Latest news with #CarlaFerreira
BBC News
20 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Rent rise puts future of Thetford SEN play group in doubt
Parents are worried about the future of free play sessions for children with special educational needs (SEN), being run for families in a Traquinas Hub which runs sessions has been renting space from The Charles Burrell Centre (CBC) in Thetford, South CBC, which is itself a charity, is increasing the rent from £750 to £1, for all tenants were essential to help it balance its books, the business and community support hub said. The sessions have had a big impact on families with SEN said her son Elijah's complex medical needs meant most groups were not suitable for them. "We need this for the kids that don't access other places easily," she said. "It can be very lonely, but having a place like this, there are others in the same situation that you can talk with."Beth brings her little boy Fernee, who is two years old. "This the first place I've been for SEN children and they have just been beyond helpful."Before we came to this group he wouldn't socialise. He wouldn't play or interact - just be glued to me. "Now as soon as we walk in he is happy to just run in and he's not shy anymore." Carla Ferreira runs Traquinas Childcare, which has two nurseries in Thetford, as well as a base at the CBC where they deliver free SEN sessions and paid-for holiday clubs. She started the SEN group three years ago after her own experience with her daughter, who has a rare genetic condition. "I know the struggle of these parents, they have to fight for everything,". Mrs Ferreira said."I just wanted to do something that they don't have to fight for. "Why can't a non-profit community building [The CBC] embrace what we are doing here?" Last October they were told by the CBC that their new rent would be increased by more than 50% to £1,140 per Ferreira said they could not afford to pay the increased rent and would struggle to find suitable alternative premises, leaving the future of the SEN sessions in doubt. 'Remain sustainable' Nicola Welham is the manager of the Charles Burrell Centre. She said like all organisations, core costs like gas and electric had "risen sharply"."It does mean we have to increase our rents just to enable the centre to remain sustainable," she added. "If we fail to respond to those rising costs, then we risk the future of the centre as a whole and that would put all of our 60 tenants at risk."Traquinas are an excellent childcare provider in our local community. "We want to support businesses like them, but we also have to be fair to all of our tenants so we charge them all a reasonable rent that reflects the costs incurred." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Migrant gang-plagued city unveils bizarre 'Ozempic Statue of Liberty' in bid to rebuild reputation
A bizarre new 'Statue of Liberty' that is distinctively thinner than the original has gone on display in a migrant gang-plagued city. The 58-foot-tall chrome statue named 'Liberty' was unveiled Tuesday in Aurora, Colorado, where members of the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) took over for more than a year. Developers specifically placed the sculpture in the city in a bid to attract both locals and tourists to the area and rebuild its reputation. The statue, created by Belgian artist Michael Benisty, was originally unveiled at the 2024 Burning Man festival in Nevada, but The Aurora Highlands, a newly developed community in the city, recently acquired it for its park. The massive art piece weighs a whopping 37,000 pounds and had to be installed with the help of two cranes. It sits in an undeveloped location, but will eventually greet those accessing the area from Interstate 70, KDVR reported. Carla Ferreira, the CEO of The Aurora Highlands, said the sculpture was brought in because 'liberty is something that really resonates with people' and welcomes all to the area. 'It's not just the magnitude of the piece, but also the chrome finish is really beautiful because you can see yourself in it,' Ferreira told the outlet. Many have questioned if this is truly what the crime-ridden city needs right now, but according to Ferreria, public art is required for new developments. 'This is done through the district here at Aurora Highlands, so it wasn't something that the state paid for or that the city paid for,' she explained. 'This is done with taxpayer dollars from this area, but it's also like a nonprofit entity.' Soon after its installation, several locals and visitors made their way to the area to check it out. 'We just went on Google Maps. It's the first thing that popped up,' Ronnie Cordova, who traveled from New York to Denver, said. Robert Meeks, a Denver local and photographer, said he heard about the newest addition on Nextdoor. 'People need to see some beauty, and I think the beauty in this piece here is here for everybody to see,' Meeks added. While some are pleased with the new piece, others have been left livid. 'The audacity to place that statue in Aurora! We all know it's your declaration to illegals that they are welcome in Colorado,' on commentator wrote online. 'Imagine destroying an entire state with taxes, crime, drugs, homelessness & a constitutional crisis, then virtue-signaling that it's somehow 'liberty",' another said. The park itself, which opened in the Summer of 2023, has already seen more than a million clicks on Google Maps, Ferreira said. Another statue, also designed by Benisty, was added to the mix as well. A 14-foot-tall structure called 'In Every Lifetime I Will Find You' shows a steel sculpture of a couple embracing each other. In September, court documents revealed that the TdA gang took over an apartment complex in Aurora for more than a year. The criminal Venezuelan group had a 'stranglehold' on the Whispering Pines Apartments in Aurora since late 2023, the law firm Perkins Coie claimed in a letter to Aurora officials. The firm found that the gang has engaged in assaults, threats of murder, extortion and even child prostitution, as reported by CBS News Colorado. The vacant units have reportedly been used to host 'parties' where the gang provides 'drug and child prostitution,' according to the apartments' manager, who added that 'minors are a good source of money.' previously obtained city records where top staffers in Aurora admitted three rental properties 'are in complete control' of TdA and claim that many more than just three properties are victims of the 'criminal infestation.' Earlier this month, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Colorado is the latest state facing a lawsuit from President Donald Trump's Justice Department over their sanctuary city laws and policies. The administration is suing Colorado and the city of Denver claiming that both the state and local governments interfered with federal immigration enforcement. 'The United States has well-established, preeminent, and preemptive authority to regulate immigration matters,' the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Denver, read. The DOJ has filed lawsuits in Chicago and Rochester, New York challenging the cities' so-called sanctuary policies. A 'sanctuary city' refers to jurisdictions where state and local policies either shield or protect migrants without legal US status from federal laws that require they be detained or deported. Specifically these states and cities are accused of limiting cooperation between their areas and the federal government and in extreme cases prohibit law enforcement and officials from turning over information about legal status of those illegal immigrants picked up for crimes. In the filing, Bondi said Denver and the entire state of Colorado is in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution due their sanctuary laws.
