Mountains of rubbish STILL litter Birmingham pavements six months into bin strike
Locals say their life has been made a misery by the foul smells in the UK's second-largest city.
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Bethany Campbell, 22, of Selly Oak, said: 'The place stinks, it looks atrocious and residents just feel they are being forgotten about.
'Nobody should live like this in modern Britain.'
The Unite union began the strikes in January after pay cuts of up to £8,000.
They have a mandate until December.
Union boss Sharon Graham vowed to remain 'relentless' to get a deal.
The council is running contingency arrangements and is still negotiating.
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: "The council recognises the significant impact that industrial action has had on the people and communities of Birmingham and thanks every resident for their continued patience under difficult circumstances.
"The council is grateful for the community groups who are working to clear waste and helping their fellow residents during this challenging time.
"The council remains committed to resolving the industrial action in the best interest of all parties involved."
Birmingham's rat problem will get worse before it gets better says 'The Verminator' taking on rodents in UK 'third world city'
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The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
A decade of missed opportunities: Texas couldn't find $1M for flood warning system near camps
Over the last decade, an array of local and state agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert the type of disaster that swept away dozens of campers and others in Kerr County, Texas over the Fourth of July weekend. The agencies repeatedly failed to secure roughly $1 million for a project to better protect the county's 50,000 residents and thousands of youth campers and tourists who spend time along the Guadalupe River in an area known as 'flash-flood alley.' The plan, which would have installed flood monitoring equipment near Camp Mystic, cost about as much as the county spends on courthouse security every two years, or 1.5% of its annual budget. Meanwhile, other communities had moved ahead with sirens and warning systems of their own. In nearby Comfort, a long, flat-three minute warning sound signifying flood danger helped evacuate the town of 2,000 people as practiced. Previous floods provided warnings A deadly 2015 Memorial Day flood in Kerr County rekindled debate over whether to install a flood monitoring system and sirens to alert the public to evacuate when the river rose to dangerous levels. Some officials, cognizant of a 1987 flood that killed eight people on a church camp bus, thought it was finally time. But the idea soon ran into opposition. Some residents and elected officials opposed the installation of sirens, citing the cost and noise that they feared would result from repeated alarms. County commissioners sought compromise. They moved forward with a plan for a warning system without sirens, which would improve flood monitoring with a series of sensors but leave it up to local authorities to alert the public. They didn't want to pay for it on their own but found little help elsewhere. The county's largest city, Kerrville, declined to participate in a joint grant application that would have required a $50,000 contribution. The state's emergency management agency twice passed over the county's request for hazard mitigation funding, citing a deficiency in the application and then backing communities ravaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The state's flood infrastructure fund later offered an interest-free loan for the project — but that plan was seen as too stingy and turned down by the agency in charge of managing the watershed. A failure to act Without the flood monitoring system, the county was left vulnerable when rains pounded the area in the early morning hours of July 4 and the river rapidly rose. 'There wasn't enough fight in them, and there needs to be more fight this time,' said Nicole Wilson, a San Antonio mother who pulled her daughters out of an area camp ahead of the flooding and who launched an online petition calling on Kerr County to install the sirens. 'Whether it's a combination of city, state and federal funding, there simply can't be the answer of 'no' this time.' Local authorities and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have urged the public not to point fingers after the flooding, which killed more than 110 people and left scores more reported missing. 'I would be willing to talk about it but not yet. It's just too raw right now,' said Glenn Andrew, a former Kerrville city council member who voted in 2017 to pull the city out of the grant proposal for the project. 'My preference is to look forward to the future.' A spokesperson for Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that lawmakers, who begin a special session later this month, would approve funding to cover such projects in the future. 'The state will provide emergency warning sirens where needed,' Patrick spokesperson Steven Aranyi wrote in an email. But some anger is starting to boil over. Raymond Howard, a city council member in Ingram, Texas, in Kerr County, said Wednesday it's 'unfathomable' that county officials never took action despite repeatedly talking about it. 'That's just mind-boggling,' he said. 'It's unfathomable that they never worked on it. If it comes down to funding, they're constantly raising taxes on us for other stuff. This is more important. This is lives. This is families. This is heartbreaking.' Howard, who lives in a home along the Guadalupe River, said any action now would come too late for those who have died. Another chance ended in diverted funds Kerr County requested a flood warning system grant in 2016 through the Texas Division of Emergency Management's hazard mitigation program, which is supported by Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to help communities reduce their risk. But that application was rejected because it did not meet federal specifications, including one that required the county have a current hazard mitigation plan on file, Texas emergency management spokesperson Wes Rapaport said. The county hired a consultant and an engineering firm to help prepare another application for the project for the next funding cycle in 2017. The system outlined in the county's preliminary plan would provide 'mass notifications to citizens about high water levels and flooding conditions throughout Kerr County.' At targeted low water crossings within Kerr County, sensors connected to monitoring stations would transmit a signal that would notify local officials and emergency management agencies of the rising water levels. Officials envisioned using that information to alert the public and call their contacts at youth camps and RV parks during emergencies. But after Hurricane Harvey caused record flooding in Houston and other areas of Texas in August 2017, 'funding was distributed to counties that fell under the disaster declaration, which Kerr County was not included on,' Rapaport said. The City of Kerrville's council voted 4-0 to decline to participate in the grant proposal, balking at its planned $50,000 contribution, minutes show. Texas voters created a new funding source for such projects in 2019, backing a constitutional amendment to create a state flood infrastructure fund with an initial $800 million investment. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which manages the watershed in Kerr County, revived the project last year with a $1 million initial request for funding. The Texas Water Development Board, which oversees the fund, offered a $50,000 grant and a $950,000 interest-free loan for the rest of the project. The river authority declined to pursue the funding, saying the terms were not favorable. ___ Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa; Keller from Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Mustian from Miami. Associated Press reporter Claudia Lauer contributed to this report from Philadelphia.
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- BBC News
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Pine marten kits spotted in national park for first time in 100 years
Pine martens reintroduced to Dartmoor have successfully bred, with camera-trap footage confirming the presence of young kits scampering through the woodland. This marks a significant milestone for conservation efforts, as it is the first time the species has bred in the South West of England in over a century. Conservationists involved in the project said they were "ecstatic" to witness the reintroduced animals successfully reproduce. The breeding success follows the release of 15 pine martens – eight females and seven males – at undisclosed locations across Dartmoor in autumn 2024. This reintroduction is a key part of a broader initiative to restore the species to the region. Historically, pine martens were common across the South West, but their populations suffered drastically due to the destruction of their woodland habitats and human persecution. The Two Moors Pine Marten Project partnership, a collaborative effort, alongside its dedicated local volunteers, has invested hundreds of hours into tracking the cat-sized animals, establishing den boxes, and checking camera traps to monitor their progress and activities. Two films show young pine martens, known as kits, exploring their new Devon home, with one clip revealing three kits chasing each other through leaves and up a bank in a Dartmoor woodland. Another showed a mother and two kits running along a fallen tree close to a stream. Experts said female pine martens usually give birth to two or three kits in spring, with youngsters spending their first seven to eight weeks hidden in dens before emerging in early summer, and sticking with their mothers until the following spring. The conservationists behind the project said the population in the South West should now grow gradually over coming years, and the team is preparing for a further release of pine martens at secret locations in Exmoor this autumn. 'When our volunteers discovered the footage of pine marten kits on one of our trail cameras we were ecstatic,' Devon Wildlife Trust's Tracey Hamston, who leads the Two Moors Pine Marten Project, said. 'This is a historic moment for the return of a native animal and for the future of the South West's woodlands. 'To have breeding pine martens back after a century's absence signals a positive step in nature's recovery. 'It's also testament to the many hours work undertaken by the project partnership and dozens of local volunteers.' Jack Hunt, Woodland Trust assistant site manager for Devon, said staff and volunteers have been checking camera traps for several months, and over the past few weeks had been 'eagerly anticipating' spotting kits on the films. 'This sighting is wonderful news. 'The work over many years to restore and improve the condition of our woodlands, to support other landowners to do the same and work in partnership on this project has culminated in the return of the pine marten born in its natural environment in Dartmoor, the first of many and the beginning of the return of this missing species.' The partnership involves Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Exmoor National Park Authority, Forestry England, National Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust, backed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and supported by the Vincent Wildlife Trust.
