Latest news with #Larkins
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AiGent Accelerates AI-Powered Grid Revolution with Appointment of Pioneering CTO Bill Larkins
Larkins will lead the design and development of AiGent's AI technology platform while providing strategic guidance as an AiGent board director HOUSTON, May 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- AiGent, Inc., a developer of AI-driven distributed power plants (DPP), today announced that its board of directors has appointed Bill Larkins, a transformative technology, engineering, and business leader, to its board of directors and as the company's Chief Technology Officer. Larkins brings more than 30 years of experience both developing and leading the development of transformative technologies and businesses that harness the power of innovation to make lives better. Larkins has a proven track record of applying his software, electrical engineering, and data science expertise to solve problems that have transformative impact at scale. Most relevant to AiGent, Larkins developed the first-of-its-kind, patented hardware and software platform for DPP industry pioneer, EnerNOC, Inc. that automated the dispatch of commercial and industrial distributed generation to deliver grid services for the first time. Larkins then went on to build Active Shock, a first-of-its-kind intelligent shock absorption technology, that was integrated into military and commercial applications in many of the harshest conditions in war fighting theatres abroad and domestic heavy duty industrial settings before returning to scale the EnerNOC software development team. Stephanie Hendricks, CEO of AiGent, commented, "As Mark Twain famously said, 'There are basically two types of people: those who accomplish things and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first is less crowded.' Bill is atop the less crowded category, having accomplished a lot of amazing things. We're fortunate to be able to have one of the most innovative minds applied to the challenge of integrating the promises of AI to scaling DPPs." "I'm excited to construct a brand new platform bringing to bear a modern, full-stack approach from deeply embedded systems to principles of cloud-based AI theory to help solve one of our nation's most pressing problems. With increasing imbalances between electricity supply and demand, increasingly complex energy assets, and advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, we will be unleashing the power of resources, at scale, that are in the ground, here and now, to ensure more affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity needed to power our economy," said Larkins. "Even more exciting is that I get to do it with people I trust, people who work hard and play hard, and who want to do well by doing good. We're building an amazing innovation team that is setting the standard for our industry." About AiGent, Inc. AiGent brings AI to the aggregation, orchestration, and monetization of distributed generation resources in wholesale and retail power markets and delivers significant reliability, economic, and sustainability benefits to commercial and industrial energy users, utilities, and grid operators. To learn more visit Media Contactinfo@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE AiGent, Inc.
Otago Daily Times
25-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Peninsula left out of school zone
The Otago Peninsula community feels it has been put in a "ridiculous" and "impossible situation" after being left out of the enrolment zone of its closest all-girls school. The Ministry of Education has proposed introducing an enrolment scheme to Dunedin's Queen's High School next year due to fears of overcrowding. It left the Otago Peninsula out of the proposed home zone for the school, much to the dismay of many in the community. Portobello School board presiding member Emily Larkins was very surprised to find out the peninsula had been left out of the Queen's home zone as it was so close. She said families living on the peninsula generally sent their children to one of the three closest schools: King's, Queen's or Bayfield High Schools. With the proposed Queen's home zone in place, families would only have a guaranteed spot for their girls at Bayfield. Otago Girls' High school also had an enrolment scheme. The peninsula community was outside that zone as well. Ms Larkins said her daughter Ivy would have been in the third generation of women in her family to attend Queen's. She had been looking forward to attending Queen's for years but was now having to consider other options. "It's a massive change for a 12-year-old girl to be having to consider. "My daughter panicked a little." Ms Larkins felt her daughter was not suited for a co-educational school like Bayfield and would have benefited hugely from the single-sex environment at Queen's. There was a "natural expectation" her daughter would be able to attend the school with no issues and she was shocked to find out she might miss out. "It doesn't make sense at all." She had made a submission to the ministry on behalf of the Portobello School board and as a parent. The three peninsula schools, Macandrew Bay School, Broad Bay School and Portobello School, would not contribute huge numbers of students to the Queen's roll so it made sense to include them in its home zone, Ms Larkins said. The South Dunedin area was really important "access-wise" to peninsula families for getting their older children to school. Ōtākou Marae whanau member Nadia Wesley-Smith said Queen's had a relationship that spanned decades with the marae and the Ōtākou Runaka. She could remember being a child and seeing students from Queen's come to the marae and looking forward to one day attending the school herself. "Queen's High was a very natural progression because of that existing relationship. "At the time, when I was a child, it was just the school that all the girls went to. There was no question of any other school." Ms Wesley-Smith had whanau who were a part of He Waka Kōtuia, the kapa haka group that King's and Queen's students belonged to and her daughter had hoped to join. She said her daughter thought it was really unfair that she would not be able to be a part of the group when her older brother, who went to King's, could be. "It hurts a little that our kids who live close to the marae and live close to the Māori reserve are potentially going to be excluded," Ms Wesley-Smith said. Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope said the home zone had made it "out of reach" for peninsula families to send their girls to a single-sex school. He wanted to encourage future, present and past parents to write to the ministry to have the proposed enrolment scheme overturned because it was a "silly, kind of ridiculous situation" they were put in. "The community here have been put into an impossible position, and we really need to get this overturned." Tahuna Normal Intermediate School deputy principal Roddy Scoles said out of the 140 year 8 girls it had last year, 70 went to Queen's. He said the proposal was creating unnecessary stress for parents who were worried about their daughters' place at the high school. He encouraged parents at Tahuna to also submit to the ministry to overturn the enrolment scheme. Queen's principal Barbara Agnew encouraged parents in the school's community to provide feedback on the proposal directly to the ministry. Ministry south leader Andrea Williams said no final decision had been made regarding the peninsula and encouraged every one with a view on the enrolment scheme to visit its website and complete a survey before consultation closed. The consultation was open until June 5.
The Citizen
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Former customer charges Absa with perjury and defamation
Saying the bank misled the courts in attempting to repossess his late father's Roodepoort property. First the bank, then numerous consumer bodies that are supposed to protect consumers – but which 'failed in spectacular fashion' in this case. Picture: iStock Aubrey Larkins has lodged charges of perjury and defamation against Absa for claiming his parents were delinquent in repaying their home loan account after discovering not only were they not in arrears – they were in credit. The bank had attempted to foreclose on the property in 2015, claiming the Larkins were R187 000 in arrears on three mortgage bonds, but when Aubrey – a seasoned financial professional – looked into the matter, he found the accounts were more than R22 000 in credit. By that time, family members had clubbed together and paid off the arrears to avert foreclosure. Charging a bank for defamation over an accusation of debt delinquency is a novel approach, and it remains to be seen how this works out. Larkins says he has no financial interest in bringing these charges against Absa, other than to highlight what he sees as systemic failure in the institutions created to protect consumers – from the Banking Ombud to the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and National Credit Tribunal (NCT). Cases brought before these bodies are supposed to prevent disputes clogging the courts, but in this case, he says they failed in spectacular fashion. Absa responds that it followed due process in line with court rules at all times (see response below). ALSO READ: Court rules in favour of clients in Standard Bank home loan dispute Here's what happened … The story goes back to 1978 when Aubrey's parents bought a house in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, financed by his father's employer. As part of a severance package in 1990, the Larkins were required to approach a bank (Absa) to take over the outstanding balance on the home loan. Over the next few years, they ran into financial difficulty and secured a total of three mortgage bonds. By 2005, the total debt owed was R188 118. When Aubrey looked into the accounts in 2009, he found the debt had barely shifted over the preceding four years, with an amount of R187 000 still owing. The first three bonds on the property had run for between 15 and 19 years. That made no sense, so he started to write to the bank, while taking over his parents' monthly home loan instalments. Absa supplied bank statements back to 1992, but did not provide the reconciliation he required to explain how the outstanding debt could remain so high after more than 15 years of payments. He asked for copies of the original loan agreements, but these were supposedly destroyed in a fire. ALSO READ: Court reverses home repo judgment after Nedbank bungled calculations Seeking help beyond the bank Not satisfied with the responses from the bank, he then reached out to the NCR for help in 2010 but was told it would not take on any disputes older than three years. He was told he would be given a 'non-referral' notice by the NCR, which would allow him to take the matter up with the National Consumer Tribunal. That never happened. Further attempts to seek legal redress from Legal Aid and lawyers acting pro bono came to nought. In 2014 he launched an application with the National Consumer Tribunal asking that the Absa accounts be frozen until such time as the case could be heard by a proper authority. The matter was set down to be heard by the tribunal in January 2015. ALSO READ: Smackdown for Standard Bank in home repo case Bank's lawyers A few days later, Absa's attorneys, Strauss Daly, served summons on the Larkins to appear in the North Gauteng High Court for non-payment of their account. Section 130 of the NCA specifically prevents credit providers from proceeding with debt enforcement while matters are pending before the National Credit Tribunal. Apparently undeterred, Strauss Daly and Absa applied to the court for summary judgment, claiming that the matter was unopposed (it wasn't). Absa's case was brought in the Pretoria High Court rather than Joburg, where the property is located – an attempt to frustrate justice, argues Aubrey. It didn't help that the Larkins made use of incompetent or conflicted attorneys who failed to pass on correspondence from the bank. This left them blind to the incoming judicial missile, with the court granting summary judgment against them in March 2015. A little over a week later, the local sheriff turned up at the door with a warrant of execution on the property – which precedes a public auction. Aubrey complained to the Law Society of the Northern Provinces (LSNP) about the attorneys on both sides, but that didn't go anywhere. A principle undergirding our legal system is the right of a respondent to be properly served with a complaint and given time to prepare a defence. What about the outstanding NCT complaint which should have frozen the high court legal process? When the matter came before the tribunal, the bank's legal representatives from ENS appeared shocked and requested time to step outside the court to contact their clients. When they returned, they claimed this was conducted unknowingly by another division of the bank's legal department. The matter was dismissed by the NCT on the basis that it was subject to a superseding judgment in another court. Soon thereafter, a family member stepped up and paid the outstanding arrears. ALSO READ: Gauteng man takes Absa to court over alleged unlawful car repossession Judgment rescinded With the property now safe from foreclosure, Aubrey decided this was the time to pounce and reverse what he saw as the injustices of the previous years. He approached the court in 2022 for a rescission of the 2015 judgment against his parents. This was granted, along with an instruction to the bank to pay the Larkins the overpayment of R22 447. He then asked the Bank Ombud to look into the interest charges on the account. There were no original documents to analyse (the ones apparently destroyed in a fire), but the Larkins stuck to their claim that interest rates were fixed – the bank arguing they were floating – leaving plenty of room for dispute. The ombud responded that his hands were tied until Absa willingly agreed to withdraw the 2015 complaint before the high court, despite the judgment being rescinded. Aubrey's father passed away in 2021 after a long illness made worse by the couple's inability to afford private healthcare. 'This is a case riddled with irregularities, lies and neglect by the institutions intended to protect consumers,' says Aubrey. 'I asked for assistance from every single institution intended to protect us and got nowhere, and I am very familiar with the law and finances. What chance does someone less knowledgeable have when faced with similar circumstances?' Absa's response Moneyweb reached out to Absa for comment and received this response from Nondumiso Ncapai, managing executive at Absa Home Loans. 'Thank you for bringing this documentation to our attention. 'We have investigated the matter, and we are comfortable that due process was followed in line with the court rules. 'While we cannot discuss details of customer matters with third parties, we welcome the opportunity to engage Mr Larkins directly to create any further clarity he may require.' This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Dakota falls to Oral Roberts 70-50 in Summit League Quarterfinals
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Courtesy of South Dakota Athletics) – Playing in the opening game of the Summit League Quarterfinals Thursday morning, South Dakota fell behind early and ultimately fell to the second seed in the tournament, Oral Roberts, 70-50 inside the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Grace Larkins, playing in her 132nd game as a Coyote, recorded her 30th career double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds. She also had five assists. Her 132 games played ties her with Taylor Frederick for 10th in USD history. Larkins scored all 11 of USD's points in the first quarter, but didn't score in the second. After trailing 16-11 at the end of the one quarter, The Coyotes needed over five minutes in the second quarter to get on the board. Despite the lengthy scoring drought, The Yotes were able to battle back and trail by just nine, 30-21 at the half. The Coyote scoring struggles continued throughout the third quarter. South Dakota managed four points in the quarter, all scored by Larkins, who also had four rebounds in the quarter. After Oral Roberts opened up their largest lead of the game at 29 points with 7:08 to play, the Coyotes managed to break the pressure Oral Roberts started applying in the second half. When things were all said and done, The Coyotes were able to get the lead back to 20. Larkins and fellow senior Alexi Hempe led the Yotes with nine and eight points in the fourth quarter. USD converted 60% of their shots in the quarter and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run, but the struggles early on were too much for the Coyotes to overcome. Outside of Larkins' double-double, Hempe scored 11 points and added four rebounds. Gabby Wilke had eight points for the Yotes, who shot 35% from the field and 21% from three. Larkins climbed to fourth in USD history in rebounds, totaling 896 rebounds in her four years as a Yote. She also finishes with 2,089 points, the second most in USD history and 519 assists, the fifth most. Head coach Carrie Eighmey's first season with the Coyotes comes to a close with Thursday's result. Eighmey and the Coyotes finish the year with an 11-20 record overall and a 5-11 conference record. NOTABLES• South Dakota concludes their season with a 11-20 record, including a 1-3 record in neutral site games.• Larkins recorded 24 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, her 30th in her career and 16th this season.• Alexi Hempe added 11 points to wrap up her Coyote career.• A 17-0 run for Oral Roberts in the third quarter gave the Golden Eagles a lead the Coyotes couldn't overcome.• South Dakota is now 23-9 in Summit League Tournament games. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
USD women fall in regular season finale to Denver
VERMILLION, S.D. (USD) — South Dakota battled back from an early deficit to take a lead on Denver heading into the final quarter, but it was the Pioneers who came away with a 63-60 win Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion. Saturday was Senior Day for the South Dakota basketball program, and four Coyotes were recognized prior to the game. Adara Groman, Sophie Haydon, Alexi Hempe, and Grace Larkins were honored. Larkins and Hempe attempted to make the most of their final game in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, combining for 43 points on 16-of-31 shooting. Larkins recorded her 15th double-double in 30 games this season, totaling 25 points and 11 rebounds. Alexi Hempe added 18 points on six three-pointers. The Pioneers started hot from the field, sinking seven field goals, all three-pointers, in the first quarter to open a 10-point lead. Hempe had three triples in the first quarter to score nine of USD's 13 points in the quarter. South Dakota responded well in the middle two quarters. On the offensive end, USD converted 13-of-25 field goal attempts and scored 37 points in the second and third quarters combined. On the defensive end, the Coyotes held Denver to 8-of-25 shootings and 23 points. The switch in momentum cut the Denver lead to just two at the half and after a three-pointer from Cassidy Carson gave the Coyotes a lead to start the third quarter, USD built a four-point lead entering the final quarter. The Pioneers took the momentum back from the Coyotes in the final quarter of play, sinking a pair of triples and after Larkins tied the game at 60 with less than 35 seconds to play, Denver scored with three seconds left and held on for the win. With her 25 points, Larkins moved into second in USD history in scoring. Her 2,065 points only trails Mandy Koupal's 2,142 points for the most in a USD uniform. South Dakota now turns their attention to the Summit League Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. Action begins Wednesday and runs through championship Sunday, March 9. NOTABLES • South Dakota stands at 11-19 overall, 5-11 in conference play, and 9-7 at home. • Adara Groman, Sophie Haydon, Alexi Hempe, and Grace Larkins were honored for Senior Day. • Larkins moved into second in USD history in scoring at 2,065 points in her career after scoring 25 points Saturday. • Larkins added 11 rebounds for her 15th double-double this season. • Alexi Hempe poured in six three-pointers to score 18 points for USD. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
