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Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast restaurateur reflects on 25 years in business: Through bereavement, starting a family and giving up alcohol
Ginger Bistro is holding a series of special events in the coming months to mark a quarter-century of serving food to the people of Belfast. The restaurant was founded by chef Simon McCance in 2000, and was originally located on the city's Ormeau Road. Ginger had to close a few years later due to his health problems, however it reopened in the city centre a short time later, and is still based on the corner of Hope Street and Victoria Street. The business doubled in size six years ago when it moved into an adjoining unit on Victoria Street. It has attracted has attracted a range of famous diners over the years, including Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray, Michael Fassbender, Gillian Anderson, Heather Graham, James Nesbitt, Van Morrison and Tim Wheeler of Ash Mr McCance still runs the business, and has spoken about how running the venue has coincided with some of the biggest events of his life. He says that the birth of his twin sons in 2004 motivated him to reopen the restaurant after his health difficulties, asking himself: 'Do I want my sons to say their father works in a restaurant—or owns one?' Then 12 years ago he decided to stop drinking alcohol, and took up a new hobby making pottery, now making blue clay trees which are for sale in the restaurant. The pottery and the work in the restaurant were also impacted by the passing of his sister Ruth and two other family members in the past three years. He describes his sister as his 'anchor and greatest source of strength', and produces pottery in her honour, while also finding 'a deep sense of purpose and stability' in running Ginger. Mr McCance said: 'Ginger has always been about more than just food. It's about people - our team, our customers, and our supporters - who've stood by us through the highs and lows. News Catch Up - Monday 26 May 'My wife Abbe and our sons Teddy and Zak now work alongside me, which has made Ginger not just a restaurant, but a family business I'm incredibly proud of. And I'm excited for what's still to come.' 'The restaurant has been my sanctuary. Through grief and uncertainty, it has grounded me—and I'm forever grateful for the journey it's given me.'
Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Through bereavement, starting a family and giving up alcohol: Belfast restaurateur reflects on 25 years in business
Ginger Bistro is holding a series of special events in the coming months to mark a quarter-century of serving food to the people of Belfast. The restaurant was founded by chef Simon McCance in 2000, and was originally located on the city's Ormeau Road. Ginger had to close a few years later due to his health problems, however it reopened in the city centre a short time later, and is still based on the corner of Hope Street and Victoria Street. The business doubled in size six years ago when it moved into an adjoining unit on Victoria Street. It has attracted has attracted a range of famous diners over the years, including Alec Baldwin, Bill Murray, Michael Fassbender, Gillian Anderson, Heather Graham, James Nesbitt, Van Morrison and Tim Wheeler of Ash Mr McCance still runs the business, and has spoken about how running the venue has coincided with some of the biggest events of his life. He says that the birth of his twin sons in 2004 motivated him to reopen the restaurant after his health difficulties, asking himself: 'Do I want my sons to say their father works in a restaurant—or owns one?' Then 12 years ago he decided to stop drinking alcohol, and took up a new hobby making pottery, now making blue clay trees which are for sale in the restaurant. The pottery and the work in the restaurant were also impacted by the passing of his sister Ruth and two other family members in the past three years. He describes his sister as his 'anchor and greatest source of strength', and produces pottery in her honour, while also finding 'a deep sense of purpose and stability' in running Ginger. Mr McCance said: 'Ginger has always been about more than just food. It's about people - our team, our customers, and our supporters - who've stood by us through the highs and lows. News Catch Up - Monday 26 May 'My wife Abbe and our sons Teddy and Zak now work alongside me, which has made Ginger not just a restaurant, but a family business I'm incredibly proud of. And I'm excited for what's still to come.' 'The restaurant has been my sanctuary. Through grief and uncertainty, it has grounded me—and I'm forever grateful for the journey it's given me.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'A risky endeavor.' How WPAFB set the stage for historic accords 30 years ago
May 5—On a dreary November evening in 1995, Richard Holbrooke, then an assistant U.S. secretary of state, had had enough. It was time to leave Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and end the attempt to hammer out peace accords between warring nations in the former Yugoslavia, Holbrooke had decided in frustration. Or at least, it was time to make it look that way. Holbrooke ordered his American delegation partners to pack their bags and place those bags outside the doors of their rooms at the Hope Hotel at Wright-Patterson, recalled John McCance, owner of McCance Consulting Group. McCance, then a spokesman for the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson, worked during the talks as an Air Force liaison to Nicholas Burns, a State Department spokesman. McCance had access to much of Wright-Patterson's Hope Hotel and the visiting officers quarters (VOQ), which had been transformed into diplomatic suites, home to the attempt to end a war between Croatia, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. "The negotiations had broken down," McCance recalled. "It was a cold, wet, dreary November day. It was very disheartening to everybody — the base personnel, the State Department personnel, the news media." "Everybody was very invested in getting a solution," he said. But Holbrooke was a "master of theater," said Fran Leskovar, project manager for the Dayton Peace Accords Oral History project. Leskovar recalled how Holbrooke, an experienced diplomat, visited Belgrade during a NATO bombing campaign to show he wasn't afraid. He took steps intentionally, with an eye on how negotiators could be affected. "He was very good at controlling and producing a theater," he said. "That's who Richard Holbrooke was ... everything was just a theater setting." "It was very intentional," McCance said. "It was a tool to put pressure on the delegations." "They were told to pack their bags and put their bags outside the door," he added. "And then I went to meet with Nick (Burns) in the American delegation building, and there they were — all the bags were outside the doors of their rooms." The move had an impact. By Nov. 21, 1995, a draft agreement was finalized. It was signed less than a month later in Paris. Celebrating the talks and marking their approaching 30th anniversary are among the reasons the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's spring session will be held in downtown Dayton May 23 to 26. "As the birthplace of the Dayton Peace Accords, our city holds a special connection to Bosnia and the cause of lasting peace in the Balkans," U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, said in March. Turner, who was mayor of Dayton during the talks, is a former president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and serves as vice-chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the assembly. 'A risky endeavor' Kevin Rusnak, chief historian for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson, said the base offered distinct strengths as a place to try to craft an agreement. "They thought that by isolating everyone and keeping the media, as it were, out of the negotiations, that would help the process," Rusnak said. Given the "relatively expeditious manner in which they reached an agreement, that part seemed to work pretty well," he said. Holbrooke wanted negotiations to happen in the United States. The base's physical environment provided what the State Department wanted. Wright-Patterson was secure, quiet, relatively isolated, yet rich with symbols of American power wherever delegates turned. Rusnak said other host site possibilities initially jostled for attention. The Camp David presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland were one option, but that site was perhaps most associated with the 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt. Rusnak said talks organizers wanted to avoid "historical muddying" of different moments. Paris, New York City, San Francisco or Washington, D.C. might have offered too many distractions. A relatively "austere" environment was felt to be right, Rusnak said. "Physical sequestration of the parties was really critical," he said, adding moments later: "It worked, right?" Holbrooke and others wanted a location about an hour's flight from Washington, Rusnak said. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. was on the list of possible sites. Langley Air Force Base, in Virginia, was seen as a front-runner, at one point. But Wright-Patterson emerged as the top choice. Presidential aircraft operated out of Wright-Patt. It was a quick flight from D.C. Advance teams checked sites in early October. On Oct. 13, an advance team visited Wright-Patt — and about five days later, the base was announced as the choice. Specifically, the Hope Hotel on Wright-Patterson's Area A — a "sort of off-base, but on-base" site, as Rusnak put it — would host the talks, just a short walk from the base VOQ, where dignitaries and support staff could relax and sleep. There was some surprise that the accords were to be held in Dayton at all. Serbian President Slobodan Milošević reportedly reacted to the choice by saying: "I am not a monk. You can't confine me to a military base." "The Europeans, used to negotiations in more opulent settings, literally had no idea where Dayton was, and expressed open unhappiness," Holbrooke wrote in his 1999 book on the talks, To End a War. There was skepticism, particularly among some of the Serbian and Bosnian leaders, said Fran Leskovar, project manager for the Dayton Peace Accords Oral History Project, which is collecting oral memories from retired and former diplomats who took part in those negotiations and implemented its terms. Leskovar and his colleagues plan to be in Dayton for the NATO parliamentary session. "Everybody expected it would happen in Geneva or Paris, and I think probably, I would argue, the Europeans were also not happy," Leskovar said of the peace talks. "So it was a risky endeavor." But the base was not an impediment. On the contrary, he said. "It was a strategic move to have it in Dayton," Leskovar said. "First of all, the base had capacity. All those buildings were easily available, and a lot of work was not required to convert them into a diplomatic headquarters." 'An American product' One message in holding the talks at an American military base was unmistakable, Leskovar said. "This is an American product," he said. "It has to happen here. We're involved. ... We're going to complete it." The ability to create "a base within a base" was "our biggest advantage there," Rusnak said. The base met the moment, he said. At a basic level, leaders wanted to fence off a secure area without making it seem that participants were imprisoned. Fences were raised. Sidewalks were built. Communications infrastructure in the VOQ and the Hope Hotel, for secure calls to D.C. and overseas, was provided, with participants gaining access to cell phones, typewriters, computer systems and more. "They could wander around," Rusnak said. "They could get to and from the negotiation facilities, which were primarily the Hope Hotel, and their own quarters, without interacting with anybody from the outside, whether that was people who work on base or the news media or the general public." Rusnak put the total cost of hosting the talks about $1.8 million. The talks spent $8,000 a day in food. Involved were 43 vehicles, with 84 drivers, many of them base employees, who volunteered to drive participants about. Some 450 hotel rooms were occupied, between the Hope Hotel and the VOQ. About 570 accredited journalists from 20 different nations covered the event. There were no security incidents. "We did the best that we could within those two weeks," before talks began, Rusnak said. The hard work paid off, advocates believe. "It was a success story," Leskovar said. "It provided diplomats with a setting they weren't able to get anywhere else." "We were committed," he added. "It was happening. We were going to get it to the end." "Ideally we wanted an area we could seal off from the press and all other outsiders, close enough to Washington so that senior administration officials could visit, yet sufficiently remote," Holbrooke later wrote. "The hard work, superior performance and cheerful enthusiasm which you and your colleagues brought to this effort were key elements in the successful conclusion of the talks," Secretary of State Warren Christopher wrote to the commander of the 88th Air Base Wing. "It was another kind of feather in our cap," Rusnak said.
CBC
12-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Students decry 'shameful' 25% rate increase at Halifax university residence
Social Sharing Post-secondary students living in the residence at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax were shocked by a letter from administration last week outlining a 25 per cent monthly rate increase for residence rooms starting in September. The residence provides housing for up to 103 students from Dalhousie University, NASCAD University, Saint Mary's University, Nova Scotia Community College and the University of King's College, as well as its own students. Since the news of the rental increase, students have been organizing in protest, putting up signs and flyers around the south-end campus emblazoned with slogans like, "Cut the Hike — No to 25." University of King's College physics student Nicholas Todd is one of the dorm residents protesting the increase. He says many students will struggle to pay the higher rates but can't afford to move elsewhere. "AST booting the rent up is actually going to create a significant trail of human misery behind it," Todd said in an interview Monday. According to the Atlantic School of Theology, the current residence rental rates range from $660 to $768 monthly for standard or large single rooms, with a shared kitchen and bathrooms. Todd said these inexpensive rates are what drew many students there. He is living in the cheapest room style, paying $660 per month. After the increase in September, that will rise to around $825. "It's very, very frustrating to see such a stark increase," Todd said. "Especially when our building manager in our email said that they are aware … there is the five per cent limit due to the Tenancy Act, but universities are exempt." University says rates remain lowest in city Atlantic School of Theology president Rev. Heather McCance said the increase is an attempt to bring the university's residence rates closer to the market rate in the city. She said even with the increase, the rooms will be going for 25 per cent less than dorms at other universities. But she said she understands the students' concerns. "I don't blame them for being upset," McCance said in an interview Tuesday. "I'd be upset. You'd be upset. Anybody would be upset with that kind of a jump. And we looked at the possibility of spreading it out, but frankly, there are costs we need to recoup." McCance said the federal government's international student cap has been hurting the school's bottom line. She said the residence used to have a long waitlist, but this year the dorm is not even full. In December 2022, the provincial government provided $3 million to the Atlantic School of Theology to upgrade the residence and add more beds to meet increased demand for student housing. McCance said "it was an expectation from the province" that when the renovations were complete, the university would raise the rent closer to market value. Not protected by province's temporary rent cap According to the Nova Scotia government, university and college dorm rentals do not fall under the province's Residential Tenancies Act because "they are board governed institutions that determine their rental costs." This means the temporary ban on rent increases over five per cent does not apply to students renting there. "We are disappointed with this sizeable rent increase at a time when cost of living increases are affecting many students," said Department of Advanced Education spokesperson Chloee Sampson. Sampson also said the department gave no direction to the Atlantic School of Theology to increase rents as part of the funding agreement. Char Russell, a NASCAD University student who lives in the Atlantic School of Theology dorms, said they were surprised to learn the province's rent cap doesn't apply to universities. "It's really shameful that this is happening," Russell said. "Especially because it feels like they're taking advantage of a loophole to exploit students." Both Russell and Todd said they don't feel the building is worth the new higher prices, saying it isn't in great condition and citing the presence of mould as an example. McCance denied this but admitted there is "occasionally some mildew" that is dealt with quickly. This week, a poster advertising an opportunity for students to meet with McCance and other university officials on March 20 was posted inside the building. McCance said she has only heard directly from one student contesting the increase, and she wants to open a dialogue. "I want to hear what they need more of to make this an attractive place for them to live," she said. "And we will do everything we can to make that happen within the constraints that we have on us." Russell said the best outcome would be for the university to reconsider the rate increase, "especially during a housing crisis."
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
What's next for air travel after tragic DC plane crash?
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — After the devastating plane crash in D.C., nerves are running high in the aviation community, but air travel continues across the country. 2 NEWS spoke with a retired air accident investigator to learn more about what we can expect in the days ahead. This is the first major domestic airline disaster since 2009 — and it's going to be all hands on deck to determine the cause, according to retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and air accident investigator John McCance. Cedarville student among DC plane crash victims 'The wheels are in motion to gather as much information as possible,' said John McCance. 'There will be a military safety investigation that will look at the parameters in the environment which created the accident from a military perspective.' McCance goes on to say that the National Transportation Safety Board will also be the lead in conducting an investigation as to why the civilian airliner was involved in the accident. And as investigation continues, thousands of flights and millions of airline passengers continue to take off across the United States. 2 NEWS visited the Dayton International Airport to speak with travelers about their experience in the air the day after such a harrowing event. Most travelers said the crash was on their mind, but it didn't prevent them from showing up. 'I've flown a decent amount, and you know, as long as you do what you're supposed to do and have faith in the airline, you'll be safe,' said Nicholas Gratz, traveler. Travelers also expressed that air accidents like this don't happen every day. 'I felt completely safe,' said Kelly Willetts, another traveler. 'I mean I did watch the news this morning, but obviously a complete anomaly I guess I would say.' DC plane crash a tragedy to be learned from, local flight instructor says The collision itself involved a regional passenger jet operated by PSA airlines — a subsidiary of American Airlines — and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter. McCance says the airspace around D.C. is incredibly busy. Several factors will need to be considered when determining the cause of the accident. 'That's what you do when you're unfortunately involved in these safety investigations, or you're trying to put the puzzle together,' said McCance. 'Explain why those two aircraft were in the same place at the same time.' McCance says that a statement from the military will likely be released in the next 30 days, but a comprehensive report on the accident from NTSB and FAA could take over a year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
