Latest news with #SarahWarren
BBC News
31-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Nature-themed mural painted alongside the River Avon in Bath
Young artists have created a colourful mural to celebrate the unique wildlife found along a mural, next to the River Avon in Bath, is part of a series of improvements to the Bath River Line - a 10km stretch of river between Newbridge and covers the wall of an Army Reserve centre and was a collaboration between Bath and North East Somerset Council and Little Lost Robot, an independent non-profit collective of artists. Councillor Paul May, cabinet member for child protective services, said the mural "demonstrates the creative skill there is in our community and helps to brighten up a stretch of the path". Four young artists developed the artwork during workshops held for those 'not in education, employment or training (NEET)' and it aims to connect the community and visitors to the natural environment. Ruby Sant, director of Little Lost Robot, said: "It's a great opportunity for emerging artists to get paid employment, delivering artwork for the public [and] starting off careers in the arts."Mr May added: "I would encourage residents and visitors to explore the Bath River Line and take a look at this wonderful artwork which celebrates the natural environment of our river banks." 'Enjoyed by everyone' Construction recently started on Phase One of the Bath River Line project, between Windsor Bridge and Green Park, with improved access, new seating and ecological planting. Sarah Warren, cabinet member for Sustainable Bath and North East Somerset, said: "The Bath River Line supports the council's vision of being Nature Positive by 2030 by creating and enhancing the natural habitats along the river to improve biodiversity and climate change resilience and provide social spaces that can be enjoyed by everyone."Work will continue on the River Line into August, with further phases to be delivered beyond that.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landmark NJ Sheraton Crossroads hotel is destroyed in spectacular controlled implosion
Video captured the dramatic moment the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel in New Jersey crumbled to the ground in a controlled demolition Saturday morning, marking an end to the 36-year chapter of the Route 17 landmark. Hundreds of onlookers gathered along the highway in Mahwah to witness the 22-story glass and steel structure nestled on the New Jersey and New York border fall, North Jersey reported. The demolition, carried out just before 7:30 a.m., sent booming echoes through several parts of New Jersey — with residents in Midland Park, Montebello, Wyckoff, and Waldwick reporting they heard the loud blast, the outlet said. The massive complex was demolished just 15 seconds after detonation, and was met by cheers from the crowd, video showed. The Sheraton Crossroads opened in October 1987 and was once a popular hotel and wedding venue known for its shimmering glass facade and mountain views. The space shuttered permanently in December 2023, and developers originally said they were planning to put two warehouses on the site. However, Patch reports that the owners are now considering other options. The implosion, which drew scores of people with cameras set up to catch a glimpse, was coordinated by several agencies, including the state Department of Labor, according to the outlet. 'That was wild,' Sarah Warren from West Milford told the Record just after the demolition. 'It's crazy to be gone. I used to drive by it all the time,' she said. 'That's the coolest thing I've ever seen,' another onlooker, Nick Morales, said. The Sheraton Crossroads had floors reserved for offices, and developers planned on eventually opening up several more nearby office buildings. But, the vision was a 'gamble,' developer James D'Agostino told the Record. Additional office buildings were never built, and the hotel struggled to find tenants, D'Agostino said.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
NJ's Sheraton Crossroads Hotel comes crumbling down in controlled implosion
The Sheraton Crossroads Hotel crumbled in a controlled implosion in New Jersey on Saturday, an event that drew scores of people hoping to say their final farewells to the decades-old building. Residents as far away as Midland Park and Montebello, Wyckoff and Waldwick, reported hearing the early-morning blasts, coordinated by the fire, police, ambulance and building departments in Mahwah. 'This is a serious construction event that involves the implosion of a multi-story building,' they warned. 'The site and the event are regulated by the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor, a very experienced implosion contractor, the general contractor for the developer, the New Jersey State Police, the Mahwah Police and other Township personnel.' By 7:45 a.m., the 22-story building — a New Jersey landmark since 1987 and a once popular wedding venue known for its rows and rows of glass windows — was no more. Located along Route 17 near the New Jersey/New York border, the hotel closed its doors in December 2023 after 36 years. Hundreds of people gathered along the highway to watch the building fall, and even more people tuned in for the livestream. 'That was wild,' Sarah Warren from West Milford told the North Bergen Record. 'It's crazy to be gone. I used to drive by it all the time.' Another wrote on Facebook: 'When I was little I called it the Superman building and thought he lived there.' The owners' of the site previously said they planned to build two warehouses on the property.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Portland considers adding Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr to school calendar
Apr. 2—Portland students and staff could have two new days off from school next year: the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur in October and the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr in March. The Portland school board has been workshopping an updated 2025-26 school calendar over the past two weeks. Adding the two holidays would be an acknowledgement of the district's growing religious diversity, according to district leadership, but will also cost $65,000 per day. The board will take a final vote on the calendar Tuesday. "The point of this is to recognize the rich diversity of our community, and to have our calendar reflect that there is significant religious diversity withing our school system and our larger community," said Sarah Warren, executive director of strategy, at last week's Curriculum and Policy Committee meeting. She said the push for the added holidays originally came from students. The proposed calendar also includes tweaks to the winter break schedule and professional development days for teachers. Because Eid al-Fitr could take place on either March 19 or 20 next year, Portland will pair the holiday with a professional development day, and whichever date is determined not to be Eid will still be a day off from school, allowing families to plan in advance. Maine law requires districts to have at least 175 instructional days for students and at least 180 school-functioning days for teachers. Each additional holiday would cost the district $65,000 because they would add a paid holiday for hourly staff like ed techs. Warren said the district would plan to find money in the operating budget for those costs, rather than proposing new expenses. Warren said the district also considered adding other holidays — including Lunar New Year, a nonreligious holiday celebrated in China and other Asian countries, and Good Friday, part of the Christian Holy Week — but isn't suggesting those additions at this point. "We just decided to start with these two and see where that takes us," Warren said. "This was an effort to try and at least build some diversity into the calendar in recognition of different religions' holidays, but doesn't clearly get all of it." All of the holidays observed in Portland school calendar currently are either federal, state or related to the Christian faith. Portland Public Schools doesn't know how many of its students are Muslim or Jewish, because it doesn't keep data on religious affiliations. But Census data shows the population of Muslims in the Portland area is growing. About 3.67% of people in Cumberland County are Muslim, according to the 2020 U.S. Religion Census. The Portland-South Portland metropolitan area is the 23rd-largest metro area of Muslims in the country as of 2020, with a 2.02% Muslim population — a massive rise from 311th in 2010. About 0.62% of people in Cumberland County, and around 0.37% of people in the greater Portland-South Portland metro area, are Jewish according to the 2020 religion census. Lewiston Public Schools added two Muslim holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, to its school calendar in 2021 and was the first district in the state to do so. Lewiston's superintendent said at the time that more than 40% of the district's students and staff recognize and observe the holidays. Portland school board District 2 Board Member Ali Ali observed the growing number of Muslims on local government bodies and in the area. "Having to miss school on those specific days and then having to re-make it was really ... it was a lot," Ali said, although he said he also understood the financial drawbacks. The $130,000 price tag for the new calendar did receive concern from some committee members, although an amendment to convert the holidays to half-days did not receive support to move forward. Another amendment to add Good Friday also did not progress. There was little discussion about the calendar when the school board workshopped it Tuesday night. Board Chair Sarah Lentz said she was excited to support the added holidays. "I think that there's still a disconnect between the ways that we schedule things in schools and the major holidays that our students are celebrating. And so I think that this operationalizes us to think about Ramadan and to think about the High Holidays in the Jewish religion in a different way, that our previous calendar has done around major Christian holidays," she said. A couple of public commenters, like Lara Rosen, spoke about their support for the changes, and described them as a step toward equity. "As somebody who grew up Jewish in a very non-Jewish community, that was not something that I ever experienced," Rosen said. "And I would love for my kiddo, and his Muslim friends, and his Jewish friends, to also be able to have those holidays recognized and have that cultural history and religious experience recognized by the district." Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. 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Telegraph
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Ambulances charged for entering clean-air zone
Police cars, fire engines and ambulances responding to life-and-death 999 calls are to be charged for entering a Somerset low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN). From March, emergency services which do not meet the local council's emission standards will have to pay to enter the city. Bath and North East Somerset Council introduced a so-called Clean Air Zone (CAZ) – another name for an LTN – in 2021. It granted a four-year suspension on charges to emergency responders and support vehicles to allow them time to 'update' their fleet. The suspension will come to an end on March 14, but it has meant the fire authority has had to ask for a £4.8 million investment in its fleet over three years. Avon Fire Authority has warned that more than half of its emergency vehicles, including fire engines, are not compliant, adding that it will take another six years before the entire fleet can drive without incurring LTN charges in the city. A capital programme report published this February by the fire authority says electric and hydrogen vehicles used to fight fires cost twice as much as those that use 'internal combustion'. The report says: 'New technology vehicles (electric and hydrogen) are roughly 100 per cent more expensive than the cost of the equivalent internal combustion vehicles, across both the car and commercial vehicle market. 'The level of CAZ-compliant vehicles within the station-based appliance fleet is currently 40 per cent because of the fleet replacement programme. 'The proposed capital investment in further vehicle procurement and the continual introduction of lower or zero-emission vehicles within our CAZs will achieve 48 per cent Clean Air Zone compliance across the appliance fleet by March 2026. A further 24 specialist operational vehicles are currently 21 per cent CAZ-compliant. 'The life cycle and appliance replacement programme for the turntable ladders, as an example, will not achieve clean-air compliant emissions until 2030. Current expectation is the fleet will be CAZ-compliant by 2031.' Impacted vehicles 'limited' Private cars and motorbikes are not charged to enter the zone, no matter how much pollution they emit, although higher-emission taxis and private hire cars are. The council, however, claims only a limited number of emergency vehicles will be affected by the charge. Cllr Sarah Warren, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for climate emergency and sustainable travel, told the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service the authority had 'worked closely' with emergency service providers to support them during the introduction of the LTN. She added: 'This exemption has allowed emergency service organisations four additional years to consider the steps that could be taken to prepare for the end of the exemption, including vehicle upgrade, retrofit and fleet redistribution, and we are supportive of the changes that have been made to date. 'All parties have been aware from the start that this exemption was due to end in March 2025 and our dialogue with the emergency services to date indicates that, because of the progress made in the last four years, a limited number of vehicles will be impacted by this local exemption ending. 'We are continuing our conversations regarding these vehicles.' A fire service spokesman said it was 'in negotiations' with the council. An Avon and Somerset Police statement said the LTN had 'informed' its choice of 'vehicle replacement'. 'As a result, our fleet team has put cleaner and more efficient vehicles on the road,' he continued. 'Our fleet now includes more than 200 hybrid and electric vehicles operating within local communities.'
