Latest news with #MichaelDwyer
Irish Independent
14-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Iconic Wicklow road is focus of new ‘Irish History Podcast' series
The road was constructed by British forces in the aftermath of the 1798 rebellion to quell the Wicklow rebels and bring the so-called 'bandit country' under control. The podcast is curated by Fin Dwyer from the popular Irish History Podcast, and each episode features engaging conversations with local residents, historians, and experts. Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council Cllr Paul O'Brien, stated: 'Whether you are a Wicklow resident or visitor, a history enthusiast, or simply curious about the Wicklow landscape, this podcast series will be of interest to you. 'I am pleased that this project is being released to coincide with the bicentennial of the death of Michael Dwyer in Australia in 1825, as he was one of the motivations behind the construction of this Military Road in the first place.' Contributors to the podcast include historian Frank Treacy, who shares the story of a unique military cemetery hidden in the mountains; Professor Graeme Warren, who offers insights into the early human history of the region and Robbie Carter, who recounts his experiences working deep underground in the lead mines at Glendasan. Additionally, Carmel O'Toole, a historian and resident of Glenmalure, provides a personal perspective on the area's cultural heritage. The series is available for free listening on the Irish History Podcast. Additionally, the Arklow Municipal District is coordinating a two-day event in Glenmalure to mark the bicentennial of Michael Dwyer's death on August 23, 1825. These events, part of Heritage Week, will include a one-day seminar on Saturday, August 23, and a bus tour of sites associated with Michael Dwyer on Sunday, August 24.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislature removes $50M in state funding for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
Graphic rendering of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library exterior breezeway. (Contributed/Snohetta) The North Dakota Legislature removed $50 million in state funding for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library endowment, but indicated the proposal may be back next session. The funding was removed from the Department of Commerce budget in a compromise between the House and the Senate. The House earlier had advanced the proposal to help the library with operational costs, but some objected to the funding being proposed so late in the session. 'There have been no hearings or any kind of consideration in the Senate,' Sen. Michael Dwyer, R-Bismarck, said during floor discussion on Senate Bill 2018. The library is under construction in Medora near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, with a grand opening planned for July 4, 2026. Lawmakers in 2019 approved $50 million in state funding for a library endowment. North Dakota House advances $50M in state funds for presidential library Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, advocated for additional library endowment funding, which would have been contingent on the library matching the dollars with private funds. On Friday, he said legislators could revisit the proposal in the session that begins in January 2027. At that time, lawmakers would have a better idea of the operational costs after the library has been operating for a few months. 'We can then take a look at it at a little bit more leisurely pace and take our time to delve into this,' Nathe said. Several lawmakers said they were told in 2019 that there would not be additional state funding requested for the presidential library. 'I do remember it being expressed as a one-time funding type of deal,' said Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot. He added the critics of the original funding were proven right six years later. The state Parks and Recreation budget also contains a $70 million line of credit through the state-owned Bank of North Dakota for the library, continuing what lawmakers approved in 2023. The loan, which can only be used for construction costs, is meant to keep the project moving if there are donations that have been pledged but not yet received by the library foundation. So far, the library has not accessed the line of credit. The budget for the state Industrial Commission includes up to $5 million for the presidential library to pay for some of the interest to the Bank of North Dakota if the line of credit is used. The Industrial Commission budget had not been approved by lawmakers as of Friday morning. North Dakota Senate rejects proposal to replace Chinese-made drones Previously, Matt Briney, spokesperson for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, said the group had raised $286 million in private donations as of mid-April. The overall $158 million Department of Commerce budget sent to the governor includes $9 million for the state to replace state-owned drones that were made in China, which supporters say pose security concerns. The Senate had previously rejected a similar proposal, but compromised on a reduced amount in the Commerce budget. The bill also contains a name change for the Office of Legal Immigration, which lawmakers established in 2023. The new name would be the Global Talent Office, to better reflect the agency's work. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Celtics' Jayson Tatum could miss 1st playoff game of his career when Boston hosts Game 2 vs. Orlando
Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum (0), right, reacts beside Derrick White after falling on a flagrant fowl by Orlando Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7), left, and Jayson Tatum (0) play against the Orlando Magic during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7), left, and Jayson Tatum (0) play against the Orlando Magic during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum (0), right, reacts beside Derrick White after falling on a flagrant fowl by Orlando Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7), left, and Jayson Tatum (0) play against the Orlando Magic during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) BOSTON (AP) — Celtics star Jayson Tatum could miss the first playoff game of his career when Boston hosts the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Wednesday. The six-time All-Star remained listed as doubtful Wednesday morning with a bone bruise in his right wrist that he suffered in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' 103-86 victory Sunday. Advertisement Tatum has appeared in the playoffs in each of his eight NBA seasons, playing in all 114 possible games. He led the Celtics in points, assists and rebounds per game during the regular season. With Boston leading 89-73 with 8:28 remaining in Game 1, Tatum went up for a dunk and was hit hard by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as he tried to block it. Tatum landed awkwardly on his right side. After a video review by referees, Caldwell-Pope's foul was upgraded to a flagrant foul. Tatum finished the game and said afterward that an initial throbbing pain went away. He had a postgame X-ray that he said was clean. He participated in parts of Boston's practice session Tuesday and was described as day to day by coach Joe Mazzulla. An MRI at some point in the day revealed the bone bruise. Advertisement The Celtics were 8-2 during the regular season without Tatum. Both of those losses were to the Magic, but Boston rested all its starters in the final meeting in Orlando on April 9. ___ AP NBA:
Boston Globe
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
40,000 bananas, 8 tons of paper cups, and a whole lot of emissions. Inside the Boston Marathon's climate footprint.
Then there are the runners themselves — so many runners, from so many places — traveling from around the world for the chance to run the iconic Add it all up, and not only is race weekend complicated — it's bad for the planet. The Boston Athletic Association, which hosts the In 2023, the association generated some 3,505 metric tons of carbon dioxide, according a Advertisement Those emissions are roughly the same as burning 4 million pounds of coal, or driving 9 million miles in a gas-powered car, according to a tool developed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In tackling those emissions, the race organizers are hoping to slash direct emissions from their operation to 42 percent below 2023 levels. 'This is us as the BAA wanting to be a leader in the marathon world and in mass participation sports, and to show that we can actually do more and have more of an impact in our sustainability efforts,' said Lorna Campbell, head of public relations for the association. Related : Advertisement To get there, the BAA has to take a holistic look at all the myriad things that together make up its emissions — energy to power offices, waste generated on race day, and gas-powered golf carts to shuttle volunteers and officials around, to name but a few line items. There are changes happening already to minimize the organization's carbon footprint, such as erecting solar panels on leased warehouse space and updated medals, which starting last year were made entirely from recycled plastic. At the weekend expo, many of the volunteers on site will model how to dispose of waste properly, and the nonprofit Sneakers4Good accepts donations of used running sneakers which are sent to developing countries for use. Last year, they collected 4,210 pairs of sneakers. The most immediate challenge will be tackling all the waste generated during race weekend. Between the race expo, the marathon, and the 5K, marathon weekend last year, 64.7 tons of waste were produced. That includes 17 tons of recycling and 18 tons of clothing — the various sweatshirts, pants, and other layers that are shed just before getting to the starting line — which were donated to Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Not to mention the cups. More than 7.7 tons collected during the 2023 marathon were diverted to compost. Empty water cups on the Boston Marathon course near a watering station in Wellesley, April 16, 2012. Michael Dwyer These changes make for a good start. But there's a long way to go. More than 99 percent of the BAA's carbon footprint comes from what's known as 'scope 3 emissions' — indirect emissions like those associated with purchased goods and services, like the 40,000 bananas shipped in from Ecuador for race weekend, or the buses used to get racers to the starting line. Those types of emissions are not included in the 2030 goal. Advertisement Erik Mohn, a vice president for sustainability at Schneider Electric, said they will be working with partners to address the supply chain, hoping to limit the emissions coming from packaging of bars included in the goodie bags, for instance, and other hand-outs. There are 'a whole host of supplier intervention measures that really help,' he said. That means partnering with the suppliers of food, tents, fences, barriers, bananas, T-shirts, and more. 'Across that gamut of suppliers, there's going to be opportunities for tangible, incredible GHG [greenhouse gas] reduction strategies.' One thing that hasn't been on the table: opting out of race shirts. That irks runner Caroline Staudt, who said that in 2013, distressed by the growing pile of race shirts accumulating in her closet, she told the volunteers at the marathon that she didn't want yet another. 'I think they called over three volunteers to try and understand what I was saying,' she recalled. 'They're like, What do you mean? You don't want it?' Staudt, who is a member of the group Green Runners, said she'd love to see Boston offer an option to opt-out when you register. 'These shirts matter to people, and I get that,' she said. 'But I also know that there are a lot of runners out there who run this every year, and they don't need 15 Boston Marathon shirts.' Related : There's also the elephant in the room: the travel. Advertisement The emissions from more than 26,000 runners traveling to the 2023 marathon added more than 52,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, equivalent to burning 58 million pounds of coal, about 15 times the other emissions associated with the BAA. According to a spokesman for Schneider Electric, those emissions were left out of the report because, under a United Nations emissions protocol, reductions in this category would be considered optional. In future years, the BAA may offer an option to offset their travel emissions. Traveling to any marathon comes at a cost to the climate. The challenge, said Walker Ross, a sports ecologist at University of Edinburgh, is that there's no 'magic bullet.' 'I think this is one of the really difficult things that sport has to reckon with in terms of its actual environmental impact,' he said. 'Sport, by its nature, requires us to all be in the same location.' Damian Hall, an ultramarathon runner and co-founder of Green Runners, pointed to another problem — the marathon's sponsor, Bank of America. 'They're sponsored by a bank that's third in the world for funding fossil fuels,' Hall said. 'All the event's sustainability measures are a waste of time until they bin their unethical sponsors.' When it comes to emissions it's not able to immediately eliminate, the organization will likely go the way of the Paris Marathon, which has been a leader on sustainability. As of 2019, the Paris Marathon was considered 'carbon neutral' because any of its emissions that weren't eliminated were offset through a partnership with the Advertisement The BAA will take similar steps, Mohn said. As they head into this weekend's events, Campbell, of the BAA, said it's all about first steps — getting an accounting done of their impacts and figuring out a path forward. Sabrina Shankman can be reached at
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota lawmakers stop time-change bill
A clock stands in front of the former train depot in downtown Fargo on March 6, 2025. A bill in the state Legislature could eliminate changing clocks for Daylight Saving Time. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakotans will keep changing their clocks twice a year. The state Senate on Monday voted 32-15 to defeat House Bill 1259 that would have eliminated seasonal time changes. Just before the vote to kill the bill, it was amended to put North Dakota on year-round daylight saving time. The original bill called for year-round standard time, which passed the House 55-37. North Dakota House approves bill to exempt state from daylight saving time Supporters of using daylight saving time cited advantages for evening recreation and construction. Some construction projects are not allowed to start before 7 a.m. There also were concerns in border cities with North Dakota being on a different time than its neighbors. The bill was amended to take effect only when neighboring states also had dropped the time change. Sen. Michael Dwyer, R-Bismarck, argued against the bill, saying that if Congress or a neighboring state makes a change, to leave the decision up to future lawmakers. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
