Latest news with #JohnHarding
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Private attorney bar advocates rally for higher wages in Massachusetts
BOSTON (WWLP) – Private attorneys who defend the poor, known as bar advocates, are calling on Massachusetts state lawmakers for a raise. Massachusetts has around 2,600 bar advocates, and all who are able are refusing to take on additional cases until their pay is raised. Bar advocates make around $65 an hour, less than half of neighboring states, despite the Bay State's higher cost of living. Supreme Court declines to hear student's bid to wear 'two genders' shirt to school Over half of these attorneys' hourly wage goes to inevitable overhead costs, and they are not paid for administrative time, nor do they have health or malpractice insurance, leading many to abandon the practice for more sustainable, higher-paying roles. 'The right to counsel, which is in the U.S. Constitution and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, will only be words,' said Sean Delaney, a Lowell attorney. Bar advocates handle 80% of public defender cases in Massachusetts, so their decision to step back will have an enormous impact on the court system. One Springfield lawyer told 22News about the appeal of public defender work despite low wages. 'It's very noble to do this type of work, it's very grassroots,' said John Harding of Harding Law in Springfield. 'A lot of the time, we're more counselors than we are attorneys.' Harding said that many passionate defenders are leaving Massachusetts for New Hampshire, Maine, and New York, which all pay double, among other states. Advocates emphasized that refusing to take on new clients is a last-ditch effort, and they are optimistic that they will be able to return to the work that they love soon. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- BBC News
Dartmoor case set to decide future of wild camping
The UK Supreme Court is set to rule on whether people have the legal right to wild camp on Dartmoor in a case that has reignited a debate over public access to camping has long been legal in Scotland under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, but in England there is no general right to wild camp on most private National Park in Devon is a rare exception, a place where hikers can pitch a tent under the stars without needing to ask. But that tradition was thrown into question in January 2023, when wealthy landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall won a High Court ruling that gave them the right to remove campers from their 4,000-acre estate on Stall Moor near Cornwood on the southern flanks of the moor. The Darwalls, who keep cattle on the land, argued that wild camping posed risks to livestock and the environment. Their legal team claimed that the 1985 Dartmoor Commons Act, which allows access for "open-air recreation," did not explicitly include overnight camping. But the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), backed by a coalition of campaigners and conservationists, contended that wild camping was a long-standing and integral part of Dartmoor's recreational heritage. The legal battle has drawn national attention not only because of its implications for public access, but also because of Dartmoor's cultural and ecological significance as it is home to pockets of temperate rainforest. When filmmaker and wild camper John Harding recorded a three-day trek across Dartmoor in April 2024 he said "the motivation was that the right to wild camp was under threat"."I was pretty incredulous, I didn't even imagine this would ever be something we'd have to debate," he Harding, Dartmoor was a place of connection and transformation. "I'd been camping on Dartmoor for about five years with friends and family," he said. "Myself and my father became much closer because of it. We had some amazing experiences trekking across the moor." 'It was magical' The 2024 trek was "hard going at times, particularly carrying filming equipment, tents, sleeping bags, sometimes 13 to 15 kilograms on your back," he said."But that's part of the appeal. You're not just looking at nature from the outside. You're challenging yourself to survive across it."The legality of wild camping, he believes, is crucial, not just for seasoned campers, but for those just starting out. "You get a much, much deeper connection to the land when you spend a night on it," he said."The first time we tried to cross the whole moor, me and four friends, we camped on the south side, laid out on the grass, and just watched shooting stars go by. "It was magical. That couldn't have happened if we couldn't wild camp." Campaigners like The Stars are for Everyone say the case has already sparked a renewed interest in access to land and they are calling for broader legislative change."Win or lose in the Supreme Court, we now want the government to step up and pass a right to roam act, to protect and extend public rights of access to nature across England," said spokesperson Lewis case has "really illustrated the problem at the heart of our access system", he said."At a time when we are so disconnected from the natural world, when we desperately need these opportunities for our mental health, our well-being, and our physical health, people should be able to do things like wild camp and learn to do it responsibly."It's wild camping on Dartmoor that offers that opportunity so brilliantly." The granite that forms Dartmoor goes back 300 million years and humankind has shaped it over the last 10,000 moors are dotted with ancient cairns, stone circles and about 37% of the park is classified as common land, though it remains privately owned, according to the Darwalls' land was at the centre of their challenge to the right to wild camp in response to their legal challenge, in January 2023, more than 3,000 people marched across the Darwalls' estate, carrying placards and a large puppet of Old Crockern, a mythical guardian of the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court ruling in July 2023, restoring the right to wild camp, for now. The Darwalls were granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, where the final decision now rests, with a decision due later.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
YouTube brings cheaper subscription tier to US with no ads, except for music
By Kenrick Cai SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet's YouTube on Wednesday rolled out a $7.99 monthly subscription service that is ad-free for most videos, except music, to create a plan to compete more directly with offerings from Netflix and Disney. The "Premium Lite" plan is aimed at customers who rarely watch music videos or listen to music. YouTube is a major player in the streaming music world, but the online video company has a substantial number of watchers who rarely use that function and may gravitate to the new service. YouTube's existing $13.99 Premium plan has no ads, including for music, while a separate $10.99 plan offers ad-free music videos and other videos with ads, essentially the reverse of the new plan. The new option fills a demand YouTube has been noticing for several years among users who already pay for other music streaming subscriptions. That dynamic is particularly apparent in the United States, where the market is led by Spotify and streaming offerings from Apple and Amazon. John Harding, a vice president of engineering, said the main focus of the new plan is to tap into a "much larger set of people" who otherwise might not consider paying for YouTube. "We didn't feel that we really got it matching the tier for users that don't need the music content, and so that's where this revision comes in," said Jack Greenberg, the product director for YouTube Premium. The company began testing Premium Lite last year in Australia, Germany and Thailand. The preliminary data showed a new user base of first-time subscribers paying for Premium Lite, Harding said, with some later upgrading to Premium. More people upgraded than the amount downgrading to the cheaper plan. YouTube announced Wednesday that it had eclipsed 125 million paying subscribers, up from 100 million in January 2024, though those figures include users who are signed up for temporary free trials. Ads comprise the majority of YouTube's revenue, accounting for $36 billion of Alphabet's $350 billion in overall 2024 revenue. But subscriptions are increasingly contributing to sales. Alphabet is secretive about sharing YouTube's subscription-based revenue, but CEO Sundar Pichai stated during an October call about the company's third-quarter results that YouTube's combined ad and subscription revenue surpassed $50 billion over the previous four quarters. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler also stated last year that subscriptions were boosting the bottom line for both YouTube and its content creators. Some details regarding the U.S. launch of Premium Lite were first reported by Bloomberg in February. YouTube in 2023 hiked the price of Premium and Music Premium by $2 and $1, respectively. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
05-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
YouTube brings cheaper subscription tier to US with no ads, except for music
SAN FRANCISCO, March 5 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab YouTube on Wednesday rolled out a $7.99 monthly subscription service that is ad-free for most videos, except music, to create a plan to compete more directly with offerings from Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab. The "Premium Lite" plan is aimed at customers who rarely watch music videos or listen to music. YouTube is a major player in the streaming music world, but the online video company has a substantial number of watchers who rarely use that function and may gravitate to the new service. YouTube's existing $13.99 Premium plan has no ads, including for music, while a separate $10.99 plan offers ad-free music videos and other videos with ads, essentially the reverse of the new plan. The new option fills a demand YouTube has been noticing for several years among users who already pay for other music streaming subscriptions. That dynamic is particularly apparent in the United States, where the market is led by Spotify (SPOT.N), opens new tab and streaming offerings from Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab. John Harding, a vice president of engineering, said the main focus of the new plan is to tap into a "much larger set of people" who otherwise might not consider paying for YouTube. "We didn't feel that we really got it matching the tier for users that don't need the music content, and so that's where this revision comes in," said Jack Greenberg, the product director for YouTube Premium. The company began testing Premium Lite last year in Australia, Germany and Thailand. The preliminary data showed a new user base of first-time subscribers paying for Premium Lite, Harding said, with some later upgrading to Premium. More people upgraded than the amount downgrading to the cheaper plan. YouTube announced Wednesday that it had eclipsed 125 million paying subscribers, up from 100 million in January 2024, though those figures include users who are signed up for temporary free trials. Ads comprise the majority of YouTube's revenue, accounting for $36 billion of Alphabet's $350 billion in overall 2024 revenue. But subscriptions are increasingly contributing to sales. Alphabet is secretive about sharing YouTube's subscription-based revenue, but CEO Sundar Pichai stated during an October call about the company's third-quarter results that YouTube's combined ad and subscription revenue surpassed $50 billion over the previous four quarters. Chief business officer Philipp Schindler also stated last year that subscriptions were boosting the bottom line for both YouTube and its content creators. Some details regarding the U.S. launch of Premium Lite were first reported by Bloomberg in February. YouTube in 2023 hiked the price of Premium and Music Premium by $2 and $1, respectively.
