Latest news with #McAlpine
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zeeland voters choose six council candidates to move forward in November
Voters in Zeeland narrowed council candidates from seven to six on Aug. 5, cutting challenger Hillery McAlpine. The top six vote-getters will square off for three open seats in November. They include incumbent Glenn Kass (13.8%), Amy Langeland (20.57%), Andrew Bult (16.8%), Rebecca Perkins (16.1%), Kylee DeBoer (15.97%) and Ericka Humbert (9.68%). McAlpine received 7.07% of the vote. Kass was first elected in 2007 and has been re-elected three times. Langeland is a member of the Zeeland Cemetery and Parks Commission, and Perkins serves on the Zeeland Planning Commission. More: Zeeland City Hall suffered flood damage over Fourth of July. Here's the cost of restoration Councilman Jim Broersma didn't file for re-election, and Councilman Richard Van Dorp III is running unopposed for mayor, since current Mayor Kevin Klynstra isn't seeking re-election himself. — Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@ Follow her on X and Bluesky @cassideykava. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: McAlpine cut from race for Zeeland City Council Solve the daily Crossword
The Herald Scotland
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
NRS hand contract for 2031 census to private firm
The company – one of the so-called Big Four accountancy firms – has faced multiple fines globally in recent years, including a £15 million penalty in 2020 from the UK's Financial Reporting Council over audit failures at software firm Autonomy. READ MORE The last census faced significant challenges. The Scottish Government decided in July 2020 to delay it by a year, taking it out of sync with the exercise in England and Wales. That decision was blamed for low returns, forcing SNP ministers to extend the deadline by a month. Despite the extension, only 89% of homes in Scotland returned the survey – short of the government target and well below the 97% overall return rate reported in England and Wales. On Public Contracts Scotland, the [[Scottish Government]]'s "national portal for public sector contract opportunities", the contract is described as being for an "Outline Business Case by May 2025, to feed into [[Scottish Government]] funding cycles for 26/27 and beyond". This will involve "working with NRS and partners to draw from the Strategic Outline Case and draw updated material from the Programme on the preferred option and delivery approach". "It is quite shocking to find out that the Scottish Government has handed responsibility for the next Scottish census to a private company," said Robin McAlpine of Common Weal. He described the 2022 Scottish census as "effectively the first failed census in modern history." "This is just the same old story of Scotland's public sector being privatised by stealth and of the core data on which public policy is based being shaped not for the public good but by the same financial elite which has been fined again and again and again for corruption carried out in favour of its clients," Mr McAlpine said, "It is beyond belief that Scotland's emaciated and failing civil service is not capable of designing a census, just as it is beyond belief that we allow private sector interests to shape core public data, even after their role in the failure of the 2022 census. "As best as we can tell, the National Records of Scotland has been wholly captured by Edinburgh's corporate sector. This should be of very great concern to every Scottish citizen." READ MORE A National Records of Scotland spokesperson said: "NRS will run and is fully responsible for the next census in Scotland in 2031. Deloitte were commissioned for a time-limited period to assist specifically with the development of an Outline Business Case. "This was based on the specialist skills and expertise they could provide in this area. "The 2022 census delivered valuable data for Scotland, with NRS gathering, analysing and presenting over a billion statistics which represented Scotland's whole population. "These statistics are already being used to inform decision making across our economy and society. "The statistics regulator awarded Scotland's Census 2022 results with Accredited Official Statistics designation based on the quality, good practice and comprehensiveness of the data."
Irish Post
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Songs of home and leaving — from Christine Tobin
Three powerful performances explore Irish emigration, homecoming and the poetry of W.B. Yeats at London's Irish Cultural Centre, July 19-20 ACCLAIMED Irish vocalist and composer Christine Tobin returns to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith for a two-day, three-concert residency titled Letters Home , running 19–20 July 2025. Blending music, memory and multimedia, the project explores themes of emigration, belonging and the emotional geography of the Irish experience. Each of the three performances offers a distinct perspective on the search for home, cultural identity and the passage of time. Returning Weather Saturday 19 July, 7.30pm The residency opens with Returning Weather , a song cycle described by Tobin as 'part homecoming, part memoir.' Inspired by her return to Ireland after years abroad, the performance weaves together original compositions, spoken word and stunning imagery of the landscape around Frenchpark, Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. Musically, the piece draws on Irish traditional music, 20th-century art song and jazz. Tobin is joined by Aoife Ní Bhriain (violin), David Power (uilleann pipes & whistles), Phil Robson (guitars, electronics), and Steve Hamilton (piano). The work explores what it means to belong—to land, to memory, to community—and how those ideas evolve over a lifetime. Letters Home Sunday 20 July, 2.30pm The second concert blends live performance with documentary film. Also titled Letters Home , it focuses on the lives of Irish emigrants who left Roscommon for Britain during the 1960s to 1990s. The film, made by Tobin and Robson, is based on interviews with six elders who emigrated in search of work and later returned to Ireland. Their voices form the narrative spine of the documentary, which is interspersed with archive images, photos and live songs performed on stage. Tobin sings traditional and popular Irish songs of farewell and longing—such as Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore , Mountains of Mourne and Come Back Paddy Reilly —evoking the pain and pride of a generation that helped build modern Britain while supporting families at home through remittances. The hour-long show gives voice to everyday resilience and the quiet heroism of the Irish in Britain. Among the featured interviewees is Annie, who left rural Ireland in her teens and took an unusual path for a woman at the time—working for the New York Telephone Company rather than entering domestic service. Another participant, Michael, now in his eighties, left for England in the early '60s and built a successful construction business after stints with Wimpey and McAlpine. At just 20 years old, he was sending home £100 a month to support his mother. Sailing to Byzantium Sunday 20 July, 7.30pm The final concert in the trilogy is Sailing to Byzantium , featuring Tobin's musical settings of 12 poems by W.B. Yeats. Named after the poet's 1927 meditation on ageing and the eternal role of art, this performance reflects on what lies beyond the physical journey—searching instead for artistic and spiritual meaning. The poems, ranging from When You Are Old and The Wild Swans at Coole to The Second Coming , are reimagined through Tobin's musical lens. She is joined by Gareth Lockrane (flutes), Kate Shortt (cello), Phil Robson (guitars), Dave Whitford (double bass) and Steve Hamilton (piano). 'I like finishing with Yeats,' Tobin says. 'After exploring the early and middle years through the themes of emigration and return, Yeats helps us look ahead—to the search for wisdom, purpose and creative fulfilment.' An Expanding Body of Work Letters Home follows the success of Tobin's recent composition Pseudologia Fantastica , commissioned by Improvised Music Company's BAN BAM programme and premiered in Dublin in April. That work, exploring misinformation and far-right ideologies through multimedia, marked a new political direction in her output. Still, Returning Weather and Letters Home remain deeply rooted in her personal history and the shared legacy of the Irish diaspora. 'There are many songs of leaving,' Tobin notes. 'This is the music of return.' Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black's Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9DT Tickets available for each concert separately: Returning Weather (Saturday evening) (Saturday evening) Letters Home (Sunday afternoon) (Sunday afternoon) Sailing to Byzantium (Sunday evening) Running times: approx. 1 hour each (some include film interludes). See More: Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, Music, Poetry, WB Yeats
Sydney Morning Herald
04-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The only resort located on one of Australia's most famous beaches
The hotel Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa, Broome, Western Australia. Check-in The most well-known resort in Broome and the only one that overlooks Cable Beach, the property's grounds and reception area are impressive, even in the dark. Terracotta warriors stand guard near the entrance, and stone horses in the gardens are pointed towards reception to guide lost guests. I smell the frangipani trees before I see them. I enjoy a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. After checking in, I walk to my room. It's a tad confusing to navigate the gardens in the dark. The look A tropical ambience (palm fronds, wooden ceiling fans) is complemented by an East-West design. Most of the wooden structures are bright green or red, a remnant of the pearling industry. Green was a timber preservative paint used on the luggers, while red was an anti-fouling paint used in pearling work areas. Cable Beach Club was the dream of English politician and construction magnate Lord Alistair McAlpine. The resort opened in 1988 after McAlpine developed the land he had bought with a contract signed on the back of a beer coaster. The DNA of the early Broome-style bungalows remains in details such as jarrah floors and wide verandahs. In 1999, the Wen family, the WA-based owners of property company Hawaiian, bought the resort, extensively refurbishing and expanding it to become the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa. There are two magnificent pools: the adults-only ocean pool and the all-ages Kimberley pool. Tennis courts, mini-golf, a gym, kids' playground and day spa offer more activities. The room
The Age
04-07-2025
- The Age
The only resort located on one of Australia's most famous beaches
The hotel Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa, Broome, Western Australia. Check-in The most well-known resort in Broome and the only one that overlooks Cable Beach, the property's grounds and reception area are impressive, even in the dark. Terracotta warriors stand guard near the entrance, and stone horses in the gardens are pointed towards reception to guide lost guests. I smell the frangipani trees before I see them. I enjoy a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. After checking in, I walk to my room. It's a tad confusing to navigate the gardens in the dark. The look A tropical ambience (palm fronds, wooden ceiling fans) is complemented by an East-West design. Most of the wooden structures are bright green or red, a remnant of the pearling industry. Green was a timber preservative paint used on the luggers, while red was an anti-fouling paint used in pearling work areas. Cable Beach Club was the dream of English politician and construction magnate Lord Alistair McAlpine. The resort opened in 1988 after McAlpine developed the land he had bought with a contract signed on the back of a beer coaster. The DNA of the early Broome-style bungalows remains in details such as jarrah floors and wide verandahs. In 1999, the Wen family, the WA-based owners of property company Hawaiian, bought the resort, extensively refurbishing and expanding it to become the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa. There are two magnificent pools: the adults-only ocean pool and the all-ages Kimberley pool. Tennis courts, mini-golf, a gym, kids' playground and day spa offer more activities. The room
