Latest news with #JamesKing
CBC
7 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Windsor explores modified schedule, possible new privately run home for curling
The city of Windsor is moving ahead with a handful of directives aimed at finding solutions to an ice shortage stemming from a fire at an arena earlier this spring. Most notably, city officials will consult with the curling community about possibly modifying their 2025-2026 schedule at Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex. On Monday, city council heard several ideas concerning ice time reallocation. One that will be explored could see curling pushed back until next spring — allowing for both ice pads at Capri be used for hockey during the fall and winter. This after curling's entire season was originally on the chopping block to make up for ice time lost with the fire above one of the rinks at the WFCU Centre. It's expected to take more than 10 months to fix the damage there meaning the one pad is completely unusable. The loss of the rink has ice schedulers scrambling to find roughly 50 hours of ice time for local hockey and figure skating. Privately run option? Central Park Athletics (CPA) is a privately run multi-sport complex just east of the Windsor assembly plant and close the E.C. Row Expressway. Owners James and Leigh King say they have around 20 hours of ice-time available on weekends across their two skating rinks. They're also willing to discuss the possibility of converting one of their indoor soccer spaces — directly beside their two ice pads — into four curling sheets, as a long-term investment for the city. James King told council the space is big enough and requires the necessary refrigeration. And that's something, he says, could be done before October. "We would have an isolated facility next to the ice rinks — it would be a separate pad," said King. "It would have its own amenities, washrooms … parking. Everything you need to have in a standalone facility." The facility is also licensed to sell alcoholic beverages. Kipp Van Kuren, representing Windsor Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) at the meeting, has worked with the Kings for a handful of years because the association runs out of CPA. "I've seen it in action how quickly James King can get things going," he said. Coun. Fred Francis supported exploring the idea further with ongoing discussions between city administration and the Kings. However, he thought doing so for this year wasn't possible. "That is what I would consider an act of God," he said, referring being able to have a new curling rink up and running by October. Whatever timelines end up being sorted out between the local curlers and city, one municipal staff member suggested "ice could be converted in a week," back to curling sheets. Terry Fink, who represents a Windsor group focused on saving the sport long-term in the city, called a modified curling season at Capri as a "fair resolution." "In principle, I think that may be a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to curl," he said before city council.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Central N.L. man has plan to fix his painful skin condition. The province won't help with MCP
Warning: This story contains images some might find disturbing. He's looking for a normal life, an education, a career and independence. A life where he is not hospitalized every two months due to severe hidradenitis suppurativa. At age 23, James King has spent more time getting surgeries and in the hospital recovering than most spend in a lifetime. He says he's sick of it. "It's been a struggle on my well-being, it's been a struggle on my mental health and my physical overall health as well," King told CBC News. "Unfortunately, there's been points where I've been bedridden with this, points where I can't get up with this." Hidradenitis suppurativa is a long-term skin condition that causes abscesses and scarring on the skin. According to the Canadian Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation, the exact cause is unknown, but it occurs near hair follicles where there are sweat glands, usually around the groin, buttocks, breasts and armpits. It affects one to three per cent of the population. "Patients often suffer for years without effective treatment, leaving them frustrated in addition to helpless and ashamed," the foundation's website states. "Many have stopped seeking medical attention as a result of ineffective therapies." To treat the disease, King has tried antibiotics, biologics — drugs such as proteins and genes — and injections, but nothing is working. Now he wants to try laser hair removal, but the Newfoundland and Labrador government won't cover the procedure under MCP. "I've applied for special coverage and they've come back to me [saying] this is a non-insured, non-prior authorized process, and they came back saying that this is something I had to cover out of my own pocket," King said. Studies support laser hair removal King has support for using laser hair removal to combat the disease. His doctors have written to the province recommending the treatment as a possible fix, and requesting it be covered under MCP. Additionally, according to the Mayo Clinic — a large integrated, not-for-profit medical group practice — a carbon dioxide laser can be used to make hidradenitis suppurativa sores go away. After this treatment, the sores are unlikely to return, says the clinic's website, and that laser hair removal can help hidradenitis suppurativa in its early stages. The Canadian Dermological Association says laser hair removal, which destroys hair follicles, can help prevent new lesions from forming in hair-bearing areas of the underarms and pubic area. However, the provincial health department is not considering it at this time. Province not talking No one from the Department of Health was made available for an interview, and the department wouldn't discuss King's case due to privacy concerns. In an email response to CBC's interview request, the department also wouldn't address questions about laser hair removal as an option for hidradenitis suppurativa patients. Instead, the statement said the lieutenant governor-in-council establishes insured services in accordance with the Medical Care and Hospital Insurance Act. "The process to establish new fee codes for physician services is contained in the memorandum of agreement between the Newfoundland Labrador Medical Association and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador," it read. "The MCP Payment Schedule Review Committee … is responsible for receiving applications for new fee codes in order to ensure that the MCP payment schedule includes appropriate fee codes for new physician services that become available in the province, and for the overall maintenance of the integrity of the MCP payment schedule." In a letter King received from the department, it said MCP often provides funding for "insured virtual and in-person out-of-province consultation and medical services for complex medical cases such as these when conditions of insurability and all legislative and policy requirements for payment are met." Constantly in and out of hospital King, originally from Labrador West but now living with his grandparents in Glovertown, says the condition has consumed the past three years of his life. "Since January 2024, I've been back and forth and had nine operations, just in this past year alone," he said. "I've had three hospitalizations ranging anywhere from 12 to 37 days in total. And that's just [in] this past year." The cysts he has had removed are large, up to two fists in size, he said, and they have gone two to three inches deep. "Down into the muscle layer where, you know, you've gone below that subcutaneous surface. These are completely into the actual flesh itself. You have had to remove the piece of flesh," he said. "This isn't just as simple as cutting into the flesh itself for this disease because there's pockets … and you have to remove the full pocket of the infection." Moving past it difficult King wants to get on with his life, to build a career and move beyond the debilitating disease. "Life definitely has not been easy in the past few years, and I'm definitely trying to work somewhere to get better with it," he said. He says he doesn't understand why MCP is recommending he go out of province to seek help, when a possible solution of laser hair removal can be done in this province. He's also looking at hiring a lawyer to fight on his behalf. King says he's taken an interest in the work of those who have helped him along the way, and would like to study paramedicine if, and when, the disease releases the stranglehold on his life.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Glovertown man desperate to ‘get back living again' — and MCP coverage for autoimmune disorder treatment
James King is 23, but has had nine operations in the last year. The autoimmune disorder, hidradenitis suppurativa, is a long-term, painful skin condition. While King has the support of his doctors to try a new treatment, the Newfoundland and Labrador government won't cover it.
ABC News
06-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Reusing empty city buildings could help solve the housing and homelessness crisis
Wrapped around the entrance of a building in Melbourne's CBD is a glossy artwork depicting a dark sky with luminous stars. Perhaps it says here is a place where it will be possible to dream again — or at least get a good night's sleep. Beyond the starry foyer is a six-story council-owned building. Called Make Room, it has been transformed into 50 homes for people who were experiencing homelessness. Before it was renovated, the building was being used for storage by the City of Melbourne. A graveyard of parade floats and memorabilia from past Moomba Festivals sat gathering dust in otherwise empty rooms. In the middle of a housing crisis, when a sizeable amount of commercial real estate is sitting vacant, the Make Room project is billed as a blueprint for giving under-utilised buildings new life as residential spaces and lowering carbon emissions in the process. And at a time when some councils are James King, CEO of non-profit housing provider Unison Housing which operates Make Room, says he's unaware of any other projects where a local council has taken the lead on addressing housing shortages and homelessness in this way. "They put the property up and then they also underwrote the entire project," he says. Artist Matthew Harris designed the artwork at the entrance of Make Room. ( Supplied: City of Melbourne ) Addressing housing shortages The empty building Make Room took over is a relic of a bygone young city. These days it is dwarfed by the glassy skyscrapers that surround it. When it was built as an electricity supply building it helped power "the expansion of the city", according to heritage review documents. Now, it might help create the city of the future again. Almost a fifth of Melbourne's office spaces are empty, according to the Property Council of Australia – the highest CBD office vacancy in the country. While the national vacancy rate — for both CDB and non-CBD offices — was 14.7 per cent in January when the data was collated. From a sustainability perspective, repurposing and recycling — rather than demolishing an existing structure and building a new one — is desirable. Building a new structure uses more materials and creates more embodied carbon — the carbon emissions associated with the materials and construction process. But converting commercial buildings, particularly offices, into homes pose challenges. Photo shows The inside of an office, with square carpet tiles and two rows of chairs. The idea of turning offices underused in the wake of COVID into housing is a hot topic. But experts say such projects are few and far between in Australia for a reason, and creating affordable housing from office buildings is harder than it seems. Gavin Salt of iC2 Architects, which designed Make Room, says improving the building's accessibility and thermal performance while working within a heritage overlay was the most challenging aspect of the project. But Salt says the building had some characteristics ("great floor to floor heights and access to natural day light… [and] shape and building structure") which lent itself easily to conversion — something many office buildings don't have. The City of Melbourne has established guidelines to encourage building owners to repurpose under-utilised mid-tier office buildings — and improve their energy efficiency. Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece says such transformations are key to addressing "urban challenges such as a growing housing shortage'. It is also central to the council's aim of reaching 100 per cent renewable energy use by 2030 and zero net emissions by 2040. In 2023, then-Lord Major Sally Capp said commercial buildings accounted for 'almost 60 per cent of the city's carbon emissions'. 'Melbourne needs to retrofit about 80 properties each year to meet our climate goals. Currently, we average seven,' she said. Across the county, the commercial building sector is responsible for around Rough sleepers began moving into Make Room, which lies in Melbourne's CBD, earlier this year. ( ABC News: Rhiannon Stevens ) Housing First... sort of Make Room, which cost $24.9 million – $9.1 million paid by council and the rest by the state government and philanthropists – gives residents 12-month leases in small, self-contained studio apartments along with support-staff to help them build a life off the streets (this includes access to specialist health services such as mental health care, podiatry, physiotherapy, dietetics and dental care). The Victorian government has provided $5.2 million over two years for on-site support and tenancy management. It did not respond to specific ABC questions asking if it would continue to fund Make Room after the initial operational funding is exhausted. Make Room follows many of the principles of the Housing First policy developed in the US in the 1990s, which gives people experiencing homelessness immediate permanent housing, then provides wrap-around support services. The model doesn't place conditions, such as adherence to mental health or drug and alcohol treatment programs, as a prerequisite. Celine Kostense, Unison's Housing First Practice Lead, says if people "don't have to worry 'where am I going to sleep tonight?' what we see is that they can focus on different areas in their lives". Maybe this is re-connecting with family, addressing health or substance abuse issues, learning how to become a responsible tenant, striving for a job or education or contributing to their local community. Kostense, who is Dutch and has worked on Housing First programs in the Netherlands, says she'll never forget the first time she gave someone the keys to their own house in Amsterdam. "It wasn't just the house, it was her life… That made me feel like I can literally work together with someone to create a new life." Celine Kostense, pictured in Make Room's rooftop garden, is a proponent of Housing First policy. ( ABC News: Rhiannon Stevens ) According to a But King calls Make Room a "quasi" Housing First project because it doesn't provide permanent housing — possibly the most fundamental aspect of the model. "We're applying Housing First principles in the sense that it's trauma informed, it's immediate, there aren't conditions on [people] moving into the building and we address a range of other needs once they're housed, but that long-term permanent, secure housing I think is a really critical element [of Housing First]." There is a question mark hanging above residents' heads at Make Room: where will they go next? 'Not in the business of making people homeless' Make Room aims to transition residents into long-term accommodation within 12 months, but King says the time frame is flexible. "If that housing and support is not available come the 12 months, I'm not in the business of making people homeless again. So those residents will stay," he says. Part of Make Room's purpose, according to King, is breaking down stigma among housing providers who see former rough sleepers as "a challenging cohort to house". "We're hoping that their time at Make Room will give a lot of Community Housing providers confidence that … [residents] can sustain a tenancy, that they can abide by their lease agreement, and they can be meaningful contributors to that community," he says. One of the studio apartments at Make Room, which architect Gavin Salt says demonstrates the viability of converting commercial spaces to residential. Then there is the larger problem that up to this point no-one has been able to solve: there simply isn't enough housing available. There are now more than 55,000 people on the waitlist for social housing in Victoria alone. Even if social housing were available, many residents would need continued supportive accommodation after their time at Make Room, King says. The City of Melbourne's attempt to fund a pathway out of homelessness is a marked contrast to councils seeking to penalise rough sleepers. Recently, Moreton Bay Council "We're in the middle of a housing and homelessness crisis… we all need to play our part in creating and finding a solution," Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece says. Reece presides over a city which has an estimated shortfall of 6,000 affordable rentals. "If we do nothing this will almost quadruple to more than 23,000 by 2036," he says. Make Room demonstrates, according to Salt, "the viability of converting commercial spaces to residential" and he hopes it will inspire other projects. "We need to look at innovative ways of providing more housing quicker and more efficiently," he says. "There is a huge danger we won't meet our environmental commitments if we don't accelerate the case for the productive use of empty and underperforming buildings, his colleague Claire Bowles says. "Not only for the sake of sufficiency and embodied carbon but also for much needed housing and social infrastructure quicker and at a lower cost."
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Discover Pass fee increase considered by WA legislature
Apr. 8—OLYMPIA — Washington State Senate Bill 5390, which proposes to increase the cost of the Discover Pass and day-use permits, was the subject of discussion during a recent hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations. The bill aims to update fees that have remained unchanged since their implementation in 2011 and address a growing budget deficit in state recreational programs. The bill passed the Senate with a 29-20 vote. Senate Democrats voted in favor, with the exception of Sen. Adrian Cortes, D-Battle Ground. All Republican senators voted no. The Discover Pass, established by the Washington State Legislature and governor in 2011, is required to access to Washington's state recreation lands. It includes entry to over 100 developed state parks, 350-plus primitive recreation sites, nearly 700 water-access points, approximately 2,000 miles of trails, and more than 110 natural and wildlife areas. The pass was created to mitigate reduced tax support for state parks and facilities managed by Washington State Parks, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources. The charge for a Discover Pass now is $30, while a day-use permit costs $10. If passed, the new legislation would raise the fee for the Discover Pass to $45 and the daily permit fee to $15. Proponents of the bill argue that such adjustments are necessary to keep pace with inflation and ensure the sustainability of state parks and recreational facilities. At a House hearing, James King of Citizens for Parks and Recreation highlighted what he said was the necessity of raising fees. "This adjustment is essential for accounting for inflation since 2011 and ensuring our parks can continue to provide quality outdoor experiences," he said. "We expect to see an increase in revenue which will bolster the essential services our parks provide." As noted in the hearing, 84% of the revenue generated from the pass goes to the state parks account, with 8% allocated to both WDFW and DNR. However, the bill also proposes to increase the revenue threshold for equitable funding distribution from $71 million to $100 million, a move that has drawn criticism. Opponents of the bill express concern that raising this threshold would disproportionately affect the funding available to WDFW and DNR. "We support increasing the Discover Pass fee from $30 to $45, but we urge a more balanced revenue distribution. The bill's current version shortchanges DNR and DFW by raising the threshold for equitable funding," Kelly Jung, president of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club said. John Floberg, representing the Washington State Parks Foundation, echoed these sentiments and urged legislators to reconsider the threshold increase. "Moving the threshold goalposts puts equitable distribution definitely out of reach for all users. This will result in a 50% cost increase but a reduction in service for users on DNR lands," Floberg said. The fiscal analysis accompanying SB 5390 estimates an increase in revenue of approximately $15 million in the 2025-2027 biennium, with state parks expected to receive the majority share of that figure. However, the projected increase is overshadowed by the ongoing financial strain on these agencies. During the public testimony, Melissa Palmer, representing Friends of Shafer Lake State Park, communicated her concerns on the legislation. "The Discover Pass is a core component of the funding for the entire agency versus our sister agencies and the program that they have. We cannot afford to go backward," she said. "This adjustment would prevent us from slipping back into the financial crisis we faced in 2009." Jeff Chapman, representing Back Country Horsemen of Washington, expressed his worry that the proposed changes "violate the original spirit of the agreement" set forth when the Discover Pass was established. Chapman requested a reconsideration of the distribution model that would ensure more balanced funding across all agencies responsible for managing state recreational lands. Despite the challenges presented by the bill, supporters emphasized its potential to sustain Washington state's recreation areas. "The Discover Pass has become a mainstay for maintaining our hundreds of recreation sites," said State Parks Legislative Director Brian Considine. "This is not just about one particular program; it's about sustaining the entire state park system." The fate of SB 5390 and its potential impact on Washington's recreational access remains uncertain. The bill was heard in the House on April 3.
