Latest news with #JohnRyan
Malaysian Reserve
4 days ago
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Janome Unveils New Memory Craft Embroidery Machine Line
Innovation Meets Accessibility with Three New Models Designed to Inspire Creativity MAHWAH, N.J., July 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Janome America, Inc., a leader in sewing innovation for over a century, proudly announces the launch of its new Memory Craft Embroidery Machine Series—a revitalized lineup that combines cutting-edge technology, user-friendly design, and affordability. The new series includes the Memory Craft 9850LE, Memory Craft 1000, and Memory Craft 100E, all crafted to make professional-quality embroidery more accessible than ever. Building on the legacy of the original Memory Craft 8000, the first professional-style home embroidery machine released in 1990, Janome continues its tradition of pioneering innovation by leveraging its expertise in industrial robotics and precision design. 'This new Memory Craft series represents a bold new chapter for Janome's mid-line embroidery collection,' said John Ryan, Vice President of Business Development at Janome America, Inc. 'We're making machine embroidery more approachable, more creative, and more fun for a broader audience—from beginners to seasoned sewists.' Three New Machines, Endless Possibilities All three models in the collection will launch with MSRPs under $2,000, making them ideal entry points for new machine embroidery enthusiasts while still offering advanced features for experienced creators. Memory Craft 1000This sewing and embroidery combo machine offers flexibility and function in one sleek design. It includes: 300 built-in stitches, 3 fonts, and 7mm maximum stitch width 8 included presser feet and on-screen stitch presets with foot recommendations 241 built-in embroidery designs and a maximum 5.5″ x 5.5″ embroidery area A seamless switch between sewing and embroidery with the push of a lever Compact design, compatible with optional free arm hoops for hard-to-reach spaces Memory Craft 100EPerfect for users who already have a beloved sewing machine or want to multitask, the MC100E is an embroidery-only model with: The same embroidery platform as the MC1000 Several exclusive embroidery collections Small footprint, perfect for a secondary machine to your main sewing machine Memory Craft 9850LEDesigned for advanced sewists and quilters, this Limited Edition model includes: 9mm stitch width, extended 8.1″ sewing bed Large maximum 6.7″ x 7.9″ embroidery field and compatibility with 3.9″ x 1.6″ free arm hoop Built-in Sewing Applications menu for stitch presets by task A robust tool for precision work and large-scale creativity All machines in the new Memory Craft lineup encompass support features. The Memory Craft 1000 and Memory Craft 100E include QR code access to video tutorials, stitch charts, and troubleshooting guides right from your mobile device. Created for the Modern Maker Whether you're customizing clothes, designing intricate cosplay costumes, adding flair to home décor, or crafting heirloom-quality gifts, Janome's new machines deliver the tools and inspiration to bring any vision to life. From small monograms on baby onesies to bold patterns on quilts—or perfectly stitched details on your next convention-ready ensemble—the creative possibilities are limitless. Availability The Memory Craft 1000 and Memory Craft 100E will be available exclusively through authorized Janome dealers in the U.S. and Canada starting July 25, 2025. The Memory Craft 9850LE will follow with availability beginning in early September. To learn more or locate your nearest dealer, visit About Janome America, America, Inc. is the largest sales subsidiary of the Janome Corporation of Japan. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, Janome is a global leader in sewing machine innovation, known for its user-friendly technology, exceptional stitch quality, and dedication to empowering makers. Janome machines are sold in over 100 countries and supported by a passionate global team of more than 3,500 employees.
Irish Independent
17-07-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Wexford principal‘s desperate plea for school to be added to safe routes scheme – ‘I can't stand by and look at the potential threats to life'
And while there haven't been any fatalities outside of the school to date, its principal John Ryan lives in constant fear that one day an unwanted local statistic will change. 'There's been multiple deaths within a two-mile radius of the school over the last 10-15 years,' he says. 'The number of deaths speak for themselves, they're not directly related to the school itself but it just shows you the dangers the N30 poses.' Although Clonroche NS has a relativity small number of students (101), there are continual issues in how those children are dropped off and collected outside the school every day. Those children come from 71 different families, and those families, those parents and guardians, have just 19 car parking spaces to inch in and out of every morning and afternoon. And they must do so with HGVs hurtling past them, with heavy traffic and excited children obscuring their views, with all the added stresses of ensuring the safety of both themselves and other motorists. In an effort to alleviate these problems, to make life for everyone at the school safer, Mr Ryan is calling for Clonroche NS to be added to the Safe Routes to School Scheme (SRSS) as a matter of urgency. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Scheme is a nationwide programme designed to make it safer for children to walk and cycle to school. It focuses on improving infrastructure like walking paths and cycle lanes, enhancing safety at school entrances, and increasing bike-parking facilities. However, because of its location, Clonroche NS is not ideally suited to the scheme. 'We're very unique in that we're one of the only schools in Ireland on a national road,' said Mr Ryan. 'We are on the list for the safe routes to school, but there's no guarantee as to when it will come. While we would welcome the SRSS team coming here to do what they can, we don't really know and they don't really know what it's going to look like or when it's going to be. "We were told it was going to be soon and it was done on a basis of need, but if you spend ten minutes outside the gate here you'd see it's very needed.' Niamh Murphy is mother of three children who currently attend the school. She is also a member of the parents' association and was involved in a recent survey which underlined just how dangerous it is for those exiting and entering the school on a daily basis. 'The green schools travel officer Lucy Murphy carried out a survey in 2023, it was conducted between the hours of 2-3 p.m.' she said. 'In that time there were 193 vehicles going past the school, and 89 per cent of them were exceeding the speed limit passing the school. 39 per cent of those were travelling over 65 kmh.' ADVERTISEMENT Given the situation, Niamh and the other parents have made a concerted effort to educate their children on road safety, to stress the utmost importance in exiting the school gates in an orderly fashion. But even then there are variables, outside factors which can't be accounted for. 'There's cars in the spaces, cars behind those cars, children getting in and out of cars, onto buses, all beside a national road,' she says. 'As much as you educate your children on road safety you can't account for other road users.' Part of the problem, according to Mr Ryan, is that many of those passing through the village aren't fully aware of the school's location, don't realise there are children nearby until it's too late. 'Coming from the New Ross side, while there are signs warning there's a school ahead, you're past the school before you realise it, because you're going at speed,' he says, 'From the village side you're going a bit slower but even at that there's extreme speeds. There's a huge volume of traffic. We don't have the liberty of putting out the speed cameras but it doesn't take a genius to see how fast they're going. 'Home times are split, but it's still hectic, we have 71 families altogether and 19 car parking spaces. Mayhem is the only way to describe it. We have a duty of care to the children, the parents, and the staff, I can't stand by and look at the potential threats to life, there's no other way of saying it.' The current layout of the school and its surrounds makes walking or cycling to class something which all those associated with the school are reluctant to recommend. 'There's isn't parking available in the village, so there's no alternative for many of those 71 families,' said Niamh. 'I've walked my son to the school and your heart is constantly in your mouth, the speed of the HGVs going past would almost pull you off the path.' A proposed bike shelter for the school was vetoed for the same reason, the board of management agreeing that no child should be encouraged to cycle alongside the N30 at the current time. Norma Doyle was the principal at Clonroche NS prior to Mr Ryan's appointment and she says this is an issue which predates her successor's arrival, an issue which those involved with the school have been raising for over 20 years. 'This has been going on since 2004 when the campaign started,' she says. 'Wexford County Council (WCC) has admitted this is an exceptional situation; I know it's bound by rules and regulations and bye-laws, but our argument is if it's an exceptional situation exceptions should be made.' However, in terms of the Safe Routes to School scheme, WCC must work alongside Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the state body responsible for our national roads. 'The council's hands are tied to a certain extent,' accepts Mr Ryan, 'but we need to sit down with representatives from WCC and TII to discuss this in greater detail. The safe routes scheme is fantastic, but it might not work perfectly if it's the same plan applied here as a school on a smaller road.' Keen to stress that Clonroche NS has a lot going for it, that its parents responded positively to a recent survey carried out by the board of management, Mr Ryan says the last thing anyone wants is for the school to be characterised by this one issue. 'We have implemented a number of measures to increase safety outside the school including road safety lessons with the RSA, and a stay safe programme. Outside of that we are a member of the Green Schools, Active Schools, and Creative Schools programmes, we have an extensive music curriculum and perform concerts every Christmas, and our students participate in the Rackard League and the mini-sevens every year.' 'In addition, we are a Digital School of Excellence, a STAR School (Supporting Traveller and Roma) and take part in the Living Arts project annually,' Yet the traffic issues remain. Some of the responses to that survey highlight the concerns parents have. 'For the sake of the children and everybody's health, parents collecting their children should turn off their engines while waiting,' one writes. 'The speed of the vehicles coming into Clonroche is terrible, people are pulling out/in taking risks and then being blown off the road by angry drivers. It's just very hectic.' Councillor Bridín Murphy is the chair of the Clonroche NS board of management and she is urging TII to consider the school for the safe routes scheme for 2026. 'The traffic conditions on the N30 outside Clonroche National School are simply not safe. Each morning and afternoon, parents and children face high-speed traffic on a national primary route with inadequate safety infrastructure, and fast-moving HGVs. This stretch of the N30 is under the responsibility of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and it's clear it must act now. "This stretch of road from Green's corner to Leeches Bend is dangerous. I'm calling on TII to urgently install traffic-calming features. The safety of our young school children must be TII's top priority.'
News.com.au
15-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Drug of choice: Sneak peek inside Fitzroy's mock cannabis shop
A mock cannabis store has opened in Fitzroy as part of a campaign to legalise and regulate the drug. The pop-up shop in Brunswick St will show how cannabis could be sold in a controlled environment. The Penington Institute is behind the initiative as it launches a blueprint to show Australian states how they can regulate non-medicinal cannabis use for adults. Penington chief executive John Ryan said the shop and policy launch was not about promoting cannabis use. 'It's about taking back control,'' he said. 'Regulation means strict oversight, clear controls on access and use and penalties for trafficking. 'It means resources for police to focus on serious crime.'' Canada and more than 24 American states have already embraced legalised sale of cannabis, Mr Ryan said. 'It's all about harm minimisation.'' The look of the Fitzroy shop is deliberately low key and meant to reflect the utilitarian style of many shops in the US. It will be open for a week and no drugs will be sold. The Penington plan includes controls for adult use only, a ban on advertising, plain packaging, potency limits and no public consumption. Under the proposals, the state governments would become a licensing agent for legal cannabis stores. Mr Ryan said a majority of Australians in all demographics supported legalised and regulated cannabis use. And a YouGov survey conducted last month for the institute found that 57 per cent of Victorians supported law changes to allow adults to buy cannabis legally – similar to alcohol – but with more safety and regulatory controls.
West Australian
01-07-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Calls for Government action to tackle crisis level of drug deaths after Penington Institute findings
A planeload of Australians are dying every month to drug overdoses, a new analysis of fatality statistics has shown, sparking calls for more work from governments to tackle the crisis. A new snapshot by the Penington Institute found while overall numbers of drug-induced deaths fell slightly in 2023, there was a growing share of those over 50 dying from unintentional overdoses. The 2272 Australians killed by an overdose in 2023 marked a 10th consecutive year of more than 2000 deaths — roughly the equivalent of a Boeing 737 once a month — and almost twice the national road toll of 1315. Opioids were the most common drug overdosed on, at 43.9 per cent, while benzodiazepines overtook stimulants as the second-placed drug. The snapshot comes ahead of a full report in August, which last year showed WA had recorded the highest per capita rate of overdoses for more than 10 years. Penington Institute chief executive John Ryan said the figures showed how persistent overdoses were in Australia. 'A decade of losing more than 2000 Australians to overdose annually marks a sombre milestone,' he said. 'Governments need to tackle overdose with the same level of energy and enthusiasm used to reduce alcohol and tobacco harm in Australia. We need a comprehensive national overdose response strategy to end the overdose crisis. 'We already know what works to reduce overdose deaths. 'The data tells us that opioids remain the largest contributor to fatal drug overdoses. One relatively cheap and easy solution is giving potential overdose witnesses wider access to naloxone, a life-saving opioid reversal treatment already proven to save lives.' The alarming figures come as a new study will be released on Wednesday showing Generation Xs — those born between 1962 and 1982 — are more likely to die from methamphetamine use. The study, published in the journal Addiction, found the demographic experienced the highest risk of dying from methamphetamine-related causes, such as overdose and cardiovascular disease. While meth deaths have increased fourfold since the start of the century, the rates among younger users declined. Among the reasons for the broader rise were a stigma around drug use, misinformation and limited access to tailored support services. 'Many people who use drugs are ageing, and the support systems in place are not designed with their needs in mind,' study author Oisin Stronach said. 'These deaths are complex, often involving multiple substances. Yet much of our service sector remains geared toward people using opioids, leaving people who use methamphetamines — particularly older people — underserved.' Burnet Senior Research Fellow Dr Amanda Roxburgh said the societal stigma around methamphetamine use was a clear barrier to accessing care. 'Methamphetamine is arguably the most stigmatised drug in Australia. That stigma not only isolates people but also deters them from seeking help,' Dr Roxburgh said. 'If we want to save lives, we need to ensure equitable access to health services for all people who use drugs — regardless of their age or substance of choice.'
ABC News
01-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Prescription drug overdoses driving death toll
Isabella Higgins: In just one year, more than 2,000 Australians died of a drug overdose. Most were unintentional deaths. That's the stark headline figure of new analysis being released this week looking into drug-induced deaths. And advocates say illegal drugs aren't the only problem. Here's National Health Equity reporter, Caitlyn Gribbin. Caitlyn Gribbin: There's a stereotype about drug-related deaths that John Ryan wants to put a stop to. John Ryan : That idea that it's only illegal drugs is wrong. The overdose toll is actually made up of some people that inject drugs, definitely, but much of the overdose toll is people that are using pharmaceutical drugs, prescription drugs. Caitlyn Gribbin: John Ryan's the chief executive of the Penington Institute, a not-for-profit drug research group. It's released new research revealing 189 fatal overdoses every four weeks. Proof, Mr Ryan insists, that a new approach is needed to deal with dangerous drug use. John Ryan : We're losing the equivalent of a Boeing 737 full of Australians every month. The overdose toll has long exceeded the road toll. Caitlyn Gribbin: Early analysis of the report breaks down the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data on drug-induced deaths, which is from 2023. Overdose deaths were down 6% on the previous year, but John Ryan says figures will increase when ABS data revisions come in. The numbers are confronting, with nearly 2,300 people dying of a drug overdose. More than three-quarters were unintentional deaths. Opioids such as heroin and pharmaceutical opioids remain the most common drug type involved in unintentional deaths, contributing to almost half. But the proportion of drug-related fatalities involving stimulants such as methamphetamine and also cocaine increased on previous years. Amanda Roxburgh : Australia is a major destination for methamphetamine. We've got high numbers of large seizures being detected at our borders. Caitlyn Gribbin: Amanda Roxburgh, a senior research fellow and clinical psychologist at medical research organisation the Burnet Institute, says the highly potent crystal methamphetamine is the predominant stimulant drug now being used in Australia. Amanda Roxburgh : We're not only seeing increases in deaths related to methamphetamine, but we're also seeing increases in methamphetamine-related hospitalisations. So it's relatively cheap to buy and it's really readily available. Caitlyn Gribbin: The Penington analysis also found drug-induced deaths involving stimulants overtook benzodiazepines like Valium as the second most common drug type involved in fatal overdoses. Most drug overdoses are polysubstance overdoses. They involve more than one drug. John Ryan says pharmaceutical opioids such as codeine and oxycodone and those from the benzodiazepine family such as diazepam or Valium are commonly involved in overdose deaths. John Ryan : The daughter of a friend of mine who went through a messy divorce ended up on benzodiazepines to manage the stress and anxiety and one night drank a bit more red wine than normal, fell asleep on the couch and was found dead the next day. An absolutely tragic example of a middle-aged woman with two young children who died from a combination of prescribed pharmaceuticals and alcohol. Most of these deaths are occurring in private homes and often it's lounge rooms in suburbia and regional and rural towns. Caitlyn Gribbin: Mr Ryan says only a small amount of funding goes to harm reduction such as overdose education, the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, drug testing and safe injecting facilities. A much bigger share goes to law enforcement. The full overdose report will be out this year. Isabella Higgins: Caitlin Gribbin reporting. In a statement the Federal Department of Health says the National Drug Strategy provides a commitment to harm minimisation through a balanced adoption of evidence-based demand, supply and harm reduction strategies.
