Latest news with #JohnKent
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
John Kent John C. Kent, age 82, of Corrales, New Mexico,
May 24—John Kent John C. Kent, age 82, of Corrales, New Mexico, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at home on May 5, 2025. A mathematician by profession and a passion for sports, John carved out a distinctive career collecting and analyzing sports injury datawork that became foundational in the emerging world of legal sports gambling. Outside of his professional life, John had a deep love for sports, especially hockey. He spent hours watching games and following his favorite teams. John is survived by his daughter Mary Kent, and grandchildren, Paxton and Lennon. John's brother William Kent died 2 days later. They will both be deeply missed by all. He will be remembered for his sharp mind, his quick wit, and his lifelong devotion to animal rescue. A private service will be announced later.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Thurrock Council elects Labour leader Lynn Worrall
A council that was bankrupted after a series of failed solar farm investments has elected a new Worrall has taken charge of Thurrock Council in Essex and said it was a "responsibility I take extremely seriously".She replaced her Labour colleague John Kent, who announced his resignation last month and blamed the "disastrous Conservative borrowing and investment policy" for the authority's "precarious position".Speaking after a council meeting on Wednesday, where a new cabinet was also chosen, Worrall said she was "committed to being open, honest and transparent". She continued: "The strongest asset this borough has is our wonderful communities; my job is to make sure that those communities have a voice in all that we do and are given all that they need to thrive and grow right here in Thurrock."Since May 2024, Worrall had been the council's deputy leader. Massive debts Thurrock Council went through a major financial crisis following a series of failed investments in solar announced a budget gap of nearly £500m and issued a Section 114 notice - the local authority equivalent of authority's former chief finance officer, Sean Clark, resigned from his role in January 2023, leaving them with debts of about £ was later barred from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants for at least five Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said he "recklessly provided misleading information to council members, and therefore to the public". When Kent announced his resignation, he said the council still had debts of about £900m and needed to borrow £74m to meet its budget this offered his "unequivocal support" to his will remain in the cabinet, overseeing arts, culture and said it was a "real honour" to take over and said she would make sure all "voices are heard" and "reflected in all that we do". Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Essex leaders want cut-down model of five councils
The majority of council leaders in Essex have lent their support to the idea of having five all-purpose authorities in the county, in what will be a radical shake-up of local democracy. The current two-tier system of 15 district, unitary and county councils in Essex would be dramatically changed as part of the plan. Ten out of the 15 political leaders favour the five-council proposal, which is due to be sent to government by 21 March. One of the leaders in favour - Basildon's Gavin Callaghan (Lab) - previously told the BBC it was a "real opportunity to take back control" of services. Councillors across the county are due to discuss this over the next week, but Westminster will ultimately make a decision. The interim plan on Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex states that this model will retain "a sense of local place and communities". The Conservative leaders of Harlow, Braintree, Epping and Essex county have not backed the five-council model - and neither has Thurrock's Labour leader John Kent. The Labour government has been encouraging areas across England to put together devolution plans, and to elect regional mayors who will be given more powers. The five new councils in Essex would be unitary authorities, meaning they take charge of all local services such as bin collections, highways and social care. Essex County Council's social care currently takes up more than half its £1bn budget. Each unitary authority would govern between 320,000 to 500,000 people and would have an estimated 60-90 elected members - which the Essex plan says will ultimately cut down the number of councillors across the county. Politically, the fewer and larger the councils are in Essex, the more likely the Conservatives would win control. This is on the basis of how people in the county have voted in recent elections. And this is partly why Labour and other parties have been calling for five and the Tories preferring fewer. Essex County Council leader Kevin Bentley, who favours larger unitary authorities, said: "The worst outcome for local government reorganisation in Essex would be to recreate the mistakes of the past elsewhere in designing new councils that are too small in terms of population and income – meaning people ending up paying out more in council tax which means less money for family budgets." Elections to the new councils are expected in May 2027 and they will take over from existing councils in April 2028. This May's county council elections were cancelled to allow local authorities to focus on developing the reorganisation plans. Chelmsford City Council's Liberal Democrat leader Stephen Robinson said: "Dissembling the county and district councils: that is the difficult bit." Existing contracts will have to be split, changed and ended, and staff moved into the new councils. The Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Greens argued that the elections should still have gone ahead. Elections for the first Greater Essex mayor, representing 1.8 million people, are planned for May 2026. The report notes that the role of the police, fire and crime commissioner will end and its roles will be taken on by the new mayor. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Council shake-up sees elections delayed in nine areas Could three Essex councils become one? Essex calls to scrap elections and reform councils Local Government Reorganisation in Greater Essex - Interim Plan Government policy on English Devolution and reorganisation
BBC News
07-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Essex devolution: Council leaders back five-authority model
The majority of council leaders in Essex have lent their support to the idea of having five all-purpose authorities in the county, in what will be a radical shake-up of local current two-tier system of 15 district, unitary and county councils in Essex would be dramatically changed as part of the out of the 15 political leaders favour the five-council proposal, which is due to be sent to government by 21 of the leaders in favour - Basildon's Gavin Callaghan - previously told the BBC it was a "real opportunity to take back control" of services. Councillors across the county are due to discuss this over the next week, but Westminster will ultimately make a interim plan on Local Government Reorganisation for Greater Essex states that this model will retain "a sense of local place and communities".The Conservative leaders of Harlow, Braintree, Epping and Essex county have not backed the five-council model - and neither has Thurrock's Labour leader John Kent. The Labour government has been encouraging areas across England to put together devolution plans, and to elect regional mayors who will be given more five new councils in Essex would be unitary authorities, meaning they take charge of all local services such as bin collections, highways and social County Council's social care currently takes up more than half its £1bn unitary authority would govern between 320,000 to 500,000 and would have an estimated 60-90 elected members - which the Essex plan says would ultimately cut down the number of councillors across the the fewer and larger the councils are in Essex, the more likely the Conservatives would win control. This is on the basis of how people in the county have voted in recent this is partly why Labour and other parties have been calling for five and the Tories preferring to the new councils are expected in May 2027 and the they would take over from existing councils in April May's county council elections were cancelled to allow local authorities to focus on developing the reorganisation City Council's Liberal Democrat leader Stephen Robinson said: "Dissembling the county and district councils: that is the difficult bit."Existing contracts will have to be split, changed and ended, and staff moved into the new Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Greens argued that the elections should still have gone ahead. Elections for the first Greater Essex mayor, representing 1.8 million people, are planned for May report notes that the role of the police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) will end and its roles will be taken on by the new mayor. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
