Latest news with #McCully
Belfast Telegraph
22-05-2025
- General
- Belfast Telegraph
Mourners at funeral of former UDA leader told he made ‘journey' towards reconciliation as service takes place in Dundonald
The funeral of former loyalist paramilitary leader Andy Tyrie has taken place in Dundonald with those gathered told that he embarked on a journey towards reconciliation following the Troubles. Family and friends of Tyrie gathered at Dundonald Presbyterian Church for the service which took place earlier following his death at the weekend aged 85. Tyrie was one of the most prominent figures from the early years of the UDA. He led the terror group from 1973 until 1988, when an attempt on his life led to him quitting. Tyrie stepped away from politics and the public spotlight some time ago. His tinted glasses and thick moustache made him a recognisable figure during the 1970s and 1980s. It is understood Tyrie had been ill for some time. Images from the service earlier showed family walking behind the hearse carrying Tyrie's coffin. At the funeral service, Rev William McCully, Minister of Religion at Dundonald Presbyterian Church, said Tyrie was a 'family man and family meant everything to him'. He spoke of Tyrie donating his kidney to wife, Agnes, and being 'generous in making a sacrifice'. Rev McCully added: 'But we would be fooling ourselves this morning if our understanding of Andy Tyrie was only just a loving family man. He was a man who was sacrificial.' The Presbyterian Minister at the Church on the Green said Tyrie's life and history is very public and well documented and one of the things Rev McCully recently learned was a saying of Tyrie's: 'Always forgive and don't be bitter'. Rev McCully said: 'The topic of forgiveness isn't something much talked about – and sometimes its grossly misunderstood. 'But when it comes to our province, to our community, and to our family, and to us as individuals – it's something that is so desperately needed – but there really is a lot to be forgiven.' He told those gathered that 'people struggle with forgiveness' and the rawness of the past still endures for people 'on both sides of the divide'. Rev McCully posed the question to those gathered: 'If forgiveness isn't found and considered – does that then mean that the cycle of bitterness continues?' Tyrie, he said, found the path to reconciliation when 'he came to faith sometime around 2002/03'. Rev McCully continued: 'It was obviously a journey – but the journey became clear with the Rev Bobby Allen, who Andy arranged to meet in the park here in Dundonald and where they talked things out. 'It was there that Andy gave his life to Jesus, and the direction of his life changed – all through the Grace of God ''Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found… was blind but now I see'. 'The past behind him – he became a new creation in the Lord Jesus. And when I came to Dundonald – this was the Andy I came to know. And of course he knew he needed forgiveness – but so do we all need the Gospel of Jesus's offer of forgiveness and we also need to take it too.' A funeral notice for Tyrie added that he 'passed away peacefully after a long illness surrounded by his loving family'. News Catch Up - Thursday 22 May "Cherished Husband of Agnes and much loved Dad of Dorothy (Cole), Andrew (Ann) and Linda (John),' it added. 'A very special Granda and Great Granda. "At home with the Lord.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Minnesota families are sinking under the weight of nation-leading child care costs
Tera Dornfeld plays with hers and Bobby SchmitzÕ son Linus Schmitz, 3, at the park after picking him up at daycare Friday, May 9, 2025. Before Annalisa Fitzgerald gave birth to her eldest daughter in April 2020, she was thinking about pushing her baby in a stroller at the park, the tiny socks she'd one day slip over tiny feet, and how long she might breastfeed. She wasn't thinking about years-long wait lists for a child care provider. Or how the astronomical cost would sideline her career. But that's the reality for Minnesota parents who face the nation's third most expensive infant care, at $1,800 a month, behind Massachusetts and Washington D.C., according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. Child care for a 4-year-old is slightly cheaper, but still $1,500 a month, or $18,000 per year and unaffordable for a typical family in Minnesota, where the median household income is $87,556. Fitzgerald, like many people when they have children, was forced to adjust her life accordingly. Fitzgerald and her husband, who were living in St. Paul at the time, relied on his roughly $80,000 salary after she decided to leave the workforce to take care of her babies. They were born in quick succession, and both needed stays in the neonatal intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fitzgerald sought a respite by enrolling them in child care part-time. 'We had our first two kids so close together, it kind of gave me more one-on-one time with them,' she said. 'They were both babies, and it was good for me to be at home and nursing one, and the other could go to daycare one or two days of the week.' For her then-infant children to attend part-time at Tierra Encantada, a Spanish immersion child care, Fitzgerald said her monthly bill was $2,366, which was more expensive than her mortgage. Her parents had to chip in to cover the expense. After a year and about $30,000 later, she and her husband moved to the outskirts of the Twin Cities metro, where they settled into a larger home and her husband secured a higher-paying job. The high cost of Minnesota child care, Fitzgerald said, encouraged a series of life-changing decisions. She left the workforce. Her husband found a more lucrative job. They moved out of St. Paul. And, after a third child was born during this time, they undertook a medical procedure to ensure they wouldn't have more children. Ann McCully, executive director at Child Care Aware of Minnesota, said the Fitzgeralds' experience is not unique. McCully said Child Care Aware, which receives state and federal funding, works with some parents who will refuse raises at work so they can stay below the income ceiling on child care subsidies. The situation is so dire, she said, that some families won't have more children even if they want them. 'What I'm hearing more than I ever have before is people saying, 'We're holding off on having a second child or having a child because we know we can't afford child care,'' McCully said. The problem, McCully said, is that the child care market is uniquely broken — there are seemingly no winners: Parents are paying bills that often surpass their mortgages; providers are barely breaking even; and child care workers are taking home low wages despite the importance and stress of their work. Statewide, child care workers made about $15.65 an hour in 2024, according to Minnesota Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The earnings don't cover the calculated cost of living for a single person, and positions in food preparation, dry cleaning and animal training all reported a higher wage than those in child care. The state Department of Employment and Economic Development connects the low wages to a shortage of qualified caregivers. Expensive infant care has plagued Minnesota parents for decades, in part because of regulations that require caregivers to oversee a fewer number of infants for safety, McCully said. In Minnesota, the ratio is 4:1 for children up to 16 months old at licensed child care centers. McCully said it's comparable to a single parent raising quadruplets. 'Can you imagine?' she asked. A decade ago, the Star Tribune produced Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting that detailed deaths in poorly regulated home-based child care centers. Minnesota is now among the strictest states for child care regulations, according to a report from the Knee Regulatory Research Center at West Virginia University, but the stringent requirements have led to higher prices. The Minnesota Child Care Association earlier this year advised against a Republican proposal that would have allowed teenage workers and unsupervised volunteers to count for the adult-to-child ratio. The organization wrote that the proposed changes were dangerous, and lawmakers should instead provide resources so care centers can hire better qualified teachers and increase accessibility for care. According to EPI, just 5.5% of Minnesota families can afford infant care, based on a federal standard that says a family should pay no more than 7% of household income on child care. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Think Small, a child care advocacy group, says they work with families spending as much as 40% or more of their income on child care. In one case, for instance, a south Minneapolis family spends $1,350 per month — $16,200 per year — despite an annual income of just $40,000. If Minnesota implemented a policy to cap a family's child care expenses at 7% of income, the typical family would save $14,000 per year, and 29,000 more parents could opt for the workforce instead of staying home, according to the EPI analysis. Former Gov. Mark Dayton in 2015 proposed universal pre-K, an estimated $348 million investment that would have granted every 4-year-old in the state access to early learning programs. At the time, parents were paying about $11,000 per year on child care — a figure that continued to grow in the years that followed. Dayton couldn't harness legislative support. Now, Gov. Tim Walz frequently touts his mission to make Minnesota the best state in the nation to raise children. He has signed into law free school meals, a Child Tax Credit and Paid Family and Medical Leave. But if expensive child care persists, he'll struggle to turn that mission into a legacy. Alexandra Fitzsimmons, policy director at Children's Defense Fund of Minnesota, pointed to 'significant investments' made in 2023, when the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party controlled the Legislature. The new money in 2023 increased the number of subsidized slots for lower income children by about 19,000, according to state data, bringing the total to an estimated 55,000. Some qualifying parents, however, say the process is a bureaucratic morass of paperwork that requires constantly having to prove you don't make more than the income cap. And in any case, Minnesota is home to more than 330,000 children under age five, which means the subsidized slots aren't available for most middle class families. For the parents of young children, help is almost certainly not on the way this year. A few Minnesota lawmakers have proposed new spending, but the state's grim budget outlook makes a significant investment in child care unlikely. Minnesota also receives more than $200 million per year from the federal government to fund child care. President Donald Trump proposed cutting this funding in his first term, and Republicans are more focused than ever on cuts to social programs to pay for tax cuts, which means even that relatively modest federal help could be threatened. While affording child care is one challenge, finding an available spot at a reliable center is another. McCully said parents are planning their future children around available spots at nearby care centers. 'It's certainly not the kind of family planning we wanted to be involved in,' she said. About two years ago, Fitzgerald moved to Bayport, a small town near the Wisconsin border, where she and her husband found a better place to fit their growing family — her third child was born during the house hunt. Fitzgerald said she struggled to locate a reliable child care and faced lengthy waitlists. 'It took me a very long time to get in anywhere,' Fitzgerald said. 'I was calling people, and this was two years ago, people were saying, 'We are waitlisted until 2026, 2025.' I was like, 'Alright, so basically I had to get my baby on the list before they're even born.' It's insane the lack of options that you have.' Fitzgerald eventually scored a spot through a lottery draw. Without it, she estimated the monthly cost of full time child care for all three of her children to range from $3,500 at a church she previously used, to about $8,000 for a private option. Her mortgage is currently about $3,400 a month, she said. Bobby Schmitz, a parent in St. Paul, said he and his wife reserved a spot at Common Roots Montessori School when they were three months pregnant. Schmitz' son has been going to the same care provider since he was 16 months old, which is the earliest the Montessori school allows. Schmitz said he and his wife reserved his spot while scoping out the neighborhood provider — 19 months in advance. 'We just got lucky because of our ignorance, really,' he said. Now they're expecting a baby in July, and Schmitz said the school was among the first to know — he's already reserved a spot for his daughter in 2027. In addition to sending his children to the Common Roots Montessori School, Schmitz joined its nine-member board last August as a way to give back. He said his responsibilities include approving the budget and ensuring the school is sustainably funded by using a mix of grants and other sources. The majority of the operational budget is covered by tuition, he said. His involvement as a board member does not come with a discount for his 3-year-old son's care, which Schmitz said costs about $19,000 annually. Schmitz's experience of the inner workings of the school educated him on how the child care industry is working with super low margins, and he said it's clear no one is getting rich providing care. 'Being on the board, I see the conversations on what the tradeoffs are for every dollar and how laser focused [providers] are for how to make it the best place for the kids, and the best environment for staff,' he said. The cost is worth it, Schmitz said: 'For me it's a no-brainer to have my kids there because of the consistency, because of the thoughtfulness that I've seen. It's hard enough to have a kid away from his parents all day long.' Schmitz said paying one child care bill isn't a 'budget buster,' but he and his wife's combined annual earnings of roughly $200,000 will be stretched when their daughter is enrolled and their annual bill increases. Anticipating the additional cost, Schmitz said he is starting to save money now so they can pay for two kids in child care — he's preparing to pay $40,000 a year.
NZ Herald
09-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Protest in Tauranga over pay equity changes
Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden said the urgency was to allow all claims to be considered under the same thresholds. In Red Square, Tauranga care and support worker and E Tū union member Tanya Oomen said, 'We've had enough.' She said the Government was 'cutting women's pay without any warning, without consultation'. 'National has forced through a law change that will take money directly out of women's pockets across New Zealand.' She said National was doing it to 'make their Budget add up' and was turning its back on the thousands of women who fought for equal pay, 'all to fund tax breaks for tobacco companies and landlords '. Oomen described herself as a care and support worker in the disability sector, working in a house with six adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. She said she did 24-hour shifts, only half of those hours double-staffed. She was expected to sleep on-site, care for her charges, cook, clean, take them to activities and appointments, keep them connected to family and friends, and check their finances. 'I'm more than an arse-wiper. Much more. 'We have been fighting so hard and for so long, and all we want is a decent wage for the hard work that we do.' New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) member Conor Fraser said it was 'gutting to see how quickly changes can be made to an Equal Pay Act that has been fought for for decades'. Fraser said he was part of a pay equity settlement last March. 'I've been part of a team that went through the process of understanding what the legislation is and how you enforce it and how you correct inequities that have existed for a long period of time. 'For others to not have that opportunity, it's wild.' Mount Maunganui Labour Party member Heidi Tidmarsh organised the protest, led by Labour Party list MP Jan Tinetti. NZEI staff member Kirsty McCully said the change had added barriers to women being able to achieve pay justice. 'It takes us back to before 1972 when the Equal Pay Act was first brought into force. 'I think what it really does is negates a whole lot of amazing work [by] campaigners like Kristine Bartlett. McCully works with early childhood teachers and as a result of this change, 93,000 teachers have had their pay equity claim set back. Advertise with NZME. 'It's devastating, and it really is a kick in the guts. 'It makes the idea that we can achieve wage justice almost impossible.' McCully said many women were already struggling in the cost-of-living crisis and trying to hold their families together. She said the Government was saying $3 billion a year for landlords was affordable but $1.7b in wage justice for women is not. 'The Government's making decisions that impact on a small number of the wealthy to privilege their interests over the interests of the vast workers who have had wage injustice for generations, and now that's going to be entrenched.' On a visit to Tauranga on Friday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said his Government is 'very, very committed to pay equity, and avoiding and eliminating sex-based discrimination'. 'But we also need to make sure we have one system that is robust, that's workable, that's sustainable and actually focused on the core purpose of the legislation, that is about eliminating sex-based discrimination, rather than bringing in broader labour market conditions you often see in a bargaining round.' Luxon said individuals and unions could still apply to have pay equity claims processed and the Government had put money aside to deal with these in future. He said the changes aimed to encourage more specific pay-equity claims. 'We've seen claims that have up to 90 different occupations, when we see comparisons between fisheries officers and librarians. 'What we need to have is a hierarchy of comparators to make sure the system is more workable and gives people more certainty.' He described the Opposition framing of the review as 'a little bit disingenuous' and said saving money was not the primary reason for the change.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City jobless rate holds steady
HIGH POINT — Local employers remained in a hiring mode as winter faded, continuing the extended recovery of the High Point job market from the coronavirus pandemic. The city of High Point unemployment rate was 4.4% in March, unchanged from February and down from 4.6% in March of last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. The rate for this March was noticeably improved from the 6.9% level in March 2021 during COVID-19's impact on the economy. 'The unemployment rate remains below 5%, often considered the standard for a healthy job market,' said Mike McCully, associate professor of economics at High Point University. Over the past year, hiring has been strong in education, health care and professional services, McCully told The High Point Enterprise. 'Leisure and hospitality and manufacturing have faced the biggest challenges during the past year,' he said. The solid foundation of the North Carolina economy should help preserve job opportunities. 'The area's tax incentives, and our very strong air and highway transportation hubs, should continue to attract new businesses in the long run,' McCully said. Statewide, unemployment rates decreased in 43 counties from February to March, increased in 29 and remained unchanged in 28. Seven of the state's metropolitan areas posted rate increases, five recorded decreases and three remained unchanged, the N.C. Department of Commerce reported Tuesday. When compared to March of last year, unemployment rates increased in 44 counties, decreased in 30 and remained unchanged in 26. Seven metropolitan areas recorded rate increases over the year, five posted decreases and three remained unchanged. The number of counties with unemployment rates at or below 5% totaled 92 in March compared to 91 in February. No counties recorded unemployment rates in February or March at or above 10%, historically the sign of a struggling job market. The number of workers employed statewide increased in March by 30,225 to 5.1 million while the number unemployed decreased by 191 to 195,211. Since March 2024, the number of workers employed statewide decreased by 8,623, while the number unemployed increased by 4,939. pjohnson@ | 336-888-3528 | @HPEpaul
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
McCully is named after a Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice
HONOLULU (KHON2) – In the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī, which lies in the moku of Kona here on Oʻahu, stands a street named in honor of a Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice. We are speaking of McCully St. Lawrence McCully was born a New York in 1831 and is said to have moved to Hawaiʻi at 23 shortly following King Kamehameha III's passing. The 'Father of Baseball' was influential in Hawaiʻi Quickly becoming a Police Justice in Hilo, McCully would lead a life of public service to the Hawaiian Kingdom. From serving positions such as House Representative, Speaker of the House, Interpreter, Clerk and Deputy Attorney General, McCully was then inaugurated to the Supreme Court in 1877 as 2nd Associate Justice followed by 1st Associate Justice. He eventually acquired approximately 120 acres in Honolulu. Today, the neighborhood of McCully is named in his honor. Lawrence McCully created a name for himself, but don't get the Judge confused with the Governor of a similar McCully Judd was a different influential gentleman who was a descendant of public servants and was the 3rd generation of the distinguished Judd family in Hawaiʻi. His grandfather was medical missionary Dr. Gerrit Judd, and his father was Supreme Court Chief Justice Albert Francis Judd. After graduating from Oʻahu College, Judd became a successful businessman and high-ranking military officer. Judd was most known for his role in the infamous Massie Trail, commuting the sentence of Joseph Kahahawai's killers. Check out more news from around Hawaii He was appointed Governor of the Territory of Hawaiʻi in 1929, then becoming Governor of American Samoa in 1953. Did you know? Now you do! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
