Latest news with #KevinJackson
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
How 40 Manhattan Businesses Are Adapting to Congestion Pricing
Some customers have griped about having to pay the new $9 toll to drive to John's Pizzeria, a Greenwich Village institution, in the heart of the congestion pricing zone. One regular from Long Island swore he wouldn't pay on principle and hasn't returned. But four months into the tolling program, lines are still forming under the red awning of the famed pizzeria and, inside, the conversation has moved on. 'I really feel like that news cycle is over,' said Kevin Jackson, the restaurant's manager. But, he added: 'It's still a bitter pill, don't get me wrong. I'm against it.' The toll, which aims to unclog Manhattan's notorious traffic jams while raising funds for mass transit, appears to be working. Traffic is down, commutes are faster and mass transit ridership is up. While a majority of New Yorkers have yet to warm to the toll, recent polls have shown that there is a shift underway: Congestion pricing is quickly becoming a fact of life. To gauge the changing sentiment among business owners, workers and their customers, reporters for The New York Times went door to door along a stretch of Bleecker Street, between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue South, in Greenwich Village. The bustling corridor is home to shops and eateries, including John's Pizzeria and Murray's Cheese, a bike shop, a charter school, a church and a small park. W.14TH ST. BLEECKER ST. SEVENTH AVE. S. MANHATTAN West Village W.10TH ST. HUDSON ST. Greenwich Village SIXTH AVE. GREENWICH ST. Interviewed storefronts on this section of Bleecker St. WASHINGTON SQUARE park W. 3RD ST. BROADWAY BLEECKER ST. W. HOUSTON ST. By The New York Times Over two days, The Times asked 40 businesses about the effects of congestion pricing on their patrons, workers, sales, deliveries and costs. Interviews were conducted with owners, managers and workers, depending on who was available. A majority, 25 businesses, said that congestion pricing has had no significant impact. Ten said the toll has hurt their business, and four said it has been beneficial. One declined to comment. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Associated Press
28-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
National DigiFoundry and Mizzle Launch Innovation Sandbox for Blockchain, AI, and Web3 Research
San Antonio, TX March 27, 2025 --( The National DigiFoundry (NDF), a National Science Foundation-funded technology incubator driving blockchain innovation across critical sectors, today announced a strategic partnership with Mizzle, a decentralized cloud infrastructure and AI platform. Together, NDF and Mizzle will deploy a global decentralized innovation sandbox, enabling NDF members to test, build, and scale next-generation digital asset technologies in a secure, scalable, and sovereign environment. This collaboration creates a first-of-its-kind testbed for academic researchers, government technologists, and industry innovators exploring the frontiers of blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), decentralized computing, and Web3 applications. Hosted on Mizzle's robust, infrastructure, the sandbox offers unparalleled access to composable tools, cloud resources, and compute power designed for experimentation and commercialization. 'As a NSF-funded technology incubator, NDF is at the forefront of blockchain-driven advancements that impact critical industries, including healthcare, advanced manufacturing, supply chain management, energy, transportation, dynamic contracting, and Web 3.0-related services,' said Kevin Jackson, National DigiFoundry Operations Executive. 'Mizzle accelerates our mission to deploy transformative technologies into the federal government. The NDF is now well positioned to play a significant role in advancing the US Blockchain Roadmap.' Scalable, Secure, and Sovereign Digital Applications, Built on Decentralization The Mizzle-powered sandbox offers: • Decentralized Cloud Compute & Storage: Distributed infrastructure for permissionless hosting, deployment, and scaling. • Blockchain Development Toolkits: Support for Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, zero-knowledge proofs, and on-chain AI models. • Federated Learning & Edge AI: Privacy-preserving machine learning pipelines running across geographies and nodes. • Multicloud Interoperability: Integration with leading providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle, and Mizzle-native clusters. • Tokenization & Digital Asset Frameworks: Resources to develop and test token economies, NFT platforms, and dynamic digital identities. • Cybersecurity & Compliance Modules: Built-in tools for data governance, access control, and auditability across jurisdictional boundaries. 'Mizzle's infrastructure ensures that experimentation and deployment are resilient, scalable, and compliant with the decentralized ethos of Web3 and the operational requirements of real-world applications,' says Arjun Mishra, Founder & Director at Mizzle. Catalyzing the Next Wave of Digital Transformation This partnership builds on recent milestones in NDF's mission. In a landmark development, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) was awarded an Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) grant by the NSF to explore blockchain's role in boosting government efficiency and reducing operational costs. 'This is about more than technology—it's about enabling meaningful digital transformation across public and private sectors,' added Jackson. 'With Mizzle, we're laying the groundwork for an inclusive, decentralized digital economy rooted in open science, trustworthy data, and dynamic autonomy.' By integrating real-world challenges and future-facing technologies, NDF and Mizzle aim to redefine how digital infrastructure is built, governed, and used—from smart energy systems to AI-powered supply chains and beyond. Join the digital asset revolution by completing a membership form at About National DigiFoundry The National DigiFoundry (NDF) is a National Science Foundation-funded technology incubator advancing the research, development, and deployment of secure, interoperable blockchain and digital asset technologies. NDF convenes a national network of academic, industry, and government partners to accelerate innovation across key sectors of the digital economy. About Mizzle Mizzle is a decentralized, AI-enabled infrastructure provider that powers trustless cloud computing and Web3-native development. By offering programmable, distributed resources and next-generation tooling, Mizzle empowers builders and researchers to create scalable, secure, and sovereign digital applications. National DigiFoundry Kevin Jackson 571-294-1020
BBC News
04-03-2025
- BBC News
Bradford: Murderer worked in schools despite ban
A convicted murderer spent almost two years working with children after he was barred from doing so, the BBC has Zaman, 44, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, served 15 years in prison for killing a man who tried to stop him and two others stealing a car in Halifax in his release, he began volunteering with the national charity, St Giles Trust, in 2021, and later became a paid employee who visited schools and young people's charity said Zaman, who has not responded to the BBC's attempts to contact him, did not tell them he had been barred from working with children and that he was dismissed as soon as senior management found out. The BBC has seen both of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates that St Giles asked Zaman to provide. The first, from 2021, did not say he was barred from working with children. But the most recent one, issued in March 2023, did say he was Giles said its senior management was not aware of the outcome of the most recent DBS check until December 2024, which meant Zaman continued in his role - and had contact with 28 children - after being charity said it "deeply regret[s] the oversight".Zaman and two other men from Bradford were convicted of stabbing father-of-two Kevin Jackson in the head with a screwdriver, and beating him with a piece of wood near his home after he tried to stop the group from stealing his father-in-law's the time the judge called the murder "a cowardly and horrific act".Zaman was given a life sentence and was released from prison in years later he started work at St Giles, which is one of nearly 1,500 registered charities in England and Wales working with ex-offenders across the country to help rebuild their lives. An enhanced DBS check would show up any previous convictions and whether or not someone has been barred from working with is seen as a vital part of safeguarding for organisations, and is required when anyone applies for a job with access to vulnerable people such as in teaching, social work and health services.A former staff member, who wants to remain anonymous, told the BBC that St Giles's safeguarding in this case was "appalling", adding: "Clearly something is going wrong."They said Zaman went into "about three" schools, sometimes alone, as part of the charity's SOS project in Yorkshire. 'Young people at risk' The early intervention programme prevents young people falling into criminal activity, and is delivered by ex-offenders as part of their reintegration back into source said Zaman "was doing outreach work, supporting young people in school and would liaise with families and carry out home visits".The source called for the charity to put stricter measures in place."I feel really upset and annoyed because they are not just putting the young people at risk, they are putting staff at risk too," the ex-employee said. The DBS did not tell the BBC why he was allowed to work with children in 2021 and then barred in 2023, as it does not comment on individual said serious offences committed after 2006 may lead to someone being automatically barred from working with children, but that offences committed before that time would lead to a discretionary barring all murderers are necessarily barred from working with children – some will be able to appeal and persuade the DBS that they should not be on the barred it is an offence for someone on a barred list to undertake "regulated activity" with a group from which they are barred. They may face a fine or a jail sentence of up to five on barred lists can still do up to three days of teaching or training with children in any 30-day period, in certain circumstances. It is not clear whether Zaman exceeded these Yorkshire Police said it had launched a criminal investigation. The BBC understands Zaman was recently arrested. 'This should never have happened' DBS checks are issued directly to individuals, not the organisation requesting them, but a DBS spokesperson said it was the responsibility of employers to review employees' Giles refused to answer when the BBC asked which schools Zaman had visited, how often, and whether parents had been informed.A spokesperson said Zaman did not tell the charity about being barred, which meant he continued to work with children."This should never have happened," they added."As soon as we became aware, we launched an internal investigation and re-checked all Yorkshire staff working with children, with no further concerns found. We have since strengthened our internal processes to ensure this cannot happen again and deeply regret the oversight."The spokesperson said the charity had an "unwavering commitment to safeguarding" and had "immediately" reported itself to both the Local Authority Designated Officer and to the Charity said after the incident, it reviewed the DBS checks of all of its employees working with children in Yorkshire and "no further issues" were added: "Every person we employ undergoes rigorous risk assessments and criminal background checks, and each one is deeply committed to using their own experiences to help others."Evidence shows that lived-experience programmes like ours reduce offending by 21%, while also providing meaningful employment that allows people to give back to their communities." Employer involvement 'critical' The national charity's income increased from £18.4m in 2022-23 to £21m in 2023-24 – with millions of pounds of funding coming from government grants and has received almost £400,000 from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since 2020, for local Lowe, the region's deputy mayor for policing and crime, said she would not comment specifically on St Giles. But she said suspending funding was one step the council might take against an organisation being investigated for an alleged DBS said safeguarding was "the number one most important issue" for any public if it was an individual's responsibility to inform an employer if their DBS said they were barred, she said: "I think it's absolutely critical that the employer gets a copy of that document so that together they can make the right decision and keep our communities safe, and particularly keep our children and young people safe."The Charity Commission said it was investigating after St Giles reported a serious incident.A spokesperson said it had opened a regulatory compliance case and it was "assessing the information to determine our next steps".Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
