Latest news with #SaraJones
Business News Wales
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
Welsh Government Unveils Plans to 'Rebalance the Rates System in Favour of Retail'
Plans to change business rates in Wales, giving smaller shops a lower rate, are being considered. The Welsh Government has announced a 12-week consultation on the plans, which it says could benefit around 13,000 retail properties across Wales. It would cut rates for retail shops with rateable values less than £51,000 in a move the Welsh Government says would help them compete with online retailers. Larger properties with rateable values of more than £100,000 could be charged 'slightly more', but some public buildings like hospitals and schools would be protected. The Welsh Retail Consortium said it was concerned that the proposed changes would adversely affect larger retail premises, whilst UKHospitality Cymru say the outline proposals 'simply ignored' the challenges being faced by hospitality. It warned that returning the sector to full business rates and excluding it from reform would see bills 'dramatically increase', which it said would force businesses to cut jobs, reduce trading hours or, in the worst-case scenario, close for good. If approved, the changes would start on April 1 2026. The exact rates would be set during the Welsh Government's budget planning for 2026-27. Welsh Government Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford said: 'This proposal would help re-balance the rates system in favour of retail shops, supporting the ongoing viability of the sector which faces unique challenges from online competition. 'As part of our shared strategic vision for retail and retail action plan, we're taking meaningful steps to strengthen our local economies and create more vibrant high streets across Wales.' Sara Jones, Head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, said: 'Welsh Ministers have made headway on aspects of the business rates agenda in recent years, notably introducing more regular revaluations. However, the Welsh business rate is the highest in Great Britain and has risen to a 26-year high at a time when retailers are being thwacked by a range of statutory costs. 'Whilst the consultation on proposals to reduce rates for the smallest shops sound like an encouraging step, a high proportion of retailers operate from medium-sized and larger premises. These are shops that help underpin the health and vitality of our town and city centres and high streets across Wales and account for a large share of retail jobs. 'The proposals as they stand suggest these stores could pay even more than they do at present, and more than their counterparts occupying equivalent stores in England. We need to ensure a commensurate rates reduction applies to medium-sized and larger stores too. It's not in the interests of the Welsh economy for retailers to be incentivised to invest in Cheltenham over Cardiff.' David Chapman, Executive Director of UKHospitality Cymru, said: 'The Welsh Government claims it recognises the 'unique challenges' faced by bricks and mortar businesses, yet it has simply ignored and overlooked hospitality as one of the sectors most impacted long-term by the broken business rates system. 'These plans would see bills dramatically hiked, by the tens of thousands for many, and force businesses to reduce their hours, cut jobs and see many close for good – all of which would be a direct consequence of the Welsh Government's actions. 'It will make Wales a significantly worse place to do business and see investment in hospitality diverted to the other side of the border to England. 'It is a fact that hospitality businesses pay three times more than their fair share in business rates – something that the UK Government has recognised and is addressing in its own business rates reform. 'I urge the Welsh Government to recognise the catastrophic damage these proposals would wreak and take them back to the drawing board for wholesale revision. Reduce rates across the hospitality sector and let us continue to rebuild, serve our communities, create jobs for local people and play a key role in fostering economic growth.' The consultation runs until August 12 2025.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Great North Innocence Project sees $600K grant slashed due to federal funding cuts
Federal funding cuts are hitting organizations and non-profits. One of the latest is Great North Innocence Project. The non-profit works to free wrongfully convicted people. On the walls of the Great North Innocence Project in Minneapolis hang pictures of clients the non-profit freed. It relies on donations and grants to fund the mission. Recently Executive Director Sara Jones learned their 3-year $600,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice was cut. "It was shocking and really upsetting to us. I mean, we had plans for the next three years to really take what we already have and enhance the work that we do," Jones said. Jones estimates the grant accounts for 15% of their annual budget. The money, she says, funds a third of their legal staff. "It means that justice will be delayed. We already have a long line of applicants who are waiting for us to assess their cases, do deep dive investigations, which sometimes take years to complete. So it's going to take longer to be able to address that, and it will set us back in terms of our goals," Jones said. It's freed 13 people in it's 24-year history, and eight people since 2020. Last week, Robert Kaiser was acquitted of the murder of his infant son after his case was retried in Stearns County. Marvin Haynes is another example, released in 2023 after spending 20 years behind bars for a Minneapolis murder he didn't commit. "And so we're upset that this momentum maybe stopped short, and we had hoped over time to improve and grow our systems and our staff," Jones said. To address the sudden cuts, they are exploring an administrative appeal process. And says they are focused on finding funding. WCCO "For this year, we are determined not to cut our staff. We will do our best to make up the funding gap. We simply can't cut our staff and still do the work that we're already doing. And we have an ethical obligation to our current clients," Jones said. The Great North Innocence Project says two to three hundred people write each year asking the non-profit to take their case. One of them is Jerry Westrom. He asked it to review his conviction in the 1993 murder of Jeanie Childs. The case is the subject of the WCCO original documentary Footprint to Murder. You can watch it now on WCCO's YouTube page.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘They hit harder. Like a sledgehammer on fire;' Bald-faced hornets terrorize community
After a post on an Elizabeth community Facebook page, Neighbors started sharing their encounters with the bald-faced hornet. Some, like Sara Jones, spoke with our sister station, Channel 11, about going into anaphylactic shock from a sting. 'It was intense pain, but when I was walking back to my house, I just couldn't breathe anymore,' said Jones She said she has never reacted to any other sting before. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Driver dead after vehicle goes airborne from I-70, OSHP says Pilot who performed at Dayton Air Show dies in plane crash School employee placed on leave as school, law enforcement investigate allegations But the reaction might not be the most unnerving fact about these hornets…they actually remember your face! You might say their attack is personal. Steve Repasky, owner of bee control, said‚ 'We've actually seen with clients who have a nest that was built on a window of a master bedroom on a second story and the blinds are shut, the drapes are shut and the hornets are normal, but as soon as they open up that drape the shapes change and they recognize that shape as different…they'll start bouncing off the window attacking it because they are just mean." He said the hornets are known to attack. 'A bunch of them will come out to the outside and they'll sit, actually turn and face you, and they'll be ready to go,' said Repasky. 'Then, when they are ready to attack, the whole hive will empty, and they'll come after you. He says the reason you may see them now is that the queen is looking for a place to nest. The nest starts as a golf ball but can grow to be the size of a basketball hoop by August. Repasky said, 'The bald-faced hornet just hits harder. It feels like a lot of people say, it's a sledgehammer on fire. They just hit you hard- they hit you fast. It burns, and you have that reaction.' But the bugs are not new. They are common in Western Pennsylvania, so Repasky says to keep them around…they are one of the only bugs that prey on lantern flies! Folks mustn't attempt to remove the nests themselves. There can be up to 2,000 hornets in a nest, and if they know who you are, they will attack. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Elizabeth Township residents report encountering bald-faced hornets
After a post on an Elizabeth community Facebook page, Neighbors started sharing their encounters with the bald-faced hornet. Some, like Sara Jones, spoke with Channel 11 about going into anaphylactic shock from a sting. 'It was intense pain, but when I was walking back to my house, I just couldn't breathe anymore,' said Jones She said she has never had a reaction to any other sting before. But the reaction might not be the most unnerving fact about these hornets…they actually remember your face! You might say their attack is personal. Steve Repasky, owner of bee control, said‚ 'We've actually seen with clients who have a nest that was built on a window of a master bedroom on a second story and the blinds are shut, the drapes are shut and the hornets are normal, but as soon as they open up that drape the shapes change and they recognize that shape as different…they'll start bouncing off the window attacking it because they are just mean." He said the hornets are known to attack. 'A bunch of them will come out to the outside and they'll sit, actually turn and face you, and they'll be ready to go,' said Repasky. 'Then, when they are ready to attack, the whole hive will empty out and they'll come after you. He says the reason you may see them now is that the queen is looking for a place to nest. The nest starts as a golf ball but can grow to be the size of a basketball hoop come August. Repasky said, 'The bald-faced hornet just hits harder. It feels like, a lot of people say, it's a sledgehammer on fire. They just hit you hard- they hit you fast. It burns, and you have that reaction.' But the bugs are not new. They are common in Western Pennsylvania and the reason Repasky says to keep them around…they are one of the only bugs that prey on lantern flies! It's important that folks do not attempt to remove the nests themselves. There can be up to 2,000 hornets in a nest and if they know who you are, they will attack. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
