Latest news with #Jack&Jill
Metro
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
90s TV star so ‘embarrassed' by one episode he wanted it pulled from streaming
Every one of us has done something embarrassing in our careers. Take me for example, I once spent an entire day in the rain asking people how they felt about compulsory porn filters – not an article that's going to make it into my portfolio. That said, it's not just regular folks like you and me who have skeletons in our proverbial working closet. Believe it or not, some of the biggest and brightest celebs are mortified by some of their old work. It's well known that Sabrina Carpenter is embarrassed by Adventures in Babysitting, Sandra Bullock can't bear the fact that she was in Speed 2, and I don't know if Al Pacino is afraid to admit he's in Jack & Jill, but I know he should be That said, as far as I'm aware, not many celebs are so appalled by something they've made that they've said they want it pulled from streaming, although I do know one. Jonathan Frakes made his name in the iconic 90s sci–fi show Star Trek: The Next Generation, where he played Commander William Riker, the first officer on the Federation flagship the Enterprise-D. From 1987 to 1994, Riker and the crew of the Enterprise boldly went where no one had gone before, meeting new worlds and civilisations as they explored the unknown. This wonderful show is regarded by fans of the genre and TV historians as one of the greatest and most important series in history, and there are countless classic episodes, including Measure of a Man, Best of Both Worlds, and Darmo,k all of which regularly rank on lists of best TV episodes ever. Yet there's one episode you'll never see on any of these lists. Season one, episode four, 'Code of Honor' is one such episode. This frankly awful instalment sees the Enterprise visit the planet Ligon II, where one of the crew is abducted by the planet's leader. While the concept seems benign enough, someone somewhere along the way decided to change the script so the people of Ligon II went from a reptilian race to a parody of 1940s tribal Africa. Needless to say, as a result, the episode is incredibly uncomfortable to watch and was accused by viewers of being racist. In fact, the episode is so despised that it regularly ranks among the worst episodes of Star Trek ever made and has been called by some the single worst thing from the franchise. Jonathan Frakes clearly agrees. He famously called it 'embarrassing' and a 'racist piece of sh*t' during a STLV panel in 2011. However, it was during an interview with TrekMovie in 2020 where he was asked whether the episode was appropriate for streaming. 'I thought that they had taken it out of the rotation when they sold the show, ' Frakes replied. After the hosts explained that it was still available, he went on to say 'I was told or I was under the impression that it had rubbed so many people the wrong way that it was pulled.' 'I think they should take it out of the rotation. I think it is a great time to make that kind of – as small as it is – to make that kind of a statement would be fabulous.' More Trending When pressed on the matter, and whether that was a bit bold, Jonathan did agree it might be a tad overkill, but it was clear something needed to change. 'Maybe it should be included with an appropriate statement of reason. A proof of concept. This is not who we are,' he explained. 'This is not what we stand for. It's an embarrassment to the franchise, and Gene [Roddenberry] would want us to do this. Something like that.' Sadly, five years later, it doesn't look like Jonathan has got his wish, as the episode still appears on streaming without any statement or warnings about the content. All seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation are available to stream now on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. View More »
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Versatile home with annexe for sale at £700,000
A detached family home in Wissett is for sale for offers over £700,000. Selling agent Durrants said Woodville is 'individually designed,' whilst offering space that can be adapted for varying lifestyle choices. Inside is accommodation comprising a kitchen/dining room, living room, two bedrooms, bathroom and a utility. The open-plan dining area and kitchen (Image: Nick Read) The kitchen features integrated appliances and plenty of storage space (Image: Nick Read) At the heart of the home is the kitchen/diner, which is great for hosting guests for dinner parties. In the kitchen is a breakfast bar, which is ideal for sitting at and enjoying a morning coffee. There are plenty of wall and base level units, as well as integrated appliances, such as a hob with extractor above and an oven. A door from the dining space leads outside to the decked area, perfect for alfresco dining. The sitting room has a wood burner, ideal for warm nights in front of the fire (Image: Nick Read) One of the two bedrooms in the main part of the house, with the master including an en suite (Image: Nick Read) The family bathroom includes a bath and separate shower (Image: Nick Read) The family bathroom also has Jack & Jill sinks and a bidet (Image: Nick Read) The sitting room is triple aspect and benefits from views over the garden. The focal point of the room is the wood burner, allowing for cosy nights in front of the fire during the colder months. READ MORE: Chocolate box cottage with one-bed annexe for sale in rural village Two double bedrooms are in the main part of the home, with the master offering triple-aspect views, and an en-suite bathroom that has a shower, WC and wash handbasin. A family bathroom serves the other bedroom, and features a bath, separate shower, WC, bidet and Jack and Jill sinks. The studio has a multitude of uses (Image: Nick Read) There is a set of stairs in the hallway that lead down to a dual aspect studio, which has the potential for a variety of uses, including a cinema room, home office, gym or even an artist's studio. The home also has an attached annexe suite, which is perfect for multigenerational living, or perhaps as a holiday let to provide an income source. It is at the opposite end of the home and has its own entrance, with its accommodation including a kitchen, living room, dining room, two bedrooms, bathroom and separate WC. The annexe has a fitted kitchen (Image: Nick Read) The sitting room in the annexe also has a wood burner (Image: Nick Read) There is two bedrooms in the annexe, ideal as a holiday let or for multigenerational living (Image: Nick Read) The L-shaped sitting room and dining room has open-plan living, with double doors out to the garden. The fitted kitchen has space for further electrical appliances, while the two bedrooms are good-sized doubles. READ MORE: Georgian townhouse in Woodbridge for sale at £1.75 million guide Outside, Woodville sits on a plot of approximately two acres and is approached by a driveway with ample off-road parking, which leads to an integral double garage and workshop area. The driveway leads to a double garage (Image: Nick Read) The gardens are diverse, with a woodland area that offers shade during the warmer months (Image: Nick Read) The gardens are diverse, with the lower garden including raised flower beds, while the main garden is laid to lawn and has a woodland area. It is ideal for those seeking shaded relaxation, or those who want to observe the local wildlife. Woodville is in Wissett, a small village two miles from the market town of Halesworth, where there are amenities including schooling, retail and eateries. For more information, contact Durrants. PROPERTY FACTS Woodville, Wissett OIEO: £700,000 Durrants, 01986 872553
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Private funding has created 100s of new child care spots in this Pennsylvania county
This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here. Jack & Jill Nursery in York recently opened an infant room, and Leisa Harmis' 4-month-old son Kane was one of the first babies to enroll. Having Kane cared for by trusted Jack & Jill staff means that Harmis and her husband have the energy for their 'second shift' of parenting their four kids after they leave work. 'We're both not coming home on empty,' she said. Before Kane could attend Jack & Jill, the early childhood center first had to purchase cribs and toys, and install new carpet so that babies learning to crawl would be on a clean floor. Director Ruth Leonard said she was able to make these up-front investments through a $50,000 'innovation grant' from Every Child Has Opportunities, or ECHO. With funding from foundations, a health system, and the local United Way, ECHO aims to double the number of children from low-income families in York County who are enrolled in high-quality early childhood education by 2027. It's doing so through grants for renovations, tech, and more; a paid apprentice program for teacher aides; and forgivable loans targeted at new providers. Its budget is approximately $3.2 million per year, according to a 2024 report. That number is small compared to what the federal and Pennsylvania governments spend to support child care. York County receives more than $45 million annually for Head Start, Pre-K Counts, and other programs. But stakeholders say investments like ECHO's can help address the dual crises of high child care costs and a lack of providers. In its first year, the initiative said that child care providers who received support from ECHO added 854 new openings in York County. Recent legislative efforts out of Harrisburg have addressed only part of the problem through a series of tax credits that seek to make child care tuition more affordable for families. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed 2025-26 budget includes $55 million for early childhood teacher retention and recruitment grants, which he says would boost wages for workers at centers that provide subsidized care for low-income kids by roughly $1,000 per year. ECHO's funding runs out at the end of 2026, and there's no guarantee additional money is coming. Rather than seeing philanthropic dollars as a long-term solution, ECHO's supporters want policymakers to view it as a pilot that can be replicated in other parts of the state with public dollars. 'Hopefully, the federal government, the state government will recognize [ECHO] as, 'OK, this works,'' said Michael Hady, president and CEO of the Powder Mill Foundation, one of the initiative's biggest donors. The nonprofit Community Connections for Children, which co-leads ECHO with the York County Economic Alliance, says about $300,000 of the initiative's annual budget goes toward operating expenses. In 2024, $1.9 million in grants were awarded, but ECHO didn't distribute all the funds it had budgeted. It aims to issue at least $3.5 million in 2025. The 2024 tally includes grants to Jack & Jill and 27 other facilities. The money paid for things like replacing a wooden fence that was giving kids splinters and purchasing pre-K literacy materials. ECHO also paid for the tuition of 19 teacher aides who earned their Child Development Associate credential through a program at Harrisburg Area Community College. And it awarded $440,000 in forgivable loans to 15 new child care providers. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services also offers grants targeted at bolstering the child care workforce and helping providers with startup costs. These are effective programs, but there's not enough money to serve everyone, said Jen DeBell, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children. While ECHO's leaders are proud of their work, they say more child care slots are needed. The economic alliance said that even before the COVID-19 pandemic there was a shortage of child care centers, and that since 2020, more than 20% of York County's providers have closed. As a result, parents are struggling to find quality early childhood education. Leonard sees this firsthand. While Jack & Jill just opened to infants in February, there are already seven babies on its waitlist, she said. The center could double its capacity from four babies to eight if it recruits a second teacher. 'You want to hire people who really have a heart to work with children,' Leonard said. 'And sometimes that's hard to come by if we're being honest.' Hady told Spotlight PA that the shortage of child care providers in York County is both a social concern and an economic problem for the community. 'Businesses were trying to hire employees, but oftentimes they had issues, particularly with families who needed daycare or child care,' Hady said. A 2024 report from the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry found these workforce challenges extend beyond York County: 81% of employers surveyed said they had 'moderate or significant recruitment and retention issues' regarding child care. For some Pennsylvanians, it makes more financial sense to be a stay-at-home parent, as child care fees often exceed $10,000 a year per kid. But even families that can afford these sky-high costs struggle to find quality care due to the overall lack of providers. Part of ECHO's success stems from it seeking input from child care providers, DeBell said. She told Spotlight PA that ECHO is 'super unique' because it's a philanthropic response to systemic supply-side issues that tax credits won't solve. For example, in addition to paying for tuition, ECHO grants provide a monthly $200 stipend to teacher aides pursuing their child development certification. Mentor teachers get stipends of $150. The grant also reimburses $10 per hour toward an aide's salary. In addition to ECHO, a separate program called the York County Early Childhood Educator Awards distributes annual stipends. The private-public initiative is administered by Community Connections for Children, which told Spotlight PA that in 2024 it awarded over $674,000 to 404 staff at 67 programs. Increased pay for child care workers is critical to improving overall quality, said Jessica Brown, a University of South Carolina economist who studies the child care market. Child care is highly labor-intensive, so the percentage that employers like Jack & Jill must budget for staff salaries is greater than those of big box stores, gas stations, and other businesses that target entry-level workers. As a result, said Brown, child care centers are more limited in how much they can pay employees, putting them at a disadvantage when it comes to recruitment. 'So we end up with a market where, on average, the care is what parents can afford, but it's not as high-quality as society would maybe want,' said Brown, pointing to federal data from 2022 showing that two in three child care workers earn less than $15 an hour. Low wages also harm retention, which can negatively affect children, noted a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The authors found that raising wages for the lowest-paid early childhood teachers 'is the most straightforward response' to decrease turnover. On the flip side, quality child care has downstream benefits. Research shows kids who attend child care are more likely to graduate from college and less likely to be involved with the criminal justice system. When ECHO's funding runs out next year, Hady said Powder Mill may contribute additional money, but he's also hoping York County's business community will step in. However, he argued that the onus of fully addressing the child care crisis, and ensuring all kids have access to early childhood education, rests with lawmakers. In the meantime, Leonard at Jack & Jill wants to hire more staff who can take advantage of the ECHO grants. She's accepting applications for a second infant room teacher and feels hopeful. If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. 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