Latest news with #Morehead
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pantera's Dan Morehead Sees Decades of Bitcoin Upside Ahead
Bitcoin's (BTC) long-term potential remains largely untapped, according to Dan Morehead, founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, who took the Mainstage at Consensus 2025 in Toronto on Wednesday. 'There are a couple more decades to go of outsized returns in bitcoin,' Morehead told the audience, underscoring Pantera's ongoing conviction in the asset class. Morehead offered a rare look into Pantera's performance metrics, noting that the firm has turned a profit on 86% of its portfolio companies. Pantera has also invested in 22 startups that have gone on to achieve 'unicorn' status with valuations exceeding $1 billion. To capture opportunities in a fast-evolving landscape, Morehead recommended investors adopt a broad-based approach. 'We advise investing in a wide spectrum of tokens and venture equity,' he said. On the same panel at Consensus, Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 10T and 1RT, shared a sobering view on deal flow and valuations. 'In this space, founders think they should be raising capital at 50 to 70 times revenue,' Tapiero said, calling the expectations 'unrealistic.' Tapiero said his firm passed on approximately 200 investment opportunities in recent years, including some companies they genuinely liked. 'We automatically passed on a lot of these deals because the price was just too high,' he noted. Among those they declined? FTX, Celsius, and BlockFi, all three of which later collapsed amid scandals and market turmoil. Morehead also addressed the increasingly international nature of crypto activity. 'Ninety percent of crypto trading and protocols are based outside the U.S.—which isn't right,' he said. He blamed regulatory inertia for the exodus but expressed optimism that change is underway. 'The election win was a huge unlock,' Morehead said, referring to recent U.S. political shifts. 'We're coming back to what should have been, the last 6 to 8 years was a weird anomaly.' He hopes the coming years will see capital and innovation flow back into the U.S. crypto Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Machetes used in wooded-area hunt for Rowan County fugitive
MOREHEAD, Ky. (FOX 56) — New information was released on Friday about a fugitive who escaped from custody in Rowan County. The Morehead Police Department issued a public safety alert around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, May 6, saying 35-year-old Anthony Martinez escaped from the U.K. Saint Claire Hospital in Morehead. In a Facebook post Friday morning, the Rowan County Sheriff's Office said Martinez was wanted for bank robbery and other charges. Reportedly, the police department received information on Thursday that Martinez may have been in a densely wooded area near Triplett Creek. They used machetes to cut their way through and spotted Martinez, giving him commands to get on the ground, the sheriff's office said. RELATED | Possibly dangerous Kentucky fugitive who escaped hospital arrested Martinez reportedly ran directly into an officer, and at one point, he was able to slip one handcuff from his wrist and assaulted the officer, telling him he was going to kill him. Other officers tried to get control of Martinez, but he continued fighting back, attempting to grab their weapons and pushing officers, ending up in the cold water of Triplett Creek. 'This suspect was approximately 6′ 2″, weighing approximately 240 pounds, and willing to do anything, including killing police officers, to keep from being returned to jail. I can only imagine what he may have done if he had encountered an unarmed resident,' Rowan County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook. Nicholasville nonprofit gets a helping hand for a day of service Machetes used in wooded-area hunt for Rowan County fugitive Kentucky education leaders push back as federal mental health grants for schools face cuts In the sheriff's office call said that, despite what the news release from the Morehead Police Department would make you think, the arrest wasn't normal. 'So now that you know 'The rest of the story,' if you see one of the officers involved in this arrest, do exactly what I did, say thank you! Thank you for going above and beyond, thank you for putting your life on the line to make sure a dangerous fugitive is back where he belongs!' the Rowan County Sheriff's Office said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local Catholics pray for, celebrate first US-born pope in history
DENVER (KDVR) — A new pope has been selected, and with the selection comes a major historic moment that excited local members of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, on Wednesday, took on the name Pope Leo XIV, marking the first Pope from the U.S. The Cathedral Basilica of Immaculate Conception in Denver held a mass shortly after the announcement. Robert Prevost elected the first American pope in history, will take the name Leo XIV The new pope was celebrated and prayed for throughout the service. Anthonia Kalu is visiting Denver but used to live in the metro and wanted to stop in for service once she heard of Pope Leo XIV. 'I feel excited, relieved and it's just pure pleasure,' Kalu said. 'I was so surprised, for us to have a Pope coming out of this part of the world is awesome. ' The church and Father Samuel Morehead, the director of the church, celebrated the historic weight of the first U.S.-born pope. 'We are filled with amazing joy today, not only do we have habemus papum, a new pope, but he turned out to be an American which we never thought in the life of the catholic church that we would ever see this moment,' Morehead said. A Chicago-born pope gives members of the church, like Jania Gannon hope for understanding. 'He's traveled abroad quite a bit for a long time, but I think he definitely has a tie to how we feel, our culture, what the Catholics in the United States are going through and what we need. It's a great way to unite the Catholic Church,' Gannon said. Robert Prevost becomes first American pope of the Catholic Church: What to know With the new pope taking the name Leo XIV, Morehead feels might have some indication on what kind of leader he will be. Pope Leo XIII, served towards the end of the 1800s and focused on peace. 'He was also one who interestingly advocated for workers and those in destitution and those in great difficulties,' Morehead said. Pope Leo XIV spent many years in mission work across the world before his work at the Vatican began in recent years, close with Pope Francis. He echoed Pope Francis' words in his first appearance, 'peace be with you.' 'He affirmed the words that our Holy Father Pope Francis said the last time we saw him on Easter Sunday with a word of peace for the world and that word of peace,' Father Morehead said. Within the cathedral, there is still a place of mourning for Pope Francis at the side altar where people are invited to light candles and place flowers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No property tax hike planned in austere county budget proposal
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways May 7—There's both good news and bad news in the Haywood's budget for the coming year, one that's balanced at $111.9 million, but the good news for county property owners is that there is no planned tax increase. The bad news is that it's a very tight budget, and that work to recover from Helene means services will expand little, if at all. Under the budget proposal for 2025-26, the tax rate will hold steady at 55 cents for each $100 of property value. Part of that is because commissioners relied heavily on the county's fund balance to offset budget needs. Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead presented his recommended county budget at the Monday morning commissioner meeting. Budget figures indicated the county is growing, despite the double whammies sustained in the past several years. The total value of property in Haywood — which is the basis for property tax collections — actually rose by $250 million this year, but that growth was offset by property value losses of $230 million from the paper mill closure where reduced values just hit the books and from losses due to Hurricane Helene. Where Haywood will be spending more Here's a breakdown of the major cost increases required or planned in the 2025-26 Haywood County budget. —3% cost of living hike for employees, plus a possible 2% merit increase, a $3 million budget increase. —18 new vehicles, half of them going to the sheriff's office. Morehead said the county rolling vehicle replacement schedule means between 16 and 20 vehicles are updated each year. —Operating costs up 3% for an extra $631,000. —Capital outlay of an extra $871,000, mostly to be used for repairs, roof replacements, library carpeting, a forklift and jail appliance replacements. —Haywood County Schools — an additional $445,000, an amount in line with the automatic school funding formula tied to enrollment, bringing the total appropriation to $18.4 million. —Haywood Community College — up $103,000, upping the total appropriation to $3.5 million. —Insurance and bonding — an extra $272,000 Of those projected losses, $190 million in value is from the paper mill, and $39 million is projected from Helene. The nominal overall growth in property values and other revenues led to a relatively flat county budget that restricted any bold new initiatives but will allow the county to continue services at the current level. New ways to spend The 2025-26 fiscal year budget reflects new funding in two areas. One is to provide financial support for the ongoing recovery work in the county. Haywood County budget: where the money comes from Here's how the revenue projections stack up for the proposed 2025-26 Haywood County budget. —Property taxes — $56.6 million, a $60,000 increase from last year —Sales tax — $16.4 million, same as last year —Restricted government revenue — $15.5 million, up $1.5 million —Other revenues — $12.4 million —Fund balance appropriation — $11 million Total general fund revenues — $111.9 million, up $5.8 million from last year. Since Tropical Storm Fred hit in 2021, the county has employed a grants writer. As Morehead explained, there are no direct state or federal grants to counties struck by disasters. "You have to apply for everything," he said. "We set up our own recovery and resiliency office after Fred, but this is the first time we're putting it in the budget." Workers for recovery Garron Bradish, who heads the county development services office, will now oversee a new grants person, a flood mitigation specialist, and a new building inspector. "We still haven't closed on any properties under Fred," Morehead said of the disaster funding available to flooded homeowners willing to sell their property and relocate to higher ground. "There's a lot of work to be done." The new funding amounts to $735,000. New funds for recovery court The other initiative is funding recovery court efforts in Haywood that began with a two-year state grant. Under the contract terms, the county was to pick up the funding when the grant expired. The county's cost is $140,000. Recovery court is an alternative program for nonviolent offenders that offers a lifeline toward helping addicts become productive citizens. The program currently has 16 participants. Revenue The county budget's general fund includes basic government operations. There are separate funds for services such as solid waste, fire and road service districts or the tourism occupancy tax collections. The county receives funds to operate from multiple sources. One is federal funding primarily for health and human services. A second is revenue from property taxes, and a third comes from sale taxes. These three sources provide 79% of the county's revenue. Investments, fees or licenses are other revenue sources. Sales tax This year's budget anticipates both property and sales taxes to remain at the same level as last year due to the economic and disaster losses. Construction work on I-40 and the Blue Ridge Parkway to repair damage from Helene could also hinder visitors and therefore hold back increases in sale tax revenue. Only the federal revenues are expected to increase, but that is largely due to more children in the foster care program. A $1.4 million increase in federal payments is anticipated, with the county shouldering $175,000 of added foster care costs. Property tax forecast The property tax projections are based on a tax collection rate of 98.18%, down from last year's 98.29% rate. The proposed budget expects revenue losses because of less activity in the Register of Deeds office which collects revenue based on the value of property changing hands, and a decrease in building fees due to a lower level of construction in the county — all tying back to damage from Helene. On the flip side, increased revenues are projected from services such as ambulance charges, library and recreation fees, vaccinations, well/septic inspections and the sale of maps through Geographic Information Services, or GIS. Fund balance This year, the budget relies on a nearly $11 million transfer from fund balance, or money left from previous years, to make ends meet. Last year, the board approved a $6.8 million transfer. Morehead said the county's healthy fund balance has not only allowed the county to maintain service levels during difficult years but provides the needed operating funds to pay for disaster needs upfront as it waits for federal or state reimbursement, which are only available once projects are complete. "We have a history of a fund balance that's fiscally conservative," Morehead explained. "If we had all the issues to address at an 11% fund balance we had in 2006, I'm not sure how we could have made it. We build the fund balance during good years for times like this." The county's fund balance amount is a moving target where a snapshot is taken once a year on June 30, Morehead said. The latest unassigned balance available was $44 million. Expenses When beginning the budget process this winter, Morehead worked with each department head to review needs for the coming fiscal year. After that, he met with each commissioner. As Commissioner Jennifer Best noted, the board members had the opportunity to go over each department request, line item by line item, during the budget preparations. Trimming to fit The budget requests amounted to $117 million. From that amount, $5.6 million was trimmed primarily by eliminating requests for additional employees, all 22.5 of them. Approving the added staff would have cost $2 million, budget documents note. Overall, the general fund expenses increased by $5.8 million for the 2025-26 budget. Debt The county's non-education debt increased by $600,000 this fiscal year as balloon payments were being met. While old debt will begin dropping off next year, the $31 million jail project more than doubling the jail capacity is anticipated to cost the county $2 million annually to service the debt and interest costs. That is roughly the equivalent of an added 2 cents per $100 of value on the tax rate, but reduced debt for other projects is expected to temper the amount of additional revenues needed once the jail comes online in 2026. Haywood County Schools debt will continue to rise until 2028, when annual payments reach $2.3 million and will then begin decreasing. Haywood Community College debt payments are $1.5 million annually and falling. Local governments need approval of the N.C. Local Government Commission to enter long-term debt, and the levels obligated in Haywood County were well within the approved limits given by the commission. Once commissioners approve a budget, it will go in effect on July 1, for a fiscal year than runs through June 30 of 2026. A copy of the draft budget is available at the county administration offices in the county courthouses, the Waynesville library or at the county website at
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Possibly dangerous Kentucky fugitive escapes custody while at hospital
MOREHEAD, Ky. (FOX 56) — A man wanted in Indiana has reportedly escaped custody while at the University of Kentucky St. Claire Hospital. The Morehead Police Department issued a public safety alert around 5:45 a.m. regarding Anthony Martinez, 35, who escaped custody from Rowan County Detention Guards. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Officials said Martinez was last seen near the Boot Ranch by Main Street and KY Highway 32. The police said he does not currently have a beard or any facial hair. MPD advised that Martinez may be dangerous and is not to be approached by the public. Anyone who sees him should call 911 immediately. Officials said the public should stay vigilant until Martinez is back in custody. This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 56 News for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
