Latest news with #FACT
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
It's a FACT: Ted Murphy was a university professor who saved thousands of wild birds
It's impossible to say how many owls, hawks, falcons and kit foxes Ted Murphy saved from certain death after he founded the Facility for Animal Care and Treatment at Cal State Bakersfield in 1975. But the numbers surely soared into the thousands. Murphy, whose friends and students say was born to be a teacher, but who also loved to dance and be involved in the community, died Sunday at his home in southwest Bakersfield, just four months after losing Peggy Murphy, his beloved wife and dance partner. Ted Murphy was 89. "Ted was smart but humble. He was easy to talk to and just a really good person," said Nikki LeFebvre, who took several science courses at CSUB under Murphy's mentorship in the mid-1990s. She also worked at FACT through one term, where she learned to give tours, feed the birds and soak up knowledge and knowhow from the master. "It was definitely an interesting time," LeFebvre remembered. "He was my favorite professor and probably had the biggest impact on me of all my professors." The longtime CSUB biology instructor not only founded FACT, which lasted nearly four decades before closing in 2014, he left an indelible imprint on countless CSUB students, animal rescuers and young children who visited FACT by the busload. Kathryn Errotabere is one of three or more neighbors and friends who became caregivers to Murphy during the final weeks of his life. But some among the close network of good neighbors and good Samaritans have spent years watching over the Murphys. "I took care of him and his wife for seven years," Errotabere said. "He was a remarkable man. He taught to the bitter end." Teaching, she said, was in his blood, and any activity or conversation was, to the retired professor, an opportunity to teach and learn. "We had an 89th birthday party for him in April — in his front yard," Errotabere said. "We had ice cream and food. He really enjoyed it." The day meant a lot to his friend and caregiver, too. "I knew it was going to be his last," she said. For decades, FACT benefited the community in myriad ways. Students and volunteers conducted tours and classroom programs for thousands of Kern County schoolchildren each year. Murphy and a team of students built the facility and developed the landscape from the ground up, according to a 2014 Californian story. They did it with sweat, determination, donations and an annual barbecue fundraiser that would bring in between $7,000 and $9,000 each year. A wooden shed on the property housed an office and lab, and the facility had several enclosures to display animals for visiting students, and several more for rehabilitating birds. It was not uncommon to see raptors with wings badly injured by barbed wire and other hazards being brought in by good Samaritans. It often took between four and six months before the animals could be released into the wild. "Our biggest contribution to wildlife was the education of people," Murphy told The Californian. In Murphy's latter years, Billie Swanson and her late friend Enid Hull often picked up Ted and Peggy to take them to dinner, to a play, a community concert or some other social event. Swanson met Murphy through CSUB's 60+ Club, one of many organizations with which the retired professor was active. "At one point, he didn't have his driver's license anymore," Swanson said. "We would pick them up and take them to dinner. "Ted loved to eat at J's Place," she said. When Peggy began fading, Ted became Peggy's caregiver. "He was very attentive to Peggy," Swanson said. "He had her at home to the very end." But when Ted lost Peggy, it seemed to take the wind out of his sails. "He was a very caring person," Swanson said. "He would do anything for you if he could. "I'm going to miss him."
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Denial of public employment citing Hepatitis B infection is illegal, rules Kerala high court
Kochi: Denial of public employment to a job aspirant solely on the ground that the individual is afflicted with Hepatitis B virus or a similar infection is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees equality, the Kerala high court has held. A bench of Justices Amit Rawal and K V Jayakumar delivered the judgment in an appeal filed by a person afflicted with Hepatitis B virus, who had applied for the post of assistant general manager at Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT). The appellant had challenged the single bench order, which had dismissed his petition seeking appointment to the post. In the original petition challenging FACT's denial of appointment on medical grounds, the single bench had held that every employer requires healthy employees, not patients, and found no illegality in FACT's decision-making process. However, in a previous round of litigation, where the appellant had challenged a communication from the deputy general manager, human resources department of FACT denying him the appointment, another single bench had held that no person can be denied public employment solely on the ground of suffering from diseases like Hepatitis B or HIV. The bench had also requested the central govt to formulate appropriate protocols for individuals infected with Hepatitis B. In its 2023 judgment, the bench had directed FACT to subject the petitioner to a further medical examination by a medical board, preferably constituted by a govt hospital or medical college. Based on the board's opinion, FACT was directed to reconsider the petitioner's appointment, subject to his qualifications and credentials. Following this, FACT again denied the appointment, citing the medical report, which allegedly declared the petitioner medically unfit. This led the appellant to initiate another round of litigation. In Jan 2025, the single bench dismissed his petition based on the report, prompting the present appeal. Upon perusing the medical report, the division bench observed that it clearly stated the appellant could participate in all activities and training, including the job, and was fit for work, provided universal precautions were followed. Accordingly, the court directed FACT to issue the appointment letter to the appellant within one month.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Denial of public employment citing Hepatitis B infection is illegal, rules Kerala high court
Kochi: Denial of public employment to a job aspirant solely on the ground that the individual is afflicted with Hepatitis B virus or a similar infection is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees equality, the Kerala high court has held. A bench of Justices Amit Rawal and K V Jayakumar delivered the judgment in an appeal filed by a person afflicted with Hepatitis B virus, who had applied for the post of assistant general manager at Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT). The appellant had challenged the single bench order, which had dismissed his petition seeking appointment to the post. In the original petition challenging FACT's denial of appointment on medical grounds, the single bench had held that every employer requires healthy employees, not patients, and found no illegality in FACT's decision-making process. However, in a previous round of litigation, where the appellant had challenged a communication from the deputy general manager, human resources department of FACT denying him the appointment, another single bench had held that no person can be denied public employment solely on the ground of suffering from diseases like Hepatitis B or HIV. The bench had also requested the central govt to formulate appropriate protocols for individuals infected with Hepatitis B. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning For Working Professionals. BITS Pilani WILP Apply Now Undo In its 2023 judgment, the bench had directed FACT to subject the petitioner to a further medical examination by a medical board, preferably constituted by a govt hospital or medical college. Based on the board's opinion, FACT was directed to reconsider the petitioner's appointment, subject to his qualifications and credentials. Following this, FACT again denied the appointment, citing the medical report, which allegedly declared the petitioner medically unfit. This led the appellant to initiate another round of litigation. In Jan 2025, the single bench dismissed his petition based on the report, prompting the present appeal. Upon perusing the medical report, the division bench observed that it clearly stated the appellant could participate in all activities and training, including the job, and was fit for work, provided universal precautions were followed. Accordingly, the court directed FACT to issue the appointment letter to the appellant within one month.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chemical castration is vengeance masked as justice
There are moments in the life of a nation when it flirts with a dangerous kind of righteousness – one that masks vengeance as justice. The recent proposal by David Gauke, the former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, to chemically castrate sex offenders is one such moment. It is a step not towards justice, but towards irrevocable cruelty. I speak as someone who has felt the full weight of false accusation and the slow, often brutal machinery of British justice. In 1987, I resigned as a Member of Parliament amid a scandal that ultimately led to my conviction over matters that would no longer be considered criminal today. But it was in 2015 when I was falsely accused by Carl Beech of the most grotesque crimes imaginable – including rape and murder of children – that I truly confronted the fragility of the justice system. Operation Midland, now widely discredited, destroyed reputations and lives. I was never charged, because there was no evidence – only the word of a liar and fraudster who himself was a paedophile. Yet the damage was done. I am not alone. There is the case of Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit – DNA evidence, ignored for years, eventually proved his innocence. More recently, there is Peter Sullivan, who was jailed for the 1986 killing of 21-year-old barmaid Diane Sindall. Sullivan, known as the 'Beast of Birkenhead', spent more than 38 years in jail in what is believed to be the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history. Both cases are recent and tragic reminders of how deeply flawed the system remains. These are just two cases among many – there are countless others whose stories have not reached the headlines. How many others languish behind bars because of false allegations levelled against them? Against this backdrop, the Government's consideration of chemical castration is chilling. It presumes infallibility in a demonstrably fallible system. Chemical castration is not metaphorical. It is physical, invasive, and irreversible. Once done, it cannot be undone – no compensation or apology could make a wrongly accused person whole again. And yet, where is the caution? Where is the humility? As a Member of Parliament, I once advocated for the return of the death penalty. I believed it was a necessary deterrent, a just response to the most heinous crimes. Life's vicissitudes changed my mind. Since becoming President of Facing Allegations in Contexts of Trust (FACT), I have seen first-hand how our justice system gets it disastrously wrong. This reveals a disturbing reality: miscarriages of justice are not rare anomalies – they happen far too often. When we allow the state to exercise irreversible power over the body of the accused, we cross a dangerous moral threshold. We begin to measure justice not by what is fair or proportionate, but by what is punitive and popular. That is not civilisation; it is regression. If we are to entertain such irreversible punishments for sex offenders, should we not consider equivalent consequences for those who knowingly make false accusations? Or for the officers, judges, and ministers who perpetuate injustice through negligence or political expediency? The very idea is, rightly, abhorrent. But that is the logical mirror we must confront if we are to endorse irreversible punishment as a principle. Justice must be tempered with restraint. It must be aware of its own limitations. And above all, it must never forget the fallibility of those who administer it. We must not let the abhorrence of a crime blind us to the possibility of error. In our zeal to punish the guilty, we risk punishing the innocent – and that is a sin no civilised society should commit. Harvey Proctor is the president of 'Facing Allegations in Contexts of Trust' (FACT) Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Chambakkara Canal protection wall collapse raises public safety concerns
Tripunithura: A 50-m stretch of protection wall along Chambakkara Canal collapsed on Wednesday night, bringing traffic along the busy Kannadikadu-Chambakkara Canal Road to a complete halt. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The incident followed heavy rainfall and years of structural neglect, raising serious questions about safety and planning of canal-side infrastructure. The collapsed section lies on wards 2, 3 and 4 of Maradu municipality, where a safety fence and footpath were recently constructed as part of Canal Shore Beautification project. However, opposition councillors of the municipality alleged that the work, done using ₹62 lakh from MLA fund, was unscientific and ignored the weak base of the existing protection wall, which is over 40 years old. Following the incident, a parked car was saved with the help of fire and rescue services and locals after it slid dangerously close to the collapsed area. According to ward 5 councillor Sheeja Sankumar, she earlier raised concerns about the vulnerability of the protection wall stretch in her ward, particularly due to frequent movement of barges transporting chemicals to FACT plant in Ambalamugal. She submitted a written complaint to irrigation department and raised the issue in the municipal council, warning of the dangers. However, she alleges that the council, dominated by ruling UDF councillors, went ahead with beautification projects in their wards while ignoring the high-risk ward 5. Meanwhile, municipality chairperson Antony Ashanparambil told TOI that he has written to district collector, urging immediate action under disaster management plan. "The collapsed structure is a 40-year-old side wall maintained by inland waterways department. Similar incidents occurred at other sections in the past. Municipal council passed a resolution last year demanding urgent intervention in the matter," said Ashanparambil. Municipality opposition leader CR Shanavas demanded a detailed inquiry into the alleged irregularities that led to the collapse of the protection wall.
