families
NCDHHS Supports Child Care Facilities Impacted by Hurricane Helene to Reopen Safely, Return to Serving Families
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The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is supporting child care facilities to reopen as safely and quickly as possible after Hurricane Helene to ensure families in storm-impacted communities have access to child care services. More than 200 facilities in the 25 major disaster counties in western North Carolina were impacted by the storm, with 55 centers having damage that will prevent them reopening for the foreseeable future.
“Even before Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, our child care facilities were in financial crisis,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “Quality child care is a critical resource not only for children in storm-impacted counties, but for parents working to rebuild their homes and lives. Work is underway to get programs reopened quickly, but we will need additional funding from the General Assembly to address both the immediate Hurricane impacts and also ensure the long-term viability of North Carolina’s child care system.”
State and local efforts to safely reopen child care facilities align with Governor Cooper’s recently announced Executive Order, which allows regulatory flexibilities in storm-impacted counties so that critical services can resume supporting families, even as facilities recover and rebuild. These flexibilities are especially important as the North Carolina child care system faces a drastic cut in state funding. Without additional funding to assist child care programs, facilities across the state, and particularly in Western North Carolina, will struggle to remain open and serve families and their communities.
“As our friends, neighbors and communities in Western North Carolina begin to recover, we are committed to helping child care facilities reopen safely,” said NC Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kinsley. “We want children to have access to quality early care and learning, and parents to return to work confident their children are safe and cared for.”
NCDHHS is helping child care facilities reopen so they can support the children and families in their communities. Regulated child care facilities who lack their usual sources of power, drinking water, wastewater treatment, etc., or have lost records, documents or other paperwork may be able to reopen under an Emergency Operations Plan developed with their child care licensing consultant from the NCDHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE). DCDEE is collaborating with the Division of Public Health (DPH) to develop environmental health guidance for child care facilities to reopen quickly and operate safely.
Additionally, the department is collaborating with the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to align North Carolina’s child care facility rules and regulations with disaster flexibilities allowed under the federal program. The CACFP is administered by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to ensure eligible children receive nutritious meals through qualifying child care facilities. Disaster flexibilities in the program after Hurricane Helene will help to simplify the delivery of nutrition assistance, make these benefits more accessible to families impacted by the storm, and prevent a lapse in food security for children currently served by the program.
For families impacted by Hurricane Helene seeking child care options, NCDHHS has partnered with Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies to activate the Find Child Care NC hotline. Families can call 1-888-600-1685 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for help finding an open child care facility near you.
El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte está apoyando a las instalaciones de cuidado infantil para que vuelvan a abrir de la manera más segura y rápida posible después del huracán Helene para garantizar que las familias en las comunidades afectadas por la tormenta tengan acceso a los servicios de cuidado infantil. Más de 200 instalaciones en los 25 condados con desastres mayores en el oeste de Carolina del Norte se vieron afectadas por la tormenta, y 55 centros sufrieron daños que evitarán su reapertura en el futuro previsible.
“Incluso antes de que el huracán Helene devastara el oeste de Carolina del Norte, nuestros centros de cuidado infantil estaban en crisis financiera”, dijo el gobernador Roy Cooper. “El cuidado infantil de calidad es un recurso fundamental no solo para los niños en los condados afectados por la tormenta, sino también para los padres que trabajan para reconstruir sus hogares y sus vidas. Se está trabajando para que los programas se reabran rápidamente, pero necesitaremos fondos adicionales de la Asamblea General para abordar los impactos inmediatos del huracán y también garantizar la viabilidad a largo plazo del sistema de cuidado infantil de Carolina del Norte”.
Los esfuerzos estatales y locales para reabrir de manera segura las instalaciones de cuidado infantil se alinean con la Orden Ejecutiva recientemente anunciada por el gobernador Cooper, que permite flexibilidades regulatorias en los condados afectados por la tormenta para que los servicios críticos puedan reanudar el apoyo a las familias, incluso mientras las instalaciones se recuperan y reconstruyen. Estas flexibilidades son especialmente importantes ya que el sistema de cuidado infantil de Carolina del Norte se enfrenta a un recorte drástico en la financiación estatal. Sin fondos adicionales para ayudar a los programas de cuidado infantil, las instalaciones en todo el estado, y particularmente en el oeste de Carolina del Norte, tendrán dificultades para permanecer abiertas y servir a las familias y sus comunidades.
“A medida que nuestros amigos, vecinos y comunidades en el oeste de Carolina del Norte comienzan a recuperarse, nos comprometemos a ayudar a que las instalaciones de cuidado infantil vuelvan a abrir de manera segura”, dijo el secretario de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte, Kody H. Kinsley. “Queremos que los niños tengan acceso a atención y aprendizaje tempranos de calidad, y que los padres regresen al trabajo confiados de que sus hijos están seguros y cuidados”.
El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte (NCDHHS, por sus siglas en inglés) está ayudando a los centros de cuidado infantil a reabrir para que puedan apoyar a los niños y las familias en sus comunidades. Las instalaciones de cuidado infantil reguladas que carecen de sus fuentes habituales de energía, agua potable, tratamiento de aguas residuales, etc., o que han perdido registros, documentos u otros documentos pueden reabrir bajo un Plan Operativo de Emergencia desarrollado con su consultor de licencias de cuidado infantil de la División de Desarrollo Infantil y Educación Temprana (DCDEE, por sus siglas en inglés) del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte. DCDEE está colaborando con la División de Salud Pública (DPH, por sus siglas en inglés) para desarrollar una guía de salud ambiental para que las instalaciones de cuidado infantil vuelvan a abrir rápidamente y operen de manera segura.
Además, el departamento está colaborando con el Programa de Alimentos para el Cuidado de Niños y Adultos (CACFP, por sus siglas en inglés) para alinear las reglas y regulaciones de las guarderías de Carolina del Norte con las flexibilidades por desastre permitidas por el programa federal. El CACFP es administrado por el Servicios de Alimentos y Nutrición (FNS, por sus siglas en ingles), del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos para garantizar que los niños elegibles reciban comidas nutritivas a través de instalaciones de cuidado infantil calificadas. Las flexibilidades para desastres en el programa, después del huracán Helene, ayudarán a simplificar la prestación de asistencia nutricional, hacer que estos beneficios sean más accesibles para las familias afectadas por la tormenta y evitar un lapso en la seguridad alimentaria de los niños actualmente atendidos por el programa.
Para las familias afectadas por el huracán Helene que buscan opciones de cuidado infantil, el NCDHHS se ha asociado con las Agencias de Recursos y Referencias de Cuidado Infantil para activar la línea directa de Búsqueda de Cuidado Infantil en Carolina del Norte (Find Child Care NC). Las familias pueden llamar al 1-888-600-1685 de lunes a viernes de 8:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m. y pedir ayuda para encontrar un centro de cuidado infantil abierto cercano.
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)
CLEVELAND, Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Riverside Company (Riverside), a global investment firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market, has sold its investment in Red Nucleus, a leading global strategic partner to the life sciences industry, to Thomas H. Lee Partners, a Boston-based private investment firm.
Riverside Capital Appreciation strategy (RCAF) originally invested in Red Nucleus, headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania, in December 2019. Red Nucleus is an industry-leading integrated provider of learning and development, medical communications, market access and R&D and clinical solutions to the life sciences industry globally. The company’s comprehensive commercial, medical and clinical service and software solutions span all stages of the product cycle to help provide lasting value for key stakeholders, including pharmaceutical organizations, HCPs and patients.
The breadth and depth of the company’s services and products have enabled Red Nucleus to become a valuable one-stop shop and trusted partner to its customers across the entirety of the drug development lifecycle. The company serves more than 200 organizations, including innovative biotech start-ups and the majority of the top 25 global pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization, helping advance life sciences solutions and improve patient health outcomes globally.
“It was such a pleasure working with the talented Red Nucleus team through this period of transformational growth,” said RCAF’s Co-Chief Investment Officer Peter Tsang. “We delivered a successful organic growth strategy. In addition, we integrated eleven add-on acquisitions which meaningfully enhanced Red Nucleus’ value proposition to its customers with a more diversified set of service offerings and broader geographic reach with 11 offices across four continents.”
Red Nucleus is another example of Riverside’s expertise in investing in and growing businesses in the Business Services and Education & Training sectors. Since its inception in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 380 companies in the Business Services sector and more than 120 in the Education & Training sector.
“Riverside was a great partner that worked alongside us to significantly expand the platform while investing in our team and infrastructure to position us for long-term growth. Together, we developed a bold vision and strategy to build an outstanding pharma services organization that I am extremely proud of,” said Red Nucleus CEO Ian Kelly.
Working with Tsang on the deal for Riverside were Vice President Mark Fishman, Senior Associate Ben Wilson, Associate Ryan Stead and Senior Operating Partner J.P. Fingado. Senior Partner Anne Hayes led the capital market initiatives throughout the investment period. Peter Tsang also sourced the original deal for Riverside.
Houlihan Lokey, Piper Sandler and Jones Day advised Riverside on the sale of Red Nucleus.
About Red Nucleus
Red Nucleus is a global strategic partner with decades of experience across the entire life sciences product life cycle. The company excels in providing clients with unique insights and efficiencies to support their journey to improve health outcomes and ultimately the quality of people’s lives. Red Nucleus’ “Red Thread” weaves together a full suite of products and services from learning & development, scientific services & advisory, medical and scientific communications, and market access, which leads the company’s life sciences customers to accelerated transformational success. With worldwide offices in seven countries, our commitment to quality and on-time delivery is unrivaled in the industry.
For more information visit http://www.rednucleus.com.
About The Riverside Company
The Riverside Company is a global investment firm focused on being one of the leading private equity and flexible capital options for business owners and portfolio company employees at the smaller end of the middle market by seeking to fuel transformative growth and create lasting value. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has made more than 1,000 investments. The firm’s international private equity and flexible capital portfolios include more than 140 companies.
For more information visit http://www.riversidecompany.com.
Holly Mueller
Marketing Consultant
The Riverside Company
216 535 2236
hmueller@riversidecompany.com
Source: Government of Canada News
Peter Henderson Bryce played a leading role in the development of standards and codes for public health practices across Canada.
Peter Henderson Bryce played a leading role in the development of standards and codes for public health practices across Canada.
October 17, 2024 Gatineau, QC Parks Canada
Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced the designation of Peter Henderson Bryce (1853–1932) as a person of national historic significance under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration.
Born in 1853 in what is now Prince Edward County, Ontario, Bryce obtained four university degrees between 1876 and 1886 at the University of Toronto, studying groundbreaking innovations in bacteriology and becoming a medical doctor. Dr. Bryce entered the public service in 1882 as Secretary for the Board of Public Health of Ontario, where he led vital work to advance public health practices, such as implementing protocols for inspecting sanitary conditions and coordinating efforts to control the spread of infectious diseases.
Appointed Chief Medical Officer for the departments of the Interior and of Indian Affairs in 1904, Dr. Bryce helped guide immigration policy by using medical surveys to assess the health of recent immigrants. He also co-wrote legislation that transformed the relationship and responsibility that the Canadian government had with its residents regarding health. At Indian Affairs, Bryce persistently called attention to the fatal consequences of tuberculosis in Indian Residential Schools, advocacy that was largely ignored by his superiors.
The Government of Canada, through the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and Parks Canada, recognizes significant persons, places, and events that have shaped our country as one way of helping Canadians connect with their past. By sharing these stories, we hope to foster understanding and reflection on the diverse histories, cultures, legacies, and realities of Canada’s past and present .
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“Dr. Bryce’s legacy awakens Canadians to the many Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples who raised the alarm throughout the history of residential schools. As Saturday Night Magazine (November 23, 1907) wrote of Bryce’s report:
[t]he protests of medical officers buried in blue books and the complaints of missionaries lost in pigeonholes – unless public opinion takes the question up and forces it to the front. Then Parliament will show a quick interest, pigeonholes will give forth their dusty contents, medical officers will have a wealth of suggestions, and the scandalous procession of Indian children to the school and on to the cemetery may possibly be stopped.
Our best outcome in honouring Dr. Bryce is to force to the front the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the Missing and Murdered Women and Girls Calls to Justice. Those involved in residential schools knew better, and too great of a number did not do better. We can change that today – if we learn from the past.”
Dr. Cindy Blackstock
Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society
Peter Henderson Bryce played a leading role in the advancement and application of medical knowledge on germ theory and preventing the spread of communicable diseases as Secretary of the Board of Public Health for Ontario (1882–1904) and as Chief Medical Officer in both the departments of the Interior (1904–1921) and of Indian Affairs (1904–1914).
While in his role as Secretary for the Board of Public Health of Ontario, Dr. Bryce co-wrote the 1884 Ontario Public Health Act, innovative legislation that influenced regulatory health codes in the country.
Dr. Bryce’s appointment as Chief Medical Officer for the departments of the Interior and of Indian Affairs coincided with a national policy to increase immigration to the country’s northwestern territories and new-forming provinces. Bryce was responsible for ensuring that new immigrants met early 20th-century Canadian standards for good health.
The designation process under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration is largely driven by public nominations. To date, more than 2,260 designations have been made nationwide. To nominate a person, place or historic event in your community, please visit the Parks Canada website for more information: https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/proposer-nominate.
Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of Environment and Climate Change regarding the national significance of persons, places, and events that have marked Canada’s history. Together with Parks Canada, the Board ensures that subjects of national historic significance are recognized under Parks Canada’s National Program of Historical Commemoration and that these important stories are shared with Canadians.
Parks Canada is committed to working with Canadians in our efforts to tell broader, more inclusive stories in the places that it manages. In support of this goal, the Framework for History and Commemoration outlines a new, comprehensive, and engaging approach to sharing Canada’s history through diverse perspectives, including shedding light on tragic and difficult periods of Canada’s past.
Hermine Landry
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
873-455-3714
hermine.landry@ec.gc.ca
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sam Poyser, Lecturer in Criminology, Aberystwyth University
Lucy Letby, a former neonatal nurse, was convicted after two trials of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Sentenced to life imprisonment following a case which many believe was built on circumstantial evidence, Letby has consistently maintained her innocence.
In a recent interview on LBC, the UK government’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, was asked for his opinion on those questioning the safety of Letby’s convictions.
Streeting’s reply urged campaigners to place their faith in the judicial and appellate processes to identify and correct their mistakes, if any. He added that there was no purpose in campaigning as it would have no impact and that if people insisted on doing so, they should do it “quietly”.
But my research shows that Streeting’s comments are not reflective of the broader history of miscarriages of justice.
Letby’s first trial was preceded by the publication of a report by the Royal Statistical Society in September 2022 detailing how statistical issues in the investigation of suspected murders in medical settings can contribute to causing miscarriages of justice. It drew attention to the case of Dutch nurse Lucia de Berk who was convicted in circumstances which shared striking similarities with the Letby case.
Almost six months after Letby’s conviction in August 2023, the New Yorker magazine published an article challenging the prosecution’s account of events. And a body called Science on Trial, which calls out “problematic science”, also began raising questions. This sparked further scrutiny from journalist Peter Hitchens, who continues to express his doubts in the press.
National publications, radio programmes and TV broadcasts featuring prominent medical experts have also raised doubts about the evidence used at trial.
Politicians, like David Davis, began voicing concerns both inside and outside parliament, intensifying the debate around the safety of Letby’s conviction.
The Letby campaign stands out as an alleged miscarriage of justice because there are very few cases in which so many people have moved so quickly, and so publicly, to raise concerns.
Miscarriages of justice are not new and are often very difficult to put right. The history of miscarriages of justice is littered with failed appeals and unsuccessful applications submitted by prisoners to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the body now responsible for investigating and referring them back to the Court of Appeal.
For example, Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Even after DNA evidence excluded him as the perpetrator, his case was essentially blocked from proceeding to appeal by the very system designed to identify such errors. Had it not been for sustained public campaigning and an investigation spearheaded by the legal charity Appeal, his conviction would probably not have been quashed.
Streeting’s argument that “there is no purpose in a campaign” overlooks the effect organised calls for justice have had. Campaigns like those for the Birmingham Six – in which six men spent 16 years in prison for a crime of which they were entirely innocent – led to significant reforms. These include the establishment of the CCRC itself. Without public scrutiny and outcry, these changes would not have been achieved.
My research shows that an important goal of justice campaigns is to “gain a voice” – to raise questions, build support and influence outcomes. This can sometimes lead to convictions being overturned. These campaigns are typically led by the prisoner’s family, whose fight to be heard is often a long and arduous journey.
Some families eventually manage to engage journalists who help them gain a voice in the mainstream media. This oxygen of publicity may, in turn, attract the attention of those whose intervention might further strengthen the campaign, such as specialist experts, lawyers and other professionals.
These individuals may lend their knowledge, skills and expertise to a case and sometimes even go public with their concerns. This often pressures people in positions of authority to respond.
The “campaigning voice” can also draw the attention of investigative journalists who specialise in re-examining alleged miscarriages of justice. When they take interest, their thorough and often obsessive work can uncover new evidence, sometimes strong enough to convince the Court of Appeal to overturn a conviction.
The judiciary itself has acknowledged the transformative role of such journalists. But it’s important to note that families usually have to wage a long and loud campaign before reaching this point.
Although Letby’s parents have stuck by her from the start, they have rarely spoken publicly.
In this case, the voices shouting the loudest, and refusing to be quiet, belong to eminent statisticians, epidemiologists, neonatologists, pediatricians and biochemical engineers. These are the types of people that most miscarriage campaigns spend years trying to attract. The sheer number speaking out is unprecedented.
So too is the swift involvement of John Sweeney, a journalist who specialises in investigating what researchers call “no crime miscarriages”. These are cases where people are convicted for crimes that never happened.
The speed with which these professionals and others have raised doubts about the Letby convictions is highly unusual, especially given the severity of the convictions. My work shows that people convicted of especially horrific crimes often struggle to establish campaigns that question whether the justice system got it wrong.
While it’s now widely accepted that juries, judges and the CCRC can make mistakes, justice systems tend to fiercely protect their decisions and reputations in such cases. Although no one can at this time say for certain whether or not Letby’s convictions are unsafe, research shows that public campaigns – and campaigning loudly – can make a difference.
Sam Poyser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Why calls to review Lucy Letby’s case are so different from other miscarriage of justice campaigns – https://theconversation.com/why-calls-to-review-lucy-letbys-case-are-so-different-from-other-miscarriage-of-justice-campaigns-239465
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Athalie Redwood-Brown, Senior Lecturer in Performance Analysis of Sport, Nottingham Trent University
Most of us have been there: a night of fun turns into a morning of regret – complete with a pounding headache, nausea and fatigue.
While there are plenty of supposed hangover “cures” out there – from eating a greasy breakfast to the ill-advised “hair-of-the-dog” – a recent paper suggests that regular exercise may be the key to alleviating these dreadful mornings.
The study, published in the journal Addictive Behaviours, involved 1,676 undergraduate students who had experienced at least one hangover in the past three months. All participants did at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. They completed online questionnaires assessing their alcohol consumption patterns, physical activity levels and the frequency and severity of hangover symptoms. Activity levels were scored by calculating the intensity of the activity against the number of hours.
The findings indicated a significant association between physical activity and hangover symptoms. Unsurprisingly, people who consumed more alcohol experienced hangovers more frequently and with greater severity. But, these associations were reduced in people who engaged in vigorous physical activity (such as running) – suggesting that higher levels of exercise may reduce the severity of hangover symptoms.
While the study only established a correlation between exercise and reduced hangover severity, several mechanisms may help explain why physical activity could mitigate hangover symptoms.
Hangovers often cause physical pain, such as headaches and muscle aches, due to several factors. Alcohol leads to dehydration, which affects the way the blood vessels function and reduces fluid levels around the brain. This can trigger headaches.
Alcohol also promotes inflammation in the body, leading to the release of immune system molecules called cytokines, which can cause muscle aches. Additionally, alcohol disrupts sleep, which can increase pain sensitivity the next day.
Some studies have also noted that the concentration of alcohol you have in your blood after a night of drinking is also linked to common hangover symptoms, such as pain.
But exercise triggers the release of endorphins – hormones produced by the brain which serve as natural painkillers. Regular exercise may even elevate your baseline endorphin levels. This could potentially lead to a lower perception of pain and discomfort during a hangover.
Hangovers tend to be accompanied by poor quality sleep. Alcohol reduces REM sleep, which is the part of the sleep cycle that helps the brain rest and recover. Drinking can also make you wake up more throughout the night because alcohol causes your body to lose fluids – making you need to use the bathroom more often.
But regular exercise is linked to better sleep patterns by helping to regulate the circadian rhythm. Overall, physical activity can improve sleep duration, sleep quality and reduce the number of times you wake up during the night. This may in turn help you get a better night’s sleep after drinking – which could improve your overall recovery from a hangover.
Regular physical activity contributes to better metabolic health, which may facilitate the efficient processing of alcohol.
While the liver primarily metabolises alcohol, having a good metabolic rate can help clear alcohol and its byproducts from the system more effectively.
Exercise also improves circulation, which may also aid in flushing out acetaldehyde. This is a toxic chemical released by alcohol when the body metabolises it. Acetaldehyde significantly contributes to hangover symptoms.
Alcohol triggers an inflammatory response (the body’s defence mechanism that works against harmful pathogens and substances) which can exacerbate hangover symptoms.
It releases chemicals called cytokines that promote inflammation, which helps fight off infections or injuries. However, in the case of a hangover, this inflammation can worsen symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, fatigue and sensitivity to light and sound. The body’s heightened immune response amplifies these discomforts, making the hangover feel more intense.
But exercise has well-documented anti-inflammatory properties as it stimulates the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. This means regular exercisers could experience less inflammation-related discomfort during hangovers.
It’s important to clarify that while exercise might help make hangovers more bearable, it’s not a cure. The most effective way to prevent a hangover is to drink in moderation – or avoid it altogether. But for those who choose to indulge, integrating regular physical activity into your lifestyle might just make hangovers a little less debilitating.
However, there are a few things that aren’t quite clear from the study. For example, it isn’t clear how soon before a night of drinking you should work out to see benefits on hangover severity. This makes it difficult to say whether regular exercisers have less severe hangovers, or whether having worked out before a night out helps manage hangover symptoms.
The study was also conducted using undergraduate students, whose drinking and physical activity levels may differ from older adults. Research in different age groups will be important to see if the benefits are similar.
It’s also crucial to distinguish between the benefits of consistent exercise and the impulse to work out while hungover. The latter can be counterproductive, as the body is already dehydrated and under stress. This may make your hangover feel worse.
Instead, try doing gentle, low-effort activities during a hangover – such as a walk or yoga. This may help boost your mood.
While this recent study’s findings shouldn’t be seen as providing an excuse to overindulge, it does highlight the ways that exercise equips the body to better handle the aftermath of a night of drinking – potentially making those rough mornings a bit more manageable.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Regular exercise could reduce the severity of hangovers – here’s how – https://theconversation.com/regular-exercise-could-reduce-the-severity-of-hangovers-heres-how-241147
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robert Taub, Director of Music, The Arts Institute, University of Plymouth
Considered one of the great composers of the 20th century, the deeply expressive Béla Bartók synthesised elements of folk music of Hungarian and related cultures into classical forms, producing a style that was both individual and influential.
Through Bartók’s music, powerful elements of local folk melodies are performed and heard in concert halls worldwide. For the 80th anniversary of the composer’s death coming up in 2025, the University of Plymouth’s Musica Viva – of which I am founder and director – is planning a series of concerts celebrating the notion of the “music of home” as brought to life by Bartók, by including one of his pivotal works in every concert. His Piano Sonata, String Quartet No. 3, String Quartet No. 5 and Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta will all be performed by leading artists.
From the start, the young Bartók, born in 1881, displayed a fascination with music, and his widowed mother encouraged his musical gifts. When the family moved to Pozsony, a former region of Hungary that now lies mostly within Slovakia, he began a formal musical education and attended concerts for the first time.
As an 18-year-old student of piano and composition at the Budapest Conservatory, Bartók immersed himself in the musical dramas of Wagner and the orchestral works of Liszt. But his primary focus was the piano, and he became known as a pianist of extraordinary abilities, playing the music of Chopin, Liszt and Robert Schumann.
During his last years as a student, nationalist currents in Hungary – which had been suppressed since the uprising in 1848-1849 – became resurgent. Caught up in this movement, Bartók devoted considerable thought to issues of a national music.
It is not surprising that under this influence and that of the music of Richard Strauss, his first major composition in 1903 was a vast symphonic poem called Kossuth, a Hungarian “Hero’s Life” – whose ten tableaux depict events of the 1948-49 war of independence. This work was followed by the Liszt-inspired Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra in 1904.
Bartók’s interest in folk music grew to the point at which he and his friend and fellow composer Zoltán Kodály travelled throughout central Europe, Turkey, and north Africa to collect folk melodies. Bartók wrote five books and many articles on folk music.
He considered his most interesting finds to be from isolated Hungarian communities living among the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, where he encountered and recorded authentic, untainted Magyar folk music. His fascination with the unbridled spirit of this music helped him gradually develop a compositional style in which he fused folk elements with highly developed techniques of classical music more intimately than had ever been done before.
Between the two world wars Bartók performed as a concert pianist, touring Britain, the US and the former USSR, and was prolific as a composer. Elements of his style include melodic lines derived from eastern European folk music; powerful forward-leaning rhythms in irregular meters with off-beat accents; strong control of form; and harmonies which, although primarily focused on one key, often include elements of multiple keys thereby creating a sense of musical tension.
Paramount among his piano works is his only Piano Sonata, written in 1926, which is also his largest composition for solo piano. It was composed during a particularly prolific year during which he also composed his First Piano Concerto, Out of Doors Suite and Nine Little Piano Pieces – all works which he included in his own public performances.
The Sonata is in three movements and follows a classic sonata form – a lively first movement, a slower second movement and an energetic finale in which the lively main theme recurs in different guises. The full resources of the piano are used in creating a wide spectrum of expression, from incisive detached clusters of notes to smoothly flowing lyrical melodic lines.
Throughout, the music is inspired by Bartók’s ethnomusicological (social and cultural) research. Although the themes are not folk melodies per se, they imitate their style in terms of melodic shaping, searing dynamics, driving rhythmic features and harmonic content. The piano is used in new percussive ways that often seem a vivid portrayal of folk passions. At the time this was groundbreaking.
Bartók’s contribution to the musical repertoire is immense. He composed six String Quartets, Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, a large canon of solo piano music as well as chamber music, and an opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. The Concerto for Orchestra, three Piano Concerti, and the Violin Concerto are all masterpieces in large-scale musical forms.
Bartók emigrated to the US in 1940 and found temporary employment at Columbia University. His health deteriorated along with his financial situation, although his friends Joseph Szigeti and Fritz Reiner arranged for the Koussevitzky Foundation to commission him to write the Concerto for Orchestra in 1943 and the Sonata for Solo Violin in 1944, which provided temporary relief from a dismal situation.
Bartok died on September 26, 1945, with the score of his Viola Concerto unfinished, but he left behind an unparalleled canon of music that is deeply expressive and vital to our musical understanding today.
Robert Taub does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Béla Bartók: pioneering Hungarian composer who fused folk melodies with classical music – https://theconversation.com/bela-bartok-pioneering-hungarian-composer-who-fused-folk-melodies-with-classical-music-238820
Source: Microsoft
Headline: Collaboration on disability data aims to drive AI innovation
Today, Microsoft announced a new collaboration with Be My Eyes to bring high-quality, disability representative data to help train AI systems. This work with Be My Eyes will help make Microsoft AI models more inclusive for the 340 million people in the world who are blind or have low vision and is the latest step in our commitment to build inclusive technology.
AI requires large amounts of data for training and utility but too often disability is underrepresented or incorrectly categorized in datasets. In Microsoft Research’s most recent paper on AI performance for describing images from blind or low vision individuals, disability objects, like a braille device, were included less frequently in popular large-scale image-text datasets, leading to recognizing those objects ~30 percent less accurately. This disability data desert can limit the utility of a technology, strengthen existing stereotypes and magnify bias. As we continue to discover the opportunities for AI and accessibility, inclusive data through these types of partnerships and community collaborations are paramount to building inclusive AI.
How we do this matters. Transparency and user control are the guiding principles for data privacy in this agreement. Be My Eyes will provide video data sets, including unique objects, lighting and framing that realistically represents the lived experience of the blind and low vision community. Personal information will be removed from metadata by Be My Eyes prior to sharing and the company continues to work transparently with its members to provide a clear process and options to opt out of data sharing. Microsoft will then use the data to improve the accuracy and precision of scene understanding and descriptions with the goal of increasing the utility of AI applications for the blind and low vision community.
Today’s news is the next chapter in our collaboration with Be My Eyes, which began in 2017 when their app was integrated into the Disability Answer Desk support experience to give customers more efficient technical support. Last year, Microsoft was the first to pilot their new ‘Be My AI’, with AI helping to solve technical support issues. Be My Eyes also recently developed a Windows app, available in the Microsoft Store. Collaborations like these allow us to improve representation and diversity of AI data and drive more authentic inclusion of disability in our technology.
In the last 18 months, we have been focused on understanding how generative AI can directly impact disabled people, but our history here goes back even further. We are principled in our approach to make sure we extend those benefits and mitigate potential harms of AI. Microsoft’s Responsible AI framework is how we do this. It includes fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness including accessibility.
AI innovations can reduce cognitive load through summarization, automate meeting notes, and provide detailed image descriptions. These innovations have so many positive implications for neurodiverse, deaf, and blind communities and more, and with 1+ billion people on the planet who experience some type of disability, the disability data desert is a crucial issue to address.
Speech is one example of where we have been investing, and since 2022, we are proud to work with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) along with Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon on the Speech Accessibility Project. The UIUC works with nonprofit organizations to collect data to improve speech recognition for individuals with diverse speech patterns such as those with ALS. This data helps AI models learn a broader understanding of the diversity of speech and expands scenarios where this technology can bring benefits – including accelerating non-standard speech data accuracy in mainstream speech platforms, like Azure Speech. The project is enhancing AI systems for people with disabilities by integrating diverse data and perspectives into the development process.
At Microsoft, we are committed to building inclusive AI that is representative of all who use it, while also protecting marginalized members of society from proliferated bias that could impact education, employment, and civic engagement. We believe accessible technology is a fundamental right that can unlock opportunities in every part of society, and generative AI is one of the most powerful tools we have today to deliver on that potential when designed inclusively and responsibly. We are also committed to transparency and providing robust data protection for every individual. Today’s news with Be My Eyes builds on these commitments, and we will continue to seek out partnerships across the industry and community to create a more inclusive future.
If you have questions or feedback on Accessibility at Microsoft, let us know at the Disability Answer Desk or try out the Bing AI-powered Ask Microsoft Accessibility tool.
To learn more about Accessibility at Microsoft: Our Accessibility Approach | Microsoft Accessibility
Read more on Be My Eyes privacy commitments.
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
POLK COUNTY, IOWA – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, recognized the 50th anniversary of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) in remarks to Iowa advocates. Grassley was honored by Iowa youth for his work to champion the Charles Grassley Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Program. The Coalition for Family and Children’s Services in Iowa hosted the event at Drake University amid Youth Justice Action Month.
“JJDPA for 50 years has brightened futures for youth who’ve entered our justice system. By empowering local stakeholders and bolstering federal protections for minors, this program ensures better outcomes and gives kids the opportunities they need to get their lives back on track,” Grassley said. “I welcome the chance to speak with grassroots advocates in Iowa. Today’s event served as a reminder of this law’s impact in local communities across Iowa, and how together we can continue building on its successes.”
“We were deeply honored to have Senator Grassley join us in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) during Youth Justice Action Month. His steadfast leadership in reauthorizing this landmark legislation has had a profound and lasting impact on Iowa’s youth and families. Through his advocacy, Senator Grassley has championed reforms that prioritize prevention, accountability, and the wellbeing of young people in our justice system. The power of this law goes beyond policy; it changes lives,” Kristie Oliver, Executive Director of the Coalition for Family & Children’s Services in Iowa, said. “As we heard from youth affected by the system, the JJDPA not only provided the youth with critical services at a turning point in their lives, but it also created opportunities for youth to have a voice in shaping the very systems that serve them. The reauthorization of the JJDPA continues to open new doors for youth across Iowa, offering them the support and resources necessary to build brighter futures. We look forward to continuing this critical work together, ensuring every child has the opportunity to thrive.”
“As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, we are reminded of the critical importance of advocating for the rights and futures of our youth. This landmark legislation has had a profound impact on youth justice reform, ensuring that young people are given opportunities for rehabilitation, not just punishment. It was an honor to have Senator Grassley with us, whose leadership on youth justice issues has been instrumental in shaping policies that support and protect our youth. At Drake Law, through our Middleton Center for Children’s Rights, we are committed to continuing this vital work, educating the next generation of lawyers and leaders to advocate for fairness, justice, and equity for all our young people,” said Drake University Law School Dean Roscoe Jones, Jr.
Download photos HERE. Read Grassley’s prepared remarks HERE.
Background:
Grassley is a leading advocate for juvenile justice reform. In 2018 as U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, he championed the first reauthorization of the JJDPA in nearly 16 years, including measures to expand program oversight, promote screening for mental illness and substance abuse, prohibit the shackling of pregnant youth in juvenile detention, ensure the separation of juvenile and adult offenders and provide detained minors access to adequate legal representation. Grassley, this year, introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen and reauthorize the program through 2029.
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Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Nikki Martyn, Chair of Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber
There is an evolutionary need for parents to protect their children from harm. One of the most difficult and important aspects of parenting is allowing children to take the necessary risks which enable them to grow.
TVO’s Old Enough!, based on a hit Japanese TV series, helps parents consider the balance between protection and creating space for children to develop independence and resilience. It shows very young children being provided the responsibility of running errands seemingly on their own.
It should be noted there are protections in place, for example as seen in Episode 1. Viewers see four-year-old Parker with supports for crossing streets, camera crews and shop keepers who are prepared for the child’s visit. It is not recommended that very young children complete errands unsupervised.
However, the show demonstrates that young children are capable, curious and competent. It encourages us to consider how we can support children in developing their confidence, self-worth and trust, and help them become independent and resilient while ensuring they feel supported and loved.
Old Enough! exemplifies many insights for parents about nurturing relationships with their children to support their emerging independence.
Secure attachment develops when a child consistently experiences a loving, attuned and responsive emotional connection, fostering a sense of trust and safety, and learning that their emotional needs will be met.
This is at the heart of raising independent and resilient children. Every experience shapes a child’s brain and influences gene expression. The emotional bond that develops from secure attachment provides children reassurance to take risks and try new things on their own. This emotional security enables them to confidently explore the world, knowing they have a secure base to return to.
In Old Enough!, viewers see glimpses of this trusting and loving relationship with five-year-old Simon and his dad David in Episode 3. Simon’s dads, David and Stephane, have different views around how much freedom Simon should have, with David feeling more protective. The episode shows Simon shopping on his own at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, with David outside.
When the bags are too heavy, Simon drags them outside to give to David, sharing he was “dropping off a load because it was too heavy.” Simon’s dad empathically sighs in agreement.
Simon knows his dad will be waiting for him. There is no concern of where to find his dad, or apprehension his dad would be upset Simon hadn’t finished, or had taken too long. Simon flops on the sidewalk and shares his solo adventure.
His father, clearly anxious, finds a way through his own feelings to ask Simon if he will go back in to finish. Simon proudly beams yes! Upon return, he is greeted with pride and a big hug. Simon is proud of himself, stating “now I know how to shop by myself,” shining with confidence and resilience.
That Simon knows the world is safe and trustworthy was evident in his secure internal working model. This is seen in his willingness to confidently ask others for help, knowing it will be OK if he fails. His reflection “I was not even scared,” emphasizes the confidence in his relationships and secure base from which he explores the world.
Old Enough! also shows everyday moments of independence parents can foster by allowing children to complete simple, age-appropriate tasks.
For example, viewers see Parker making her lunch, or Luther empty the dishwasher. These tasks offer them the chance to build self-reliance and problem-solving skills in manageable ways.
Love and autonomy go hand in hand. This emotional foundation provides children the courage to take on tasks, solve problems and struggle through challenges. Love is not just a form of emotional support; it is also a tool for growth.
When children are provided with opportunities to face small challenges, make decisions and manage frustration, we help them build the resilience to handle bigger challenges later in life. This approach reinforces that their loving caregiver trusts and believes in them.
Children who know they are loved unconditionally feel secure in their worth and are more likely to navigate the complexities of life with a sense of inner stability. This emotional foundation prevents them from relying heavily on external validation because they have internalized their worth and value.
As children grow, having a balanced view of themselves, their relationships and the world prepares them to manage peer pressure, bullying and setbacks, reinforcing the understanding of their worth isn’t determined by others’ opinions.
Parents can support their children’s journey toward independence and resilience by encouraging small acts of autonomy.
Letting children make their own choices, take on responsibilities and engage in problem-solving helps build their confidence. At the same time, parents should be emotionally available, offering comfort and support without taking over. This balance of trust and love gives children the necessary tools to become both independent and resilient, knowing they can face challenges and are always supported.
Parents who want to do more to support their children’s autonomy while maintaining a close connection often find that making changes can be difficult. This is especially the case if they have not experienced secure attachment, unconditional love or have a history of relational trauma.
Managing the real fear and anxiety of stepping back, perhaps fearing your child will feel unloved, can feel incredibly challenging. In Old Enough! such feelings are expressed by Ohelya’s mom, Arfina, in Episode 8, who shares she had to grow up faster than most of her friends and she wants to protect her daughter from this experience, allowing her to enjoy childhood.
For parents, it’s important to separate your fears and anxieties from what is real for your child, and ensure your history and experiences do not negatively impact your child’s opportunities for growth and development. Be kind and patient with yourself and your child during this process.
Parents can consider using a strategy such as “watch, wait and wonder”:
By acknowledging and managing your own fears and anxieties, you create space to see your child truly sparkle.
Learn and know who your child is, what their strengths are and what they need support with. It’s never to late to let children show you what they are capable of and reveal their amazing self. With consistency, you will build a deep meaningful connection built on trust and love, which will last a lifetime.
Nikki Martyn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. Raising independent and resilient children: Lessons from TVO’s ‘Old Enough!’ and the science of love – https://theconversation.com/raising-independent-and-resilient-children-lessons-from-tvos-old-enough-and-the-science-of-love-239178
