Latest news with #A451
West Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Women politicians in the US fight for 'potty parity'
For women state politicians in Kentucky, USA, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female politicians — 41 of the 138-member legislature — needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote. None of their male colleagues face the same dilemma because, of course, multiple men's bathrooms are available. The legislature even installed speakers in the men's bathrooms to broadcast the chamber's events so they don't miss anything important. House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single-stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. "You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us," said Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, reflecting on the photos of former lawmakers, predominantly male, that line her office. The issue of potty parity may seem comic, but its impact runs deeper than uncomfortably full bladders, said Kathryn Anthony, from the University of Illinois School of Architecture. "If you have an environment that is designed for half the population but forgets about the other half, you have a group of disenfranchised people and disadvantaged people," she said. There is hope for Kentucky's lady legislators. A $US300 million ($A451 million) renovation of the 155-year-old Capitol — scheduled for completion by 2028 at the earliest — aims to create more women's restrooms and end Kentucky's bathroom disparity. The Bluegrass State is among the last to add bathrooms to aging statehouses that were built when female legislators were not a consideration. In the $US392 million ($A589 million) renovation of the Georgia Capitol, expanding bathroom access is a priority, said Gerald Pilgrim, chief of staff with the state's Building Authority. It will introduce female facilities on the building's fourth floor, where the public galleries are located, and will add more bathrooms throughout to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "We know there are not enough bathrooms," he said. There's no federal law requiring bathroom access for all genders in public buildings. Some 20 states have statutes prescribing how many washrooms buildings must have, but historical buildings — such as statehouses — are often exempt. Over the years, as the makeup of state governments has changed, statehouses have added bathrooms for women. When Tennessee's Capitol opened in 1859, the architects designed only one restroom — for men only — situated on the ground floor. According to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks, the toilet could only be "flushed" when enough rainwater had been collected. "The room was famously described as 'a stench in the nostrils of decency,'" Weeks said. Today, Tennessee's Capitol has a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers. It's in a cramped hall under a staircase, sparking comparisons to Harry Potter's cupboard bedroom, and it contains just two stalls. The men also just have one bathroom on the same floor, but it has three urinals and three stalls. Aftyn Behn, who was elected in 2023, said she wasn't aware of the disparity in facilities until contacted by The Associated Press. "I've apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job," she said. "I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn't exist, or at least didn't have bladders," Behn said. In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honour Arie Taylor, the state's first black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. The plaque, now inside a women's bathroom in the Capitol, reads: "Once here beneath the golden dome if nature made a call, we'd have to scramble from our seats and dash across the hall ... Then Arie took the mike once more to push an urge organic, no longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic." The poem concludes: "In memory of you, Arie (may you never be forgot), from this day forth we'll call that room the Taylor Chamber Pot."
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Women politicians in the US fight for 'potty parity'
For women state politicians in Kentucky, USA, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female politicians — 41 of the 138-member legislature — needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote. None of their male colleagues face the same dilemma because, of course, multiple men's bathrooms are available. The legislature even installed speakers in the men's bathrooms to broadcast the chamber's events so they don't miss anything important. House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single-stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. "You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us," said Lisa Willner, a Democrat from Louisville, reflecting on the photos of former lawmakers, predominantly male, that line her office. The issue of potty parity may seem comic, but its impact runs deeper than uncomfortably full bladders, said Kathryn Anthony, from the University of Illinois School of Architecture. "If you have an environment that is designed for half the population but forgets about the other half, you have a group of disenfranchised people and disadvantaged people," she said. There is hope for Kentucky's lady legislators. A $US300 million ($A451 million) renovation of the 155-year-old Capitol — scheduled for completion by 2028 at the earliest — aims to create more women's restrooms and end Kentucky's bathroom disparity. The Bluegrass State is among the last to add bathrooms to aging statehouses that were built when female legislators were not a consideration. In the $US392 million ($A589 million) renovation of the Georgia Capitol, expanding bathroom access is a priority, said Gerald Pilgrim, chief of staff with the state's Building Authority. It will introduce female facilities on the building's fourth floor, where the public galleries are located, and will add more bathrooms throughout to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "We know there are not enough bathrooms," he said. There's no federal law requiring bathroom access for all genders in public buildings. Some 20 states have statutes prescribing how many washrooms buildings must have, but historical buildings — such as statehouses — are often exempt. Over the years, as the makeup of state governments has changed, statehouses have added bathrooms for women. When Tennessee's Capitol opened in 1859, the architects designed only one restroom — for men only — situated on the ground floor. According to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks, the toilet could only be "flushed" when enough rainwater had been collected. "The room was famously described as 'a stench in the nostrils of decency,'" Weeks said. Today, Tennessee's Capitol has a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers. It's in a cramped hall under a staircase, sparking comparisons to Harry Potter's cupboard bedroom, and it contains just two stalls. The men also just have one bathroom on the same floor, but it has three urinals and three stalls. Aftyn Behn, who was elected in 2023, said she wasn't aware of the disparity in facilities until contacted by The Associated Press. "I've apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job," she said. "I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn't exist, or at least didn't have bladders," Behn said. In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honour Arie Taylor, the state's first black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. The plaque, now inside a women's bathroom in the Capitol, reads: "Once here beneath the golden dome if nature made a call, we'd have to scramble from our seats and dash across the hall ... Then Arie took the mike once more to push an urge organic, no longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic." The poem concludes: "In memory of you, Arie (may you never be forgot), from this day forth we'll call that room the Taylor Chamber Pot."
The Sun
17-05-2025
- The Sun
‘Miracle baby' killed by drug driver in horror car crash as heartbroken mum says ‘my world has been devastated'
A HEARTBROKEN mum has paid an emotional tribute to her three-week-old baby killed by a drug-driver. Newborn Harley Wilkinson died in a horror crash that unfolded in Worcestershire at just after midnight on October 26 last year. 1 The family had been on their way home after picking the infant up from a relative's house. Harley had been sitting on his father Jake Wilkinson's lap in the back seat while his mum, Imogen Bradley, drove. A court heard Mr Wilkinson had become "frustrated" at trying to strap Harley into his car seat, so chose to hold him for the short journey. Disaster struck when Craig Nunn, 40, ran his Ford Focus through a red light and smashed into their black Suzuki Vitara. Emergency services were called to a stretch of the A451 between Kidderminster and Stourport. "Miracle baby" Harley was tragically pronounced dead at the scene after suffering a severe traumatic brain injury. Mr Wilkinson required treatment for a cervical spine fracture, a severed artery and a blood clot in his neck. Nunn later confessed to a probation officer he had been self-medicating with amphetamines for more than 20 years. In a victim personal statement, Harley's devastated mum told the court: "He will always be a part of me. His absence has left a void that will never be filled. "Every time I close my eyes, I see Harley's face and the collision. "I refuse to accept what happened even now. My world has been devastated." Speaking via video link, the heartbroken parent added: 'The loss is unbearable. I am broken and don't know if I will ever feel whole again.' Pathologist Dr Brett Lockyer said it was not possible to determine whether Harley would have survived if he had been strapped into his car seat. The court heard how Nunn tried to argue his brakes hadn't been working at the time of the crash. But forensic analysis revealed there was nothing wrong with his car. The driver would have had around 11.4seconds between the traffic light changing from red to green. Further investigation also uncovered Nunn had been speeding at around 90mph on the 70mph dual carriageway. The speed limit went down to 40mph ahead of the junction and analysis found the driver had been travelling faster than 36mph when he crashed. Another driver who had stopped at the red light reckoned Nunn was going between 40mph and 50mph through the junction. After the tragedy, police also found a knife, an imitation pistol and an axe in the vehicle. Adam Western, defending Nunn, said: 'He recognises his responsibility for what his driving caused. He understands who the victims are, and he doesn't see himself as a victim in any sense. 'That is not to say that these events haven't also had a profound effect on him. 'He has asked me on his behalf to express his sorrow for what he has done. Simply saying sorry doesn't undo the damage he has done or the pain he has caused. 'He will have to live for the rest of his life with the consequences of his actions.' Nunn, of Sandy Lane in Stourport, was jailed for 14 years at Worcester Crown Court on Friday for causing death by dangerous driving. Judge Martin Jackson told the drug-driver: 'Amphetamines was probably a major contributory factor to the collision. "You told a probation officer you had been self-medicating with amphetamines for some 20 years. "You may have found it something that assisted you with your ADHD. I am satisfied that your driving must have been highly impaired by your habitual use of amphetamine. 'You cut Harley's life very short. He was never given the chance to grow up and find his way in the world. That was down to your actions entirely. 'You deliberately disregarded the rules of the road.'
