Latest news with #Camilleri
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan lawmakers talk education reform, funding & local control at Mackinac Policy Conference
State Sens. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) discuss Michigan's education system during the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. May 28, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson Gathering in Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel on Wednesday, State Sens. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) joined Skillman Foundation President and CEO Angelique Power to discuss areas for improvement in Michigan's education system. The discussion was one of the forums scheduled during the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. McBroom and Camilleri, both former educators, opened the panel by recounting the pathway that brought them to begin teaching, before answering some pre-recorded questions from Michigan students about education policy and how they engage with education on the ground. Jia Patel, a senior at Grand Blanc High School, asked the lawmakers how they interact with and listen to youth voices in their policymaking process. Camilleri said one of his guiding philosophies as a lawmaker is to stay connected to the kids. 'I go to my classrooms all the time, all across my district. I listen to students, listen to educators, and I've never really left…I may not be teaching in front of the kids anymore, but I miss them all the time and I talk to them,' he said. Additionally, Camilleri said he works to bring youth into the campaign and political world through internships, telling attendees it's something that would have benefitted him as a young adult. Alongside raising five teenagers, McBroom said he also visits schools within his district but noted those invitations have come slower since the pandemic. He also helps conduct mock interviews with student teachers for Northern Michigan University's teachers education program. McBroom touched on Patel's effort to bring forth legislation allowing youth to serve on school boards, calling it an excellent opportunity and noting his school had put students on the board while he was in eighth grade. Alongside youth engagement, McBroom and Camilleri touched on funding for schools, with McBroom arguing the state's shift to merit core curriculum in the mid 2000s, which requires students to earn a specific number of credits in subject areas including English, math, science and social studies, had strangled the state's career technical education, as funding for many classrooms hinged on their enrollment from the year prior. However, in his 13 years in the Legislature, McBroom said there have been a lot of efforts to provide more resources to career technical centers and work with labor unions to teach skilled trades. The state has also worked to close the funding gap between students, noting that the gap had almost been closed since efforts began in 1994. Camilleri pointed to the Opportunity Index Formula used in recent years which shifts school funding to the schools with greater need and higher levels of poverty. 'I wanna be clear, it's not just urban schools, right? These are rural school districts across the state that have transportation funding issues and special education funding issues and all kinds of other challenges too, and this puts them through that lens as well,' Camilleri said, noting that lawmakers had paired this lens of historic levels of school funding with the Senate's latest education budget allocating another $250 million into the formula, for a total of $1.3 billion in funding. Shifting to another question from University of Michigan student Brandon Hofmeister, Camilleri and McBroom discussed ways to ensure Michigan students have the tools they need to pursue a post-high school education. McBroom again looked to Michigan's merit curriculum, noting that prior to those changes, the only requirements were a year of physical education and a semester of government, with the remaining curriculum left up to a local school district. 'Unfortunately, the Legislature, in my opinion, overstepped by a long way, by creating this huge 'here's the classwork everybody should accomplish' and directed so many students away from the skilled trades,' McBroom said, calling merit curriculum the turning point in going down a 'bad one-size-fits-all path.' Instead, lawmakers should be setting overarching goals for graduation, literacy skills and job attainment rather than telling students they have to take specific courses, McBroom said. Whether a school focused on the arts or the sciences should be decided by the local school board and the community in collaboration with parents and students, McBroom said. As Michigan's literacy rates have decreased across the past two decades, leaving the state at 41st in the nation for education, Power asked both lawmakers what needs to change in Michigan to improve the state's educational outcomes. While Lansing could do more on credentialing of superintendents and principals to ensure quality staff are administering schools, McBroom called for lawmakers to empower locals more, giving them more opportunity and more freedom with clear directives of what to accomplish. 'We also need to stop changing the rules so often…. we need less turmoil from Lansing, more good guidance,' McBroom said, emphasizing that local communities know their needs best. He also argued that changes to the state Board of Education are necessary, pointing to the current process of allowing political parties to nominate candidates for the board without holding a primary. Camilleri offered a different approach, arguing there are too many school districts in Michigan. While lawmakers can get local by allowing them to set goal posts, total local control is not in the state's best interest, he said. 'We gotta get, again, these guiding posts of where we all want to be and in order to meet better standardized testing and be prepared for college and career, all of these things have to be with a vision in mind. And we as stakeholders in Lansing and policy makers in Lansing, we need to be empowered and feel comfortable with setting that direction and do so in a collaborative way,' Camilleri said. 'I'm not saying 'no local control', but when you have 1,600 people, plus boards, plus superintendents, all these different people in the room, it makes it challenging,' Camilleri said, with McBroom agreeing. Camilleri and McBroom also offered their perspectives on moving forward amid federal disruptions and efforts to eliminate the federal department of education. While it's possible to move forward, it will require willing leaders on both sides of the aisle, Camilleri said, noting that the state Senate had already advanced its own education budget. However, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has avoided committing to passing a budget before the July 1 legislative deadline, which carries no mandate, arguing the Legislature's responsibility is to pass a budget before the fiscal year ends on Oct. 1. 'I hope that we can still meet that deadline. Well, we are in uncharted territory. I mean, I don't have a good answer on that front, because we still do have the chaos out of [Washington] D.C. where we don't have a final budget from them. What are they attempting to cut? And then, how does that have the impact on our budgets here at the local level,' Camilleri said, arguing the state does not have to cut funding to schools due to a surplus in the school aid fund. McBroom offered a more optimistic assessment, arguing the situation was something lawmakers navigated before, with lawmakers previously working under a split-legislature in 2010. 'We've had chaos from the feds before. We've had cuts before in times of bad finances and bad decisions. So I don't really see this as uncharted, whereas it's just different than it was for the past 15 years in Michigan,' he said. 'Whether the feds are doing a good job or not, we should always be trying to labor for something better, to do a better job. If the feds are going to give us these dollars that used to come through the Department of Ed and block grants, let's make sure that we work together to make sure they get to where we need them to be,' McBroom said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
International Business Times
6 days ago
- International Business Times
Malta Priest Jailed Over Sexual Relationship with Sacristan's 15-Year-Old Niece Who Reported Him When He Tried to End Relationship
A parish priest who defiled a 15-year-old girl who happened to be the sacristan's niece will serve 20 months of jail time, a court of appeal has ruled. The court reduced the original 42-month prison term that the priest was sentenced to when he was found guilty of the crime. The names of the priest and the victim have been withheld along with the details of the location where the events took place. The priest was originally sentenced in March of this year, with the court also permanently banning him from working with minors and listing his name on a register of sex offenders. The priest appealed the decision and that appeal was heard and reviewed by Judge Neville Camilleri. Priest and the Victim Had a Sexual Relationship for 4 Years, She Reported Him When He Tried to End the Relationship As reported by the Times of Malta, the events date back to June 2017, when the girl, 15 at the time, would visit the priest due to family separation issues. She happened to be the niece of the parish's sacristan. A court heard that the two began a relationship when the minor kissed the priest on the lips, and he reciprocated. The two went on to have a sexual relationship that lasted for around four years until 2020, when the girl reported him. The court heard that the priest tried to end the relationship, but the minor began to threaten him when he raised that prospect. She then ended up reporting him to the police. Priest Admitted to Engagining in Sexual Acts with the Minor The priest admitted that he and the girl had engaged in sexual activities, though not intercourse, on her birthday at her house. In his sentence, Camilleri noted how the relationship was consensual and the priest tried to end the relationship, yet he could not ignore the fact that the priest betrayed society's faith in the priesthood and the Catholic church. Camilleri found him guilty of defiling the girl, and his punishment was reduced to a 20-month prison sentence. Archdiocese Releases Statement In a statement, the Archdiocese of Malta noted with "profound sadness and regret" that the priest was found guilty on appeal of breaching sexual boundaries with a 15-year-old girl. "The Archdiocese apologises unreservedly to the victim for the actions of one of its clergymen, and wishes to make clear that it had already referred this case to the Holy See," the statement read. The Archdiocese thanked the Safeguarding Commission for its handling of the case, which served to highlight the crucial importance of safeguarding structures that empower individuals to speak up when they feel unsafe. "The Commission supported the victim in coming forward and reporting the abuse to the Police and this case is a clear reminder that safeguarding mechanisms can be effective. The Church's Safeguarding Commission encourages anyone who feels unsafe or who witnesses inappropriate behaviour, especially within environments where there is an imbalance of power, to speak up." The statement ended by noting how support will be provided to the victim, and the Archdiocese will also be offering counselling and emotional support services to the priest.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan Senate Democrats put forward a plan to add more than $1B to education budget
Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) speaks at the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on PreK-12. April 29, 2025 | Screenshot Michigan Senate Democrats put forward a more than $1 billion funding increase for the state's public schools Tuesday, with an emphasis on lowering elementary schools' class sizes. The plan, introduced by state Sen. Darrin Camilleri , would raise per-pupil funding by $400, from $9,608 to $10,008, with districts required to use 50% of that increase to boost teacher pay. It would also include $2.5 billion in investments for student mental health, a continuation of the program providing free breakfast and lunch for every Michigan public school student, and upgrades for school building infrastructure, including 'clean and functional' HVAC systems. Camilleri, a former teacher and chair of the Senate PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, said the budget proposal reflects their responsibility to provide students with a safe and supportive high-quality education. 'By investing in mental health resources, modernizing our school facilities, and helping students focus in school through free school meals, we are setting up every child for success. We're also making critical investments to ensure teachers are paid fairly and classrooms remain small, so that every student gets the attention and support they need to thrive,' Camilleri (D-Trenton) said in a press release. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The plan would increase the School Aid Fund budget by 5%, from the nearly $20.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2025, which ends on Sept. 30, to just over $21.8 billion for the FY26 budget. Among the new provisions is $400 million for districts to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade classrooms, which would be paired with a $65 million competitive grant program to do the same. The budget proposal passed the appropriations subcommittee Tuesday on a party-line 6-1 vote, with majority Democrats in favor. The lone no vote was from the only Republican present, Sen. Thomas Albert who asked why $232 million in incentives for implementation of best practices at low performing schools that had been proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her executive budget recommendation was missing from this plan. 'I actually took that as a positive step to trying to right some of the ways we've been approaching education in the state,' Albert (R-Lowell) said. Camilleri said Democrats remained open to that in budget negotiations, but they believe there is a greater priority for those funds to assist at-risk students. 'We know that many of these school districts that do need additional supports, they need it because they're dealing with high concentrations of poverty for their student population,' Camilleri responded. 'And so investing an additional $258 million in those programs gives school districts the flexibility that they need to lower class sizes, to pay teachers better, and to hopefully invest in those interventions with at-risk funding that we do think can fix some of these systemic educational challenges that our kids face.' That focus was cheered by Peter Spadafore, executive director of the Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity, which called the Senate education budget proposal a 'significant step forward' in serving at-risk students. 'We are especially encouraged by the proposed 25% increase in the Opportunity Index, which would direct an additional $250 million to schools serving students with the greatest needs. Building upon previous investments, this targeted support will help ensure more equitable opportunities for students across Michigan,' Spadafore said. The Senate education budget plan sets up a confrontation with the GOP-controlled state House, which has proposed a road funding plan removing the 6% sales tax on gas and instead increasing the motor fuel tax by 20 cents which would be wholly dedicated to funding road upkeep. Currently the motor fuel tax is 31 cents per gallon. Because more than $700 million a year derived from the gas sales tax goes to the School Aid Fund, House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) proposed to replace that lost revenue from the state's general fund, an idea House Minority Leader Rep. Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) likened to 'robbing Peter to pay Paul.' While Democrats hope to have a state budget plan for schools in place by July 1, which is the start of the fiscal year for most school districts, House Republicans have already passed a $20 billion stopgap spending plan to maintain government services in the event of a government shutdown. That would occur if a state budget is not in place by Oct. 1, the start of the state's fiscal year.
Daily Mirror
22-04-2025
- Daily Mirror
Woman who cut off mum's head locked in chilling prison feud with another twisted killer
Jessica Camilleri and Rebecca Jane Butterfield, regarded as two of the most dangerous prisoners in Australia, are understood to be sworn enemies - and have allegedly even been given a strict non-association order Two twisted killers in one of the most notorious prisons in Australia are said to be locked in a feud so bitter, they're under strict orders never to see each other ever again. In July 2019, Jessica Camilleri decapitated her own mother, Rita Camilleri, 57, before allegedly asking whether she could be brought back to life if her head was reattached to her body and her heart restarted. The horror film obsessive, whose favourite movie is believed to be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, already "had a lengthy history of assaulting people" before stabbing full-time carer Rita more than 100 times. The NSW Supreme Court also heard Camilleri, now 37, would threaten people during random prank calls, including ones where she claimed she would cut off their heads with a knife. Following her 2020 murder trial in Sydney, jurors found Camilleri guilty of manslaughter due to substantial impairment. Now, Camilleri is serving out a reduced sentence of 16 years and six months, with a non-parole period of 12 years, at the infamous Silverwater Maximum Security Correctional Complex. She's reportedly continued to carry out vicious attacks on prison guards and fellow inmates alike, allegedly ripping out "clumps of hair" during violent altercations. Behind the grim prison walls, Camilleri is also reportedly at war with a woman regarded as Australia's most dangerous female criminal, Rebecca Jane Butterfield. Butterfield, 50, first started her sentence as a low-risk inmate in 2000, after she assaulted a neighbour who had attempted to help her with injuries following an incident of self-harming. Her behaviour then escalated in 2003, when she murdered her fellow inmate and only friend, Bluce Lim Ward, who had been nearing the end of her fraud sentence, by stabbing her 33 times using industrial scissors. Like Camilleri, Butterfield has a reputation at Silverwater for being aggressive. There are currently reports on more than 110 disciplinary matters in her file, including 40 incidents of assault. And it's understood that Butterfield has a particularly strong dislike of Camilleri, with the two women having been enemies since the moment they met. Now, a prison insider has told the Daily Mail Australia that the pair have been given a non-association order, which means they are prohibited from associating with each other or communicating under any circumstances. The source explained: "They hate each other and Butterfield even claims that when Camilleri talks about chopping her mum's head off, which she frequently does, it sets her off on violent outbursts." They added: "Butterfield spirals with any mention of her stepmum, which is probably why Camilleri talking about her mum triggers her." Discussing Camilleri's outbursts, another insider told the publication: "She has become an ongoing problem. She has to be monitored at all times because she will use any opportunity to cause harm. There has already been time added to her sentence for attacks involving extreme hair-pulling. She has scalped people with her bare hands, and anything can set her off." In 2024, Butterfield was reportedly transferred from Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre, in Sydney's west, to Long Bay prison 2024. However, in May of that same year, she was quietly released from prison and admitted to a secure forensic hospital as an involuntary patient, where she receives ongoing treatment for various severe mental health disorders. Although Butterfield's full-term sentence ended almost eight years ago, the question remains as to what will happen next, with facility doctors left to face the decision as to whether she can ever be permitted to rejoin the community. Meanwhile, Camilleri is currently serving her sentence at Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney's west, where she allegedly pulled "clumps of hair" from the scalp of a fellow prisoner back in February - allegedly the sixth incident of this nature.
CBC
24-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canada should look at strengthening European trade ties in face of U.S. trade war, says trade expert
With a Canada-U.S. trade war lingering on, one trade expert says the country should look eastward to Europe to further strengthen economic ties — and one Newfoundland and Labrador seafood producer says he's already seeing it happen. Mark Camilleri, a lawyer and CEO of the Canada EU Trade and Investment Association, said the trade relationship between Canada and the European Union is good, but could be better. "Since we've signed the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in 2016, the trade has certainly increased. Trading goods has gone up basically 65 per cent, trading services 73 per cent. So it's going from strength to strength," Camilleri said. It comes at a time when both counties are facing escalation tariffs on their goods entering the U.S., with 25 per cent tariffs expected to come into effect on April 2. Chinese tariffs came into effect this week. When it comes to Canada's raw materials, energy and other exports, he said there is room for growth in Europe. However, Camilleri said finding a replacement for the U.S. market isn't going to be an easy process, adding there's a lot of infrastructure already in place for selling Canadian goods to the U.S. "I do think there's a fair amount of work that needs to be done in terms of developing the infrastructure to help facilitate that trade and to help it grow." Previously, Canada trading with the EU was treated as something that was "nice to have" but it has now become necessary and this is the time to look at ways to improve the relationship, said Camilleri. "I think any new government, certainly would be looking at trade diversification. And I think when you think about trade diversification, it really makes sense to look at the European Union," he said. Already at work Danny Dumaresque, president of Labrador Gem Seafoods, said seafood producers need to pivot to the European market, given the prospect of double tariffs. "There's no question, we have to move yesterday to try and get ahead of the existing tariff situation," he told CBC News. "I just spent two weeks in Europe, in Spain, Italy, France and the U.K. And I can tell you that is the principal target market for me and, I would suggest, for all seafood companies in this province." There is an appetite in Europe for seafood, Dumaresque added, adding they appreciate the high quality of seafood that is caught off Newfoundland and Labrador. "I am confident that we will be able to make inroads in Europe," he said, which is eased by the existing EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. "This agreement cannot be unilaterally changed by any one person like we have seen in the United States with President Trump and in the Chinese situation with President Xi," said Dumaresque. The products he sells, like scallops, are in demand worldwide, he said. He also secured a deal with a French company at the Boston seafood show, a relationship he began on his trip to Paris. Dumaresque said Europe is sympathetic to the situation Canada finds itself in with the U.S. and China. "It's certainly a challenge for our industry. But I do believe that it was a wake-up call that we required. And there's always going to be success stories. And I'm certainly pleased, at this stage, to have had some luck in the past short while." But Dumaresque also said the U.S. still has an appetite for Canadian seafood. "I just came from Boston and there's no slacking in the demand for our delicious snow crab products. So that will not change."
