Latest news with #RichardSullivan
Global News
22-05-2025
- General
- Global News
Dartmouth firefighters help give pair of orphaned raccoon kits a second chance
Everybody's heard of firefighters rescuing cats stuck in trees — but what about baby raccoons left in a parking lot? That's exactly what the crew at Fire Station 13 in Dartmouth faced on Sunday when they discovered a baby raccoon abandoned beside the wheels of a parked car. A second one was found the following day. 'It was cold, it was wet, and it was shivering,' said Richard Sullivan, an executive officer with Halifax Professional Firefighters Local 268. 'So, the firefighters brought the baby raccoon inside, they dried it off and they warmed it up, and then they called Hope for Wildlife.' When he arrived at Hope's, the baby was severely dehydrated. 'It needed fluids, to be warmed up, and all that good stuff,' said Hope Swinimer, founder of Hope for Wildlife. 'But it's really doing well now, and the next day they found another one, so arrangements were made to have that one brought into us, too.' Story continues below advertisement The pair of bandits were brought to the nursery, where they joined about 23 other orphaned raccoons that are being given a second chance. View image in full screen The two kits will be on milk for 4-5 more weeks. Ella Macdonald / Global News According to Swinimer, the rescue gets hundreds of baby raccoons a year — mostly due to human error. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Probably 70 per cent of the time, it's a case where a raccoon has gone into someone's attic and given birth,' Swinimer explained. 'But they trap the mom out, not knowing she has babies up there, and release her far far away. So, the babies are orphaned from that point on and there's no way to reunite.' But there are ways to avoid the risk, Swinimer said. 'It's really simple, they pick the attics 'cause they're dark and quiet. By putting a light and radio up there, we're giving that mom the exact opposite of what she wants, and over the next week she'll move her family unit to a site that she finds a little bit better for her to nurse her young.' Story continues below advertisement Another common way kits become orphaned is when their mothers are hit by vehicles. 'We usually see the dead mom on the road with the little baby still curled up with mom, so it's really sad.' Swinimer said. She adds if you see a raccoon dead by the side of the road, it's a good idea to pull over and check for kits when safe to do so. 'People will often gather up those babies and bring them to us,' she said. 'It's always good to check because this is the time of year everything has babies.'
1News
01-05-2025
- Health
- 1News
More than 5000 senior doctors strike over pay dispute
More than 5000 senior doctors have gone on strike following months of unsuccessful negotiations with Health New Zealand. Health NZ put forward an updated offer last week, but that was rejected by The Association of Senior Medical Specialists According to Health NZ, the rejected agreement would have meant senior doctors received increases to base pay ranging from $8093 to $29,911, depending on experience. Those on steps 4 to 15 would have received a $8000 lump sum payment. However, the union said Health NZ's offer, a 1.5% cap on total salary increases over the two-year term, amounted to a pay rise of 0.77% per year. The union said its proposed increase was crucial for attracting more doctors to fill understaffed roles in public health departments and keeping experienced doctors from moving overseas to places like Australia, where pay was much higher and departments are less strained. Health NZ said today's strike would lead to 4300 planned procedures being postponed. Hospitals and emergency departments would remain open, and other clinical staff, including doctors, would still be available to deliver services to those who needed them. On Breakfast this morning, transplant nephrologist Dr Helen Pilmore said "we don't want to strike". 'We've never wanted to strike in the 35 years I've been a doctor, and the 26 years I've been a senior doctor, this, as you say, is unprecedented.' She said the health system was in "dire crisis". "It makes me sad every day when I see what's going on. And what I think people need to understand is that the public healthcare system is crucial for the well-being of all Kiwis." She said 'people will die' if doctors didn't have sustainable conditions to work in. "This is an unsustainable system at the moment, and patients are already suffering." The College of General Practitioners says the country is already way behind Australia in doctor numbers and it's only going to get worse. (Source: 1News) Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Deralie Flower said those on strike today were actually fighting to save the public health system. 'People work hard. The ones who are on strike are actually the ones who are still here,' Flower said. 'They are the ones who actually believe our health system is worth fighting for.' Chief clinical officer at Health NZ Dr Richard Sullivan said the biggest challenge with negotiations was the 'financial gap' the system was experiencing. (Source: 1News) Chief clinical officer at Health NZ, Dr Richard Sullivan, said the biggest challenge with negotiations was the 'financial gap' the system was experiencing. 'We know these are pretty tough economic times, and we've been pretty public about our financial constraints. 'So, we've been working hard with the union to try and come to an agreement, and I guess we've just not managed to get there yet.' He said the organisation had been struggling up and down the country. Recruitment and retention were issues in places like Tairāwhiti. According to department head counts, the region experienced a 44% vacancy rate for senior doctors. Nelson was also experiencing staffing difficulties. 1News spoke to multiple doctors at Nelson Hospital, who had serious concerns that staff shortages were impacting patients. Sullivan said Health NZ was still 'really determined' to keep working with the union to try and reach an agreement. He said the organisation had applied to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) for facilitation in the hopes of finding an agreement. 'I guess it's really about working with our teams to lift that environment and make sure we can deliver the best services and get to a place that is acceptable to both parties.' Nelson woman Alley Papadopoulos was supposed to be in the hospital today, recovering from a hysterectomy, but her surgery was postponed by two weeks due to the strike. Instead, she spent her day handing out ice blocks and cups of frozen fruit to union members at a rally in the city centre. She told 1News she had been on the surgical waiting list for more than a year but was "pretty joyous" to be at the rally. "I have been waiting a long time, and I was supposed to have had my surgery yesterday but, to be able to be here and then get my surgery, it means a lot." She said it was a "pretty good feeling". 'I would hope that people who have been put off, me being one of them, can really understand the importance of [doctors] being heard. "It's all for the greater good of all of us." Taupō mother Anya Devlin said her 4-year-old son was supposed to have an appointment with his paediatrician for an autism assessment and genetic testing. She told 1News this was the fourth appointment that had been cancelled since January. Despite the frustration around her son's cancelled appointments, Devlin backed the striking doctors. "I completely understand the position they're in and completely agree with the fact that they do need to strike. "We want to be able to do everything we can to retain our healthcare professionals in the country so they don't go off overseas' In a Facebook post last night, Health Minister Simeon Brown said today's strike would disrupt hospitals and delay healthcare, making waitlists longer. He urged the union to return to the negotiating table. Brown said the Government's updated offer reflected the desire to avoid any delays to healthcare. 'Instead of putting this offer to members to vote on it, the ASMS union has rejected it, deciding to go ahead with pre-planned strike action which will impact thousands of patients, rather than continued negotiations. 'The updated offer addressed a number of the key issues raised by the union to attract and retain Senior Doctors, including offering bonding of $25,000 for senior doctors who move to hard to staff regions for two years.' The Minister would not appear on Breakfast, saying the strike was operational and that Health NZ would be best suited to discuss it. Finance Minister Nicola Willis did appear and said New Zealand's doctors were valued. Willis said she was 'disappointed' that patients were having their procedures cancelled due to the strike. The Finance Minister says today's strike will have an effect on patients. (Source: 1News) 'We would really like to see doctors back at the negotiating table, in particular because in this case they haven't taken the offer that the Government has made to their members. The union has just decided to strike.' Willis thought the dispute could be negotiated and resolved. Labour MP Ginny Andersen said the Government was 'clearly' not doing enough. 'The problem we have is that in this initial couple of stages for doctors, yes, there is a pay increase, but there's not enough in that offer to keep the doctors who are employed in New Zealand here now. 'This Government has consistently made the wrong choices, they've prioritised tax cuts for landlords and tax breaks for the tobacco lobby over properly funding our health system.' The strike followed months of unsuccessful negotiations with Health New Zealand. (Source: 1News) Willis said the Government was investing significantly in health, calling it the "biggest increases to its funding it's ever seen", but there was no "endless money." "We do need to balance everything up."
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Woman killed in car crash with MBTA Commuter Rail train
A woman was killed Wednesday after she drove an SUV onto Commuter Rail train tracks in Abington and collided with a train, MBTA Transit Police confirmed. The crash happened around noon near 242 Centre St., Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said in an email. That address is across the street from Abington station, which is on the Kingston Line. The initial investigation suggests that the woman drove onto the train tracks despite the safety gates being down and the warning system being fully engaged, Sullivan said. Multiple witnesses told WCVB that they heard the train's horn and screeching brakes prior to the crash. Read more: MBTA Commuter Rail train collides with SUV in Abington Photos and videos of the aftermath show a badly damaged white SUV next to the train tracks. Transit Police are still investigating the crash, Sullivan said. No further information — including the woman's identity — has been released. Legendary filmmaker reveals his choice for 'greatest American film ever made' 'You're on thin ice': Judge warns 'Turtleboy' blogger as prosecutors try to revoke bail Smith Academy, St. Mary baseball teams raise money for 'Michael J. Fox Foundation' Gov. Healey awards $1.5M in grants to 500 Mass. community college students Tribe members, allies protest hydro utility relicensing along Connecticut River
Washington Post
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
2 senior judges, appointed by Repubicans, speak out about threats against federal judiciary
WASHINGTON — Two senior federal judges, both appointed by Republican presidents, spoke out Tuesday against threats of violence and impeachment against their colleagues in the judiciary. 'Threats against judges are threats against constitutional government. Everyone should be taking this seriously,' said Judge Richard Sullivan, whom President Donald Trump appointed to the federal appeals court in New York.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As power demand surges, Va. lawmakers seem ready to add more energy storage to the grid
Dominion Energy's Scott Storage and Solar facility in Powhatan County. (Courtesy of Dominion Energy) Virginia lawmakers want to more than triple the amount of energy storage capacity Virginia's two public utility companies — Dominion and Appalachian Power (ApCo) — must procure under the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). Passed in 2020, the VCEA required Dominion to supply electricity from only carbon-neutral sources by 2045. It gave ApCo until 2050 to meet the same standard. As part of its strategy to decarbonize the grid, the VCEA also set targets for public utilities to add capacity to store excess energy produced from renewable sources to dispatch during times of high demand. House Bill 2537 and companion Senate Bill 1394 would increase targets set by the VCEA for Dominion and ApCo energy storage capacity from a combined 3,100 megawatts to 10,000 megawatts. Del. Richard Sullivan, D-Fairfax, who proposed HB 2537, said more energy storage would bring down energy costs — which Dominion projects will rise by 50% for its residential customers by 2039 — and help maintain grid reliability. 'This will position the commonwealth as a real national leader in developing energy storage … reduces the need to develop peaker plants, and ensures the best use of renewable technologies,' Sullivan said. He added that increasing storage capacity 'ensures the lights stay on for constituents during natural weather events.' Sullivan's bill passed the House 54-44 along mostly partisan lines, with two members not voting. The Senate version, brought by Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, passed unanimously, with a nearly 50-50 bipartisan split. The two bills now await further action in the other's chamber. Dominion has warned that to keep up with increased power demand, it may need to build up to eight natural gas peaker plants — designed to be used when needed during demand peaks — over the next 10 to 15 years. Last year, Dominion announced plans to build a peaker plant in Chesterfield but has faced opposition from community members and environmental activists who say the plant could stall Virginia's decarbonization mandates. Investments in energy storage have paid off in other states. In Texas, through record summer heat waves in 2023 and winter storms in 2024, energy storage systems saved the state $750 million in energy costs and prevented grid shutdowns, according to separate analyses by Aurora Energy, energy market research consultants, and Clean American Power, a clean energy industry lobby. Renewables and energy storage batteries make up half of Texas' energy mix, the Clean American Power report states. Republican lawmakers in Virginia's House are also concerned about rising energy costs but said investments to develop energy storage technology would mean additional costs to ratepayers. Del. Israel O'Quinn, R-Bristol, also took issue with VCEA requirements that public utilities pay penalties for not meeting clean energy goals, including battery storage requirements — costs that could be passed on to ratepayers. 'It's time we step back and take a holistic look at where we are as it relates to utility regulations — as it relates to the ratepayers who are depending on us to try to make good decisions here and control the costs that are within our control,' O'Quinn said. The bills require Dominion to apply for available federal Department of Energy grants to offset part of the development costs. Sullivan said investment in energy storage will bring future savings and is needed due to growing demand on the grid in Virginia. 'We must increase storage development so that renewable energy produced at times it may not be needed can be stored to be put on the grid at the most useful time,' he said. 'Investments in storage today will pay large dividends for ratepayers and grid stability for decades to come.' Under the VCEA, Dominion, Virginia's largest public utility, is required to procure at least 2,700 megawatts of energy storage capacity by the end of 2035. The utility's first interim goal is to petition the State Corporation Commission by the end of this year for approval to bring 250 megawatts of storage capacity online. Dominion says it is ahead on its year-end target and has petitioned the SCC for 557.1 megawatts of storage capacity, much of which is operational. One megawatt of storage capacity can power 250 homes at peak output, Dominion says. The utility's 557.1-megawatt storage portfolio includes projects in various stages of development. Across four facilities in Chesterfield, New Kent, Powhatan and Hanover, Dominion currently has 36 megawatts of battery energy storage capacity in operation, 16 megawatts of which pre-date the VCEA, so are not factored into Dominion's storage targets. Also factored into VCEA targets is an additional 78 megawatts of storage capacity in various stages of development at five facilities across Virginia, including a 50-megawatt facility at Dulles International Airport that when completed will be the largest storage facility in Dominion's fleet. Dominion acquired an additional 459.1 megawatts of capacity through power purchase agreements. In addition to increasing capacity requirements, the bills call on public utilities to acquire specific amounts of both short-duration and long-duration energy storage capacity. The bills define short-duration as less than 10 hours of generation, and long-duration as 10 or more hours. Differentiating between short- and long-duration storage in Virginia code ensures that short-duration batteries are deployed soon to meet current energy needs, while long-duration technologies are being improved and developed, says Bennett Fuson, a spokesperson for American Clean Power. 'We've primarily seen short duration energy storage, we haven't seen a significant roll-out of [long duration systems],' Fuson says. 'What we do know is having the resources to hold more power that's cheaply generated and dispatch it for longer periods of time to offset those costs does help … as we're thinking about that next generation of energy consumers.' If the new storage targets are adopted, Dominion would have a lot of catching up to do. By year-end 2045, Dominion would be required to petition the SCC to buy or purchase 3,480 megawatts of long-duration storage, half of which must be petitioned for by the end of 2035. And half of the 2045 long-duration energy storage target capacity would be required to supply more than 24 hours of power. The legislation would also establish short duration energy storage capacity targets for 2045 and interim targets. The SCC would have authority to determine the feasibility of the long duration energy storage targets and adjust the targets as needed. The SCC's assessment would be based on a demonstration of pilot projects by Dominion that show energy storage technologies of at least 3,000 megawatts in capacity by 2029. Adopting new targets would depend on factors such as cost and reliability. Dominion is working with energy storage developers to pilot three long duration storage projects, including two battery systems at its Darbytown Power Station in Chesterfield — one of which could potentially discharge energy for 100 hours, according to Dominion. But the pilots — a combined 12.3 megawatts — would make a very small dent in 2029 technology demonstration goals. Christine Noonan, a lobbyist for Dominion, says the legislation would give Dominion the opportunity to study long-duration energy storage, which 'could be an important tool for [grid] reliability going forward.' 'Ultimately, after that technology demonstration [in 2029] the commission will have full authority to agree with the targets set in the code or alter them up or down and we think that is the right approach,' Noonan adds. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
