Latest news with #Mason
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Canterbury council to pay $60k for pro rugby team base
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should the council have tipped in $60,000 to upgrade this fi eld at the western end of Lincoln University for Matatū women's Super Rugby team. Email your opinion in 200 words or less to The Selwyn District Council is paying $60,000 to upgrade a sports ground for the South Island's Super Rugby women's team Matatū. The team is based at Lincoln University and needs a better ground. The district council says it is a win-win deal. In return for the $60,000, community and sports organisations will be able to use the field. Matatū will help with the Girls on the Go holiday programme, council chief executive Sharon Mason said. Matatū has been based at the university since it was founded in 2021. The ground which will be upgraded is at the western end of the university, close to the intersection of Ellesmere Junction and Weedons Rds. The deal is part of an agreement between the district council, the university and Matatū signed in May. 'This relationship reflects council's commitment to strategic investment and collaboration that delivers tangible benefits for our community,' Mason said. She said the district council has identified a growing need for increased access to sports fields in Lincoln. 'Compared to the cost of purchasing land or constructing a new facility, this partnership offers a highly cost-effective solution that delivers immediate community benefit.' The university will manage the upgrade and ongoing upkeep. New Zealand Cricket, which operates its High Performance Centre at Lincoln University, will assist in the remediation work. Matatū general manager Sarah Munro said many players and staff live in Selwyn. 'We are incredibly grateful for the support of Selwyn District Council to support this field upgrade to provide a much-needed space for women and girls to continue to train at a professional level, as well as provide an opportunity for wider rugby community usage.' Mason said the $60,000 was left over from the parks and reserves budget. Remediation includes spraying off the existing surface, cultivating the soil and breaking up the surface, grading it, preparing and installing seed and starter fertiliser and installing new sprinklers. The partnership between the university and the council has included students doing internships at the council, and district council staff giving lectures at the university on resource planning, management and leadership. University staff have also given advice on district council projects.
Int'l Business Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Furball Fitness Celebrates 10 Years of Compassionate Care for Pets in Central Ohio and Beyond
Furball Fitness, a premier pet care company known for its personalized, heartfelt approach to animal services, celebrates its 10th anniversary. Over the past decade, it has stayed true to its mission of treating every pet as a beloved family member. From neighborhood walks to luxury resort stays, the company has redefined what it means to love, serve, and protect animals when their humans cannot be there. "These 10 years represent our growth and the relationships we've built, the trust we've earned, and the lives we've touched, both human and animal," says Shannon Anello, founder of Furball Fitness. "It's about the wagging tails that greet us every morning and the joy we get from simply being there when pets need a little extra love. This journey has shaped me as much as I've shaped it." Anello, a longtime Columbus resident with a 15-year background in graphic design and marketing, founded Furball Fitness in 2015 in a leap of faith. Tired of the instability of corporate life and drawn to her love of animals, she turned her freelancing downtime into a passion project of dog walking in her neighborhood. With a handmade website, Anello combined her talents in branding and design and her devotion to pets to set the foundation for the business. Within six months, the demand for Anello's services was so strong that she hired her first employee. By 2019, Furball Fitness had grown into a multi-service operation with a newly purchased facility to house a full-service pet resort. Today, it has a team of over 30 devoted animal lovers. Furball Fitness offers in-home pet sitting, training, grooming, and daycare, as well as specialized services such as pet taxis, wedding pet care, and private birthday pawties . The facility is affectionately known among clients as a "heaven for animals," offering a 360-degree care experience that caters to every need a pet might have, whether emotional, physical, or social. Furball Fitness especially stands out for its heart: Anello herself. Unable to have children, she pours her maternal love into the animals she cares for. These pets are, in every way, her family. Anello's fur family has included Saint Bernards, German Shepherd mixes, and bunnies. Each of them plays a part in her story, and their presence is embedded in the nurturing atmosphere of the pet resort. "We're not just sitters, walkers, or daycare staff. We're stand-in pet parents when you need us most. Our standard of care is simple. Treat every pet like family," Anello says. This approach has earned the trust of the local community. One pet parent shared, "My Mason absolutely loves the Furball Fitness team! The team is very welcoming and caring. I feel safe leaving my pet with them... I'd never take Mason anywhere else." Now, following its 10th year of building trust through transparency, communication, and consistency, Furball Fitness is preparing for franchising, its next exciting chapter. Anello is working to bring the company's signature care model to more communities across the United States. With her marketing background and authentic brand identity already in place, the transition is poised for success.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Kansas Task Force 1 deploys to Texas to assist with flood relief
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Task Force 1 deployed to Kerrville, Texas, on Saturday to assist with the disaster caused by flooding and heavy rains. 'So they're preparing for more flooding in that same area where they've already been hit,' said Lance Feyh, Kansas State Fire Marshal Public Information Manager. Fifteen personnel from seven agencies are involved in this deployment. 'I want to thank those agencies because they're sending personnel from their departments to go down and represent the state of Kansas and perform these duties,' Feyh explained. Bystander saves child from deadly Cameron housefire: Police Participating agencies include the Kansas State Fire Marshal, the Olathe Fire Department, the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department and the Shawnee Fire Department. 'We're very fortunate that we have the equipment and the personnel and the training to provide assistance not just to our community in the metro region, but also to help those in other parts of the country that need assistance,' said Battalion Chief Kiel Mason with the Olathe Fire Department. Texas sent an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management. An EMAC is a mutual aid agreement that facilitates assistance in response and recovery operations during a disaster. KS-TF1 consists of two Type 3 swift-water search and rescue teams, equipped with hard-bottom inflatable boats. The teams will conduct search and rescue operations. Their objectives will be to search for and rescue people, provide basic life support (BLS) medical care, transport people and animals to the nearest location for secondary air or land transport, among other efforts. 'So those individuals work for their fire departments full time. But our (State Fire Marshal) emergency response division has a search and rescue unit that is tasked with providing training for all different types of scenarios for these individuals,' Feyh explained. Agencies that participate in KS-TF1 also conduct their own training throughout the year. 'They'll do swift water training, go out on the lakes, go out on the reservoirs, go out onto the rivers and practice training, using the boats,' Feyh explained. 'So it's a constant thing that's happening with their training to stay on top of and be in the best potential place to utilize the services we offer.' Mason says Olathe FD's Special Operations group trains annually and works with partners in the KC metro. Missouri House bill ignites debate on reducing limitations 'We do train annually on boat operations, surface water operations, swift water operations, and technical search operations,' Mason explained. 'We have five boats that we have here at the Olathe Fire Department. So we're able to supplement resource needs through the state of Kansas, but also have equipment here available at home if it is needed to support the metro region or even here in the city of Olathe.' Kansas Task Force 1 will start its search and rescue efforts in Kerrville on Monday morning. KS-TF1's deployment is expected to last two weeks, but that timeline could shift depending on needs. 'The flooding that was already there is still there. The damage and debris are now going to be shifted around again. So, there will be multiple debris floating around that you have to watch out for. It's a treacherous, dangerous thing, but they're prepared to perform life safety if they need to, and help transport people and get them to safe ground,' Feyh explained. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago-area officials are bracing as summer storms roll in following Texas tragedy and weather service budget cuts
When more than a month's worth of rain fell in 90 minutes just west of the United Center late Tuesday night, federal weather forecasters warned of possible flash flooding, triggering a chain of events that alerted some Chicago residents about potential danger. Among them was Sandra Mason, 55, who lives in a ground-floor apartment on the Near West Side. After receiving an alert on her phone at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Mason began lining her back door with blankets to stop any water from seeping in. Just a few blocks east, the National Weather Service recorded 5 inches of rain falling in an hour and a half, as a thunderstorm stalled over downtown and nearby neighborhoods. The torrent inundated basements, flooded viaducts and closed expressway lanes. Emergency responders rescued stranded motorists. During the evening of July 8, 2025, a stationary thunderstorm produced a very localized area of 2 to 5"+ of rain. At one station, 5.14" of rain fell in just 90 minutes! Such torrential rain rates led to flooded viaducts, water rescues, and basements in the impacted area. #ILwx — NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) July 9, 2025Previous storms have flooded Mason's building, damaging appliances and furniture, but this time she was mostly spared. Still, she said she was grateful for the federal weather agency alerts. 'You don't know if your house is going to flood,' Mason said. 'You just don't know, you just have to be on your toes.' Weather-related anxiety is high across the country following flash floods in central Texas that killed at least 120 people over the Fourth of July weekend. One of the central concerns is whether Trump administration cuts to the National Weather Service — the backbone of the country's weather warning system — will hamper local governments and residents from staving off disaster when severe weather strikes. The Trump administration this spring eliminated nearly 600 National Weather Service jobs across the country through early retirement, the firing of probationary employees and a hiring freeze across the federal government. It has since made an exception to its hiring freeze and started filling more than 100 weather service vacancies. So far, the Chicago area has felt less of an impact from those staffing reductions than other regions, particularly less-populated areas served by weather service offices in the Quad Cities and downstate Lincoln, 30 miles northeast of Springfield. But Trump's budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts in October, calls for further cuts at other agencies within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the elimination of research centers that study climate. While Chicago has so far been spared, Illinois Democrats in Washington, D.C., remain critical of the cuts and note that any trims to weather service offices downstate will have an impact on Illinois residents. The office in Lincoln, which serves much of central Illinois, doesn't have a technician to fix radars on other equipment, meaning it has to bring somebody in from another office if something breaks, said U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, who worked as a physicist at Fermilab before joining Congress. 'It hasn't broken yet, but (scientists in the Chicago office are) having to do heroic work, and frankly they're wasting a lot of money because of the DOGE cuts in particular,' Foster, a Naperville Democrat, said about the Trump administration team formerly led by Elon Musk that tried to eliminate thousands of federal jobs earlier this year. 'They're coming under great stress, but I'm very proud of the fact that, at least so far, they haven't dropped the ball in Chicago.' Other offices covering Illinois have been harder hit. The Davenport, Iowa, office that covers northwest Illinois saw a 42% reduction in staffing as of June, and its top two positions were vacant. 'That's not OK, since this stuff has to be available in emergencies, right?' Foster said, noting some people in Naperville escaped a 2021 tornado with just minutes of warning. 'What you're seeing is sort of a thinning out of the capabilities you'll need in an emergency with no disasters yet.' U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who sits on the committee that oversees the National Weather Service, said 'any cuts to Illinois's two NWS offices (in future federal budgets) would jeopardize timely weather warnings that are critical to protecting Illinoisans, especially as we continue to see the effects of climate change through more intense and more frequent extreme weather events.' The Trump administration's efforts to trim the National Weather Service payroll faced bipartisan opposition even before the Texas flooding. Republican lawmakers in Nebraska, for example, objected to the weather service ceasing daily weather balloon launches from smaller offices as Democratic lawmakers rallied against cuts at NOAA's headquarters in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. But scrutiny about the budget moves and their impact on the weather services' performance grew as the death toll climbed in Texas. The NWS issued several warnings at least three hours before the Guadalupe River in Texas' Hill Country rose by more than 25 feet in two hours. But many residents and young campers died as the floods swelled in the middle of the night, fueling fierce debates over who was to blame for so many people not knowing about the imminent danger. One of the top concerns has been about the role NWS staffing reductions had on the agency's response. The weather service's San Angelo office had vacancies in key leadership roles, including a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge. The neighboring San Antonio office also had several crucial roles open. The Senate's top Democrat, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, called on an inspector general to investigate whether staffing cuts hampered the weather service's response. 'The roles left unfilled are not marginal, they're critical,' Schumer wrote. 'To put it plainly: They help save lives.' Erica Grow Cei, an NWS spokesperson, said the agency moved personnel to those offices over the Fourth of July weekend in response to the storms that caused the flooding. 'All forecasts and warnings were issued in a timely manner,' she wrote in an email message. 'Additionally, these offices were able to provide decision support services to local partners, including those in the emergency management community.' Grow Cei said the weather service is temporarily assigning and hiring 'a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical positions' to 'further stabilize frontline operations.' At a confirmation hearing last week, Neil Jacobs, Trump's nominee to lead NOAA, told senators he would make increasing staffing at the agency a 'top priority.' But many scientists worry about the long-term effects of the existing staffing shortages. 'Even before this terrible tragedy in Texas, which is still unfolding, we have been worried about the cuts that were done by the Trump administration' to federal agencies that handle weather-related emergencies, including the National Weather Service, said Juan Declet-Barreto, the bilingual social scientist for climate vulnerability at the Union of Concerned Scientists. 'There has been a degradation in the alerts and in the capacity of the National Weather Service to do its job.' Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University, said it appeared the NWS had adequate staffing during the Texas flooding because it brought in extra scientists for the storms. The offices had five people working overnight instead of the usual two. 'I do worry, though, about how many times you can roll the dice,' Gensini said. 'Maybe next time, there won't be five people. It's dangerous to continue this understaffing of the weather service at large, because these events are not going to stop.' In Illinois, as in the rest of the country, the National Weather Service is at the forefront of preparing for weather-related disasters. But warnings from the federal forecasters are only the first step of a coordinated effort by government agencies to alert the public about imminent weather dangers. 'It's not just having good forecasts and good, accurate, timely warnings for these events; it's also communicating them to the potential affected areas and having these individuals react in the proper manner,' Gensini said. 'That requires emergency management, it requires planning, it requires the infrastructure and technology to disseminate that message properly.' Kevin Doom, a meteorologist at the NWS Chicago office, said one of the biggest challenges in responding to severe weather is making sure information flows to residents. 'That's where we have to put a little bit of trust in some of our partners to do that,' he said. In severe weather events like last Tuesday's flash flooding, Chicago's Office of Emergency Management & Communications played a key role. It operates nonstop with five to 10 people working there daily, emergency manager Matt Doughtie said. The city agency typically amplifies messages from the federal weather service while employees monitor the effects of the emergency. For instance, the city has computer systems that automatically send messages from the weather service through texts or emails from NotifyChicago, the agency's app and city social media accounts. When necessary, those automated systems also help activate the city's 118 tornado sirens. Additionally, Chicago's emergency management office can take control of select digital billboards around the city for emergency messaging. It also can send wireless emergency alerts, which broadcast emergency messages directly to cell phones. The city and National Weather Service coordinate to avoid overlap on shared resources like wireless alerts, Doughtie said. While the weather service generally sounds out announcements directly related to weather, the city agency handles more localized directions to residents, including evacuation or shelter-in-place orders, he added. Doughtie said the weather service is a strong partner that often sends representatives to help with planned city events, like parades and festivals, as well as emergencies. 'One of our strongest relationships is with their warning coordination meteorologist, who's been with them for a long time,' Doughtie said. 'If we were to lose somebody like that, that would hurt and we would feel that pinch. Thus far, we haven't really seen any real degradation of their services this year.' For weather events that stretch beyond the city's boundaries, Chicago's emergency management office collaborates with Cook County's Emergency Management and Regional Security department. Doughtie said the county's role is crucial because there are more than 130 municipalities in the county. In addition to coordinating information among municipalities, Cook County's emergency management department runs its own text notification system, AlertCook, for residents. It also can help broadcast shelter or evacuation orders, especially for suburban municipalities in the county. Angela Gilkes, interim executive director of Cook County's emergency department, said her agency also relies on National Weather Service data for its emergency responses. Specifically, localized forecasts about where storms of flooding might hit hardest allow the county to move portable pumps and generators to those sites in advance, she said. In the Texas floods, the role of local governments relaying the warnings from the National Weather Service has also come under scrutiny. In the Chicago area, the mechanisms for alerting the public vary county by county, and, in some cases, city by city. Emergency management officials in DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry and Kendall counties all said communication between federal and local authorities is key to ensuring residents know what is happening when a significant weather system hits. 'We are sharing weather intelligence (with partners) right away,' said Daniel Eder, manager of the Lake County Emergency Management Agency. Scott Buziecki, Kane County's emergency management director, said he relies on relationships with neighboring counties and agencies, many of which were 'built during disasters and emergencies,' while Roger Bonuchi, Kendall County's emergency management director, said he also teaches a NWS-certified storm spotter course that allows volunteers to report signs of unusual weather. The county currently has about 22 storm spotters who work with Bonuchi. Many Illinois counties use the Federal Emergency Management Agency's national alerting system to send alerts from the federal meteorologists. The system, called the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS, also lets local jurisdictions broadcast public safety announcements to television and radio stations. McHenry County strongly encourages farmers to have a solar, hand-crank or battery-powered NOAA weather radio, said county Emergency Management Director David Christensen, adding he doesn't want residents 'to rely on social media' where posts from unreliable sources could mislead or unnecessarily frighten residents. Outside of emergency systems and communications, another key difference between what happened in Texas and weather emergencies in Illinois is the two states' terrain. 'It's not the same type of flooding that happens in the Texas Hill Country, because we don't have the topography that they do, but what we do have that they don't is a significant amount more of impervious surfaces,' said Gensini, the NIU professor. 'You saw this (last Tuesday). There were water rescues on Ashland Avenue … from people trapped in their cars because of really just normal — what I would consider kind of run-of-the-mill — rainfall.' Chicago-area residents saw similar scenes on Thursday night when more rain fell and the National Weather Service issued its second flood-related alert of the week. It was a reminder to everyone who got those alerts that they should always be paying attention, said Doom, the NWS meteorologist. 'This may not be like the last time,' Doom said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trans community praised for bravery in new film
Film-makers have praised the bravery of the trans community in Cumbria for sharing their experiences in a new documentary. I ME US chronicles the stories of those living in the county who are transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming. Mason, who features in the film, which is being screened locally in July and August, described how his family struggled with his decision to transition only for his brother to then offer him some shirts in support. "If just one person can see the film and feel more comfortable, or happy in themselves, then I've done enough," he said. Producer Debbie Sweeney, from Carlisle-based Eden Film, said there was "a lot of prejudice" which made it difficult for some people to "fit in", adding that Cumbria has "a lot of keyboard warriors". Mrs Sweeney, who previously worked as a college lecturer, said she found that LGBTQ+ students would often want to move to bigger cities because they could find a "sense of belonging" there, and not feel so visible. "Somewhere like Cumbria, there's a lot of prejudice and they maybe find it hard to fit in, so it's nice that we can produce a film like this," she said. Director Paddy Sweeney said those who took part had been brave to tell their stories on camera so candidly. He said they had filmed with someone who then called to drop out of the project around the time of President Trump's inauguration. Mr Sweeney said the participant was worried about "having their face out there", and the repercussions it may have for his job. The film is part of a heritage lottery-funded project, which was commissioned by Pride in North Cumbria (PINC) LGBT+ Youth. It is being screened for free in venues across Cumbria over July and August, including Rheged cinema in Penrith and Tullie in Carlisle. Producer and project manager at PINC, Pam Eland, said they wanted to take a snapshot of community "to get their voices heard out there". She added they were looking to organise showings of the "emotional" film worldwide. Follow BBC Cumbria on X and Facebook and both on Nextdoor and Instagram. North East welcomes a summer of Pride celebrations 'I'm as old as Cumbria Pride and I can't wait to go' Town celebrates first ever Pride festival Pride in North Cumbria
