Latest news with #DavidHopkins
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Wales Online
Big change to how people use taxis in Swansea put forward
Big change to how people use taxis in Swansea put forward It follows concerns about people being left stranded but taxi drivers, passengers and others are to be consulted before the changes are introduced Taxi drivers might have to carry card payment systems to provide easier payment for customers (Image: Richard Swingler ) A Welsh council is considering making it mandatory for taxi drivers to carry card payment equipment after concerns were raised that some passengers would be 'put at risk' through a cash only payment method. Swansea Council has launched a public consultation for taxi operators and the public about the introduction of new rules that would make it necessary for all taxi drivers to offer a card payment option to customers. It said the move came after 'concerns raised by the public' that passengers risked being 'stranded' if they were not carrying cash. The council added that though several taxi companies and individual drivers already used card readers or provided an option for people to pay via a smartphone app, there were several taxi drivers that provided cash only means of payment. This, it said, put people who didn't carry cash, relying on modern payment methods like google pay or contactless payments, at risk of being stranded as they could not pay their fare. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here There are 318 hackney carriages and 636 licensed private hire vehicles that are currently licensed by the city council. These figures exclude private hire vehicles. Article continues below The council will be consulting hackney carriage and private hire vehicle proprietors and drivers, representatives from the hackney carriage and private hire trades, Unite Union, representatives of equality groups and the public (through city council social media). The proposed rules are: The proprietor shall ensure that passengers are given the option to make payment for all journeys, via a debit card, credit card and contactless card payment. The proprietor shall ensure that all drivers of the vehicle are trained on how to use the card payment system and are aware that passengers must be able to have the option to make payment in this manner. Where a fault in the card payment system is identified, the proprietor must arrange repair/replacement within 48 hours. You can have your say through the Swansea council website by clicking here. David Hopkins, deputy leader and cabinet member for corporate service and performance, said: "As a council, we recognise that more and more people are using less cash these days to pay for services and are opting to use more modern methods such as contactless payment. "At the moment, there are no rules in place that state taxi drivers must carry card payment facilities as part of their licensing conditions. This can put some passengers at risk of being stranded if they only have card payment options and are not carrying cash." He added: "We are doing what we can to manage this issue at our busy city centre taxi ranks using our taxi marshals to identify passengers that are not carrying cash and require a taxi with card paying facilities. "These passengers are provided with a safe space to wait until a taxi is available. "We want to consult with taxi companies and individual licence holders to look at the benefits and implications of making it mandatory for proprietors of licensed vehicles to have card payment technology in their vehicles. We are also keen to hear from the public about the plans." Article continues below
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Game wardens urge safety as boating season begins
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — With boating season beginning at lakes and rivers across the Lone Star State, San Angelo's game wardens are urging boaters to exercise caution and take proper safety measures before they leave the shore in their wake. Game Warden David Hopkins said that among the most frustrating things wardens can encounter when patrolling the waters are children who are not outfitted with life jackets. 'What's frustrating is parents who don't have their kids in life jackets,' Hopkins said. He shared that Lake Nasworthy has had several boat accidents and deaths occur over the years that were 'preventable.' Concho River restocked ahead of Memorial Day weekend 'Unfortunately, over the years, Lake Nasworthy has had its share of boat accidents and fatalities, and most of those were preventable,' Hopkins said. 'So it breaks your heart when you see something that could've been prevented altogether just by simply wearing a life jacket.' Hopkins said wardens encourage those planning to enjoy the Concho Valley's water bodies during Memorial Day weekend to put on life jackets. 'It's what we ask, that you wear a life jacket this weekend,' Hopkins said. 'Be safe, be careful, have a good time!' Hopkins also shared that operating a personal watercraft, such as a jet ski, at night is illegal under Texas law. According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's 2024 recreational boating incidents statistics report, 169 incidents, 78 injury incidents and 20 fatal incidents were recorded between Jan. 1., 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Wales Online
14-05-2025
- Wales Online
They spotted something wrong with toys on sale in a Welsh high street and uncovered a £10m haul
They spotted something wrong with toys on sale in a Welsh high street and uncovered a £10m haul Thousands of fake toys were tracked down to an industrial warehouse estate in Southall, London, in an investigation led by Swansea council Fake toys linked to cancer being sold in Swansea led police to a warehouse based in south London. Trading standards officers from Swansea council discovered the counterfeit Pokémon, Marvel, Peppa Pig, and Star Wars toys being sold at pop-up shops in Swansea city centre at Christmas last year. When some of the toys were seized it was discovered they contained banned chemicals known phthalates which if ingested can affect the body's hormone system and have been linked to certain types of cancer. After the toys were tracked down to a large industrial estate in Southall, London, staff at Swansea council were joined by dozens of Met Police officers in the raid. They were also joined by trading standards officers from Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Buckinghamshire, Kent, and Surrey councils as well as brand representatives from major toy firms. There they seized thousands more toys valued at up to £10m. It is thought the toys were sold across the UK. Rhys Harries, Swansea council's trading standards lead officer, said: 'The latest seizure is the result of detailed investigations around the sources of counterfeit toys that we discovered being sold in Swansea. Article continues below 'Christmas can be a popular time for businesses to quickly set up in vacant premises and distribute unsafe, counterfeit toys to families looking for a bargain. 'While we were able to seize a significant amount of toys being sold in Swansea city centre, our focus quickly switched to the source of the distribution into Swansea. 'We have spent a lot of time investigating these sources using external partners to gather intelligence about the traders in London. 'In terms of the large amount of dangerous and counterfeit goods we have seized I have no doubt that all of these were destined for the high streets of many of the UK's towns and cities. 'So it's great to know that we have had a positive impact and are able to not only protect families and young children from the possible dangers associated with these toys but also to protect established brands who have been affected by the sale of counterfeit products.' David Hopkins, cabinet member for corporate services and performance, added: 'This latest counterfeit seizure is significant in terms of the positive impact it has had not only in Swansea but around the UK. Article continues below 'Our own trading standards did not stop at simply dealing with counterfeit goods being sold on the street in Swansea – they showed a lot of professionalism and determination to tackle the wider distribution into other towns and cities. 'I'm extremely proud of everyone's efforts, along with the assistance of external partners who have provided support for this operation.' Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.
The Guardian
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Sanctioned Russia and Belarusian wood being smuggled into UK, study suggests
Nearly half of birch wood certified by leading sustainability schemes is misidentified and does not come from the labelled country of origin, according to new testing. The analysis raises fears that large quantities of sanctioned wood from Russia and Belarus are still illegally entering Britain. New research by World Forest ID, a consortium of research organisations that includes Kew Gardens and the World Resources Institute, scrutinised the accuracy of dozens of harvesting-origin claims on birch products, which had almost entirely been approved by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) sustainability schemes. The samples of birch – a popular hardwood used in furniture, kitchens panels and musical instruments – were labelled as originating in Ukraine, Poland, Estonia and Latvia. But tests using the wood's 'chemical fingerprint' showed that 46% of certified samples did not come from the origin on the label. The birch tree is commercially grown and processed across much of northern Europe, including large parts of Russia and Belarus. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it became illegal to import Russian and Belarusian plywood and timber products into Britain and other European countries due to sanctions. While the tests did not specify the country where the wood was grown, experts said Russia and Belarus were the only plausible origins. 'Where else could it be from?' said David Hopkins, chief executive of Timber Development UK, the industry's trade association, reacting to the analysis. 'There's a small number of companies that produce this stuff legally,' he said. 'The birch trees that are in Finland are being taken up by a small number of sawmills producing birch plywood. 'There's pockets of it elsewhere in the Baltics and Scandinavia. But the bulk of it is going to be from Russia, putting money through the Russian economy and breaching sanctions while you are doing it,' Hopkins said. The FSC and the PEFC are the world's most commonly used timber certification schemes, intended to promote the sustainable management of woodland and prevent deforestation. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the FSC suspended its certification for timber from Russian and Belarus, and blocked all controlled wood from the two countries. PEFC decided to classify timber from both countries as 'conflict timber', meaning they could no longer use its certification. But the new World Forest ID analysis – which was partly funded by the FSC – found that of 52 samples with a FSC or PEFC certification, 24 had an incorrect harvest claim. While tests were conducted on a relatively small number of samples, the report authors said their findings indicated that existing oversight was not sufficient to guarantee accurate claims. To test the wood, researchers used stable isotope ratio analysis, comparing the chemical makeup of the birch samples with a reference database from across northern and eastern Europe. Scientists used markers caused by differences in light, soil and water conditions to estimate the geographic origin. Jade Saunders, executive director of World Forest ID, said: 'The UK has been a leader in sanctions and trade laws and certification schemes but they are only as good as the tools with which they are implemented. 'Chemical traceability is a whole new way of thinking about what is really in our supply chains. We know we can only solve problems if we can see them, and in this study we saw them very clearly, so it is time for the government and guardians of supply-chain integrity to step up and start solving.' The FSC said it took any indication of potential fraud seriously and welcomed the World Forest ID research, adding that it was actively investing in new techniques to ensure reliability in supply chains. It said it had no access to the names of the companies that had provided samples confidentially. The PEFC said the findings needed to be placed in context and that only 14% of the samples were associated with their certification. It said generalisations about the overall effectiveness of their sustainability schemes should not be made from the analysis. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion The certification schemes are the primary way that companies source sustainable wood, avoiding contributing to the destruction of rainforests and other biodiverse environments. The report raises questions about whether current certification systems are reliable. After Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022, recorded exports of Russian birch to European countries including the UK decreased dramatically. But in the months that followed, trade data shows that exports from other countries including Kazakhstan and Turkey rose significantly. In the case of Kazakhstan, exports of plywood leapt from 600 tonnes in 2021, to 25,600 tonnes in 2022, according to UN trade statistics. In January, the environmental organisation Earthsight published an investigation into birch-wood laundering, finding that a network of organisations had found a way to avoid European sanctions, with 20 container-loads of wood continuing to arrive every day. The Russian military and oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin profit directly from the sale of the timber, according to the report. Sam Lawson, founding director of Earthsight and one of the report's authors, said: 'Timber is a big export for Russia; it was a big revenue earner prior to the conflict that is less well known than gas and oil. 'The EU and UK have banned all imports of Russian and Belarusian wood, including products made with them. Our investigation found that those sanctions are being flouted on a massive scale. 'We concluded that over €1.5bn [£1.3bn] worth of illegal sanctions – blood timber, basically – has entered Europe since the sanctions took effect in 2022. A lot of the birch plywood that people were using in their kitchens, and for trendy furniture and stuff, prior to the conflict was being imported from Russia or Belarus. That wood is still managing to get to Europe,' he said. The British government has been approached for comment.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
RCSO: Deputy justified in officer-involved shooting
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Richmond County Sheriff's Office said a deputy in the officer-involved shooting in front of Glenn Hills Middle School on March 13 was justified in his actions following an independent review. RCSO stated Deputy David S. Hopkins, who was placed on paid administrative leave on March 14, 'acted lawfully and within policy during last week's officer-involved shooting.' In a press release on Monday, RCSO released a clearance letter from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office's Regional Force Investigation. 'The use of deadly force was justified under O.C.G.A. 16-3-21. The investigation has revealed that Deputy David Hopkins did not violate the Official Criminal Code of Georgia,' the letter from Columbia County Sheriff's Office states. RCSO said it plans to release a full video of the incident on Tuesday, March 18 in an effort to show transparency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
