Latest news with #Seaside
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Vanuatu's market mamas forced to move after December earthquake
Port Vila's "mamas" had to adapt to feed their communities after being displaced by the 7.3 magnitude earthquake which damaged the city's main market house in the centre of town. At the Port Vila Show Ground Market, groups of women sold their produce under a marquee-style tarpaulin shelter set up beside a permanent concrete verandah. Those operating under the temporary shelters once sold their wares at the Central Market House in downtown Port Vila before it was damaged in the quake. The earthquake killed 14 and injured more than 250. The NDMO said 80,000 people were effected and 1473 displaced from their homes. Fresh produce seller Leidab David said when the earthquake struck they were at the national market in town and they all ran. "We did not know where to go to do our market," she said. "After some days, weeks and months had passed now we have come together again. We have found ourselves here in the market house at Seaside." Each mama pays a table fee to the Port Vila Municipal Council to sell their goods. Photo: Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai/RNZ Under the marquee there are approximately 16 to 20 tables - about 8 to 10 on each side. Those on the concrete verandah are largely vendors who had already been based at the Show Ground Market. "Now the public and vendors know that the mamas that used to market in town, which is damaged - they are all coming to this place," David said. "Now we are starting to sell and now the room, the place is small." David said the manager has told them that if they come and it is full, sellers can go to Fres Wota Park and to Anamburu Park. For two older mamas, Susan Esau (63) and Elsie Solo (72), selling their produce daily earns them up to 20,000 vatu (US$165.48) a week. For two older mamas, Susan Esau (63) and Elsie Solo (72), selling their produce daily earns them up to 20,000 vatu (US$165.48) a week. Photo: Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai/RNZ Solo, who sells coconuts, said she has seven people in her family to feed while Easu, who sells fruit, said she has six mouths to feed. "Yes, it is enough" they say to help provide and put food on the table for their family. The Show Ground Market is now one of the few satellite markets with access to toilets and running water, an essential service for vendors who spend long days at their stalls. Leidab David said they need a better venue. "We need a big building; we need a safe place for all of us to come to and be safe," she said. "We want a good one like at the national market. Right now we are just doing things individually. We need a big space for us vendors to come to and be safe."
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jersey Shore star Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola invites ex Ronnie Ortiz-Magro to her gender reveal party
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola and her fiancé Justin May hosted a gender reveal gathering at Lobster Lounge on the Seaside Boardwalk ahead of the August birth of their first child. 'If you guessed boy you were right!' the expecting 38-year-old announced on Instagram Monday. 'We love you little baby and can't wait to meet you! Boy mom and dad to be.' Sammi and the 36-year-old corrections officer originally began dating on August 1, 2022 and they got engaged on March 16, 2024. It's been an incredibly long and difficult IVF journey for Giancola, who previously revealed they suffered a miscarriage on the November 21st episode of the MTV reality show. 'It's been a lot of shots, it's been a lot of hormones. Just the thought of even being pregnant was such a magical moment for me, and just to have that taken away. It's devastating for me,' the Sweetheart Styles owner cried in a confessional. '[Justin] is so positive and uplifting. He's so special to me, and I just am so thankful for him. He's been by my side through this whole thing. I just love him.' Sammi told People that she and May are 'just happy to have any baby' and 'didn't care about gender,' but 'we kind of had a feeling what it was' a boy. The former Karma bouncer-bartender added: 'I can't wait to just play sports. Teaching my kid, coaching the Little League teams and stuff. It's going to be exciting.' Giancola invited the entire Jersey Shore cast to celebrate her baby news including her ex-boyfriend Ronnie Ortiz-Magro in an exclusive photo obtained by the magazine. 'It's just so iconic because me and my roommates, we've basically grew up here in Seaside and also me and Justin met here in Seaside,' the excited mom-to-be gushed. 'It's just very sentimental, meaningful all around.' Sammi's toxic on/off romance with her 39-year-old ex spanned 2009-2016 and lead to similarly volatile relationships with his babymama Jen Harley and ex Saffire Matos, which resulted in domestic violence arrests and a rehab stint. Ronnie and Jen are now amicably co-parenting their seven-year-old daughter Ariana in Florida. 'The [cast are] actually all amazing parents and they're very inspiring and I feel like they have given us great advice,' Giancola said. 'I love what they told us. They know the ins and outs of parenthood for sure.' Giancola invited the entire Jersey Shore cast to celebrate her baby news including her ex-boyfriend Ronnie Ortiz-Magro (pictured in 2024) in an exclusive photo obtained by the magazine Things have definitely softened between the Hazlet-born brunette and Ortiz-Magro as she says 'I would never talk bad about Ron' in the trailer for the eighth season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which premieres May 29 on MTV Things have definitely softened between the Hazlet-born brunette and Ortiz-Magro as she says 'I would never talk bad about Ron' in the trailer for the eighth season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which premieres May 29 on MTV. Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi then marveled: 'Oh my god, Sam said Ron's name!' The 15th anniversary season for the GTL crew was filmed at the original Seaside Heights house and will include trips to Jamaica, Cape May, and Nashville. 'I have to get surgery. I'll do anything to have a kid at this point,' Sammi vowed of her baby journey. Before Justin, Giancola previously dated Code Green Solar consultant Christian Biscardi from 2017-2021. The original Jersey Shore - which spanned six seasons from 2009-2012 - surrounded hard-partying roommates sharing a New Jersey beach house as well as their mantra 'gym, tan, laundry.'
South Wales Guardian
29-04-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Cwmamman United beaten on the final day of the season
The match, part of the Macron West Wales Premier League, took place over the weekend at Rockspur's ground. Despite a strong performance earlier in the week, where they defeated Seaside three-nil, the home side needed a win against the league leaders to secure third place. Ultimately, the away side's victory meant that third spot went to Penlan AFC. Despite this setback, Cwmamman enjoyed a successful campaign, winning 19 of 30 matches, drawing five, and losing only six.
South Wales Guardian
26-04-2025
- Climate
- South Wales Guardian
Cwmamman United claim vital 3-0 win in promotion push
Playing against Seaside AFC, the home side looked positive and dominated the game, securing three crucial points in their promotion push in the Macron Premier League. As the game kicked off on a calm Tuesday evening, the weather took a dramatic turn, with the second half being played in a constant downpour. Despite the weather challenges, Cwmamman United started with strong intent, creating several chances within the first 10 minutes. Their efforts paid off in the 27th minute when Taylor Smith broke away and scored the opening goal. Five minutes later, Smith doubled the lead with another powerful strike, leaving Seaside's goalkeeper, Dion Davies, helpless. Seaside tried to find a way back into the game, but Cwmamman's defence, led by James Gorman and Charlie Davies, remained solid. Goalkeeper Kane Draper had little to worry about as Seaside's attempts were mostly long-range shots, which he managed with ease. Despite the heavy rain affecting the quality of play in the second half, Cwmamman United remained dominant. The third and final goal came in the 67th minute, courtesy of top scorer Elliot Smith. The forward broke away, rounded the keeper, and netted his 29th league goal of the season, sealing the victory for Cwmamman United. On Saturday, April 26, at 3pm, they will travel to Gorseinon to face league champions Rockspur FC in the final game of the season, hoping to secure promotion to the Ardal South West League.
Wall Street Journal
18-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
A Bankrupt Developer, Actor Kevin James and a $14 Million Fixer-Upper
Kevin James is a stand-up comedian, starred in the long-running sitcom 'King of Queens' and the movie 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop,' and played a lead role in the movie 'Hitch' and many others. In recent years, he played a new, not-so-coveted role: the owner of a $14 million mansion that turned out to be sort of a lemon. James has been thrust into the bankruptcy of National Realty Investment Advisors, a real-estate developer that filed for chapter 11 protection in 2022. The company developed and managed residential and other projects for more than a decade, raising roughly $650 million from more than 2,000 investors who learned of the business through the company's radio and TV advertisements. National's creditors continue to go after what's left of the Secaucus, N.J.-based firm's assets. One of those assets is a portion of the proceeds from a 2021 sale of the Delray Beach, Fla., mansion to James. A trustee charged with retrieving National's assets is suing James to get back some money that was put aside to make repairs to the mansion upon the sale's closing. But, the trustee alleges, James didn't make the repairs, the escrowed cash wasn't spent, and James has since sold the property. James, according to a court filing, says the cash is his. James didn't respond to requests for comment. His lawyer, Stephen Padula, declined to comment. Ice Miller lawyers representing a trust for National creditors didn't respond to requests for comment. The James saga started in October 2017, when National, via an affiliated entity called N. Ocean Capital 344 (NOC 344), bought the property for $7.1 million as an investment. Even then, the 18,900-square-foot home had a troubled past. The mansion was previously owned by Al Rabil, now chief executive of $37 billion asset-investment firm Kayne Anderson. He purchased the property in 2013 and had a new home built on the site, but in 2016 he sued the general contractor, Seaside Builders, and eventually others, over allegedly defective construction, including a subcontractor's improperly built concrete slabs. Rabil and his family moved out of the house, saying in the lawsuit that they feared for their safety. An engineer who evaluated the home, for example, found that the concrete and bolts couldn't properly support loads, the suit said. The city eventually deemed the home an unsafe structure, warning against entering it or trespassing on the property. Rabil and Seaside settled the suit. Seaside placed a lien against the Rabils' property in 2016 and filed a complaint to foreclose on it, seeking what it said was $270,000 still owed to the company. It alleged that Rabil ordered substantial modifications and additions to the work that resulted in more than 170 change orders. Seaside said it was fired without cause and denied that there were defects. The lien was released and the foreclosure complaint was eventually dismissed when Seaside missed a legal deadline to file suit to block the lien's release. In a 2023 deposition that was part of the bankruptcy proceedings, U.S. Construction Inc., a contractor hired by NOC 344, said that upon NOC 344's purchase of the property from Rabil in 2017, an engineer was hired to assess what needed to be fixed to make the house compliant with city codes. The repair estimate came in at around $200,000. The improvements were made, according to the lawsuit, and the house was back on the market in May 2020. A listing from that time described the mansion as having six bedrooms, a five-car garage, a guesthouse and T-shaped pool with a 12-foot deep end. The primary suite took up the entire third floor. The home was priced at nearly $16 million, and the listing described it as 'completely renovated, redesigned and upgraded,' including with improved structural and mechanical systems. In early December 2020, the Knipfing family trust—Knipfing is James's given surname—signed the sales contract, agreeing to buy the property 'as is.' After a presale inspection of the property, an addendum was added to the contract in late January 2021 in which NOC 344 acknowledged that certain repairs were needed. They included the three-stop elevator, which needed a new door; the patio tiles were damaged; and the garage door leaked. The seller and the Knipfing family trust agreed that $250,000 of the $14 million purchase price would be held in escrow to be used to pay for the various repairs after the sale to James closed, which it did in late January 2021. A lawyer for U.S. Construction Inc. said the company completed all the repairs on the pre-sale inspection punch list. In mid-February 2021, James posted a YouTube video of a chat with fellow comedian David Spade, in which he told Spade that he had moved into the home and was 'sleeping on the floor, trying to set it up.' In June 2022, National filed for bankruptcy with a $225 million portfolio of investment properties in four Eastern states, including Florida. Portfolio manager Thomas Nicholas Salzano, who the Justice Department called the company's 'shadow chief executive,' was sentenced last November to 12 years in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to securities fraud and other crimes. The trustee for National's creditors filed its lawsuit against James this past February, alleging that many repairs listed in the sales contract addendum never happened and seeking the return of the $250,000 that remained in escrow, even after he sold the home—also 'as is'—for $12.7 million in May 2023. The James lawsuit is among more than 30 cases that the trustee has filed against parties that also include a New Jersey town, accountants and former company insiders. Also named as a defendant in the James lawsuit is the title company holding the escrowed funds. The trustee says that allowing James to have the $250,000 would penalize National's creditors 'and provide a windfall to the Knipfing trust.' James's camp, in an exhibit that is part of the trustee lawsuit, laid out in 2021 how a litany of defects dwarfed the fixes that NOC 344 agreed to in the sale agreement. A roughly 150-page home-assessment report done a few months after James bought the home has dozens of photos of flaws large and small that purport to show that the property was a giant home-improvement project. James bought the property believing that 'all of the required remedial work to the previously condemned structure had been remediated,' the home-assessment report said. Among the allegations in the report: a faulty lift system had trapped people inside the elevator; it took four minutes for the water to get hot in the kitchen sink; the faucet in the primary bathroom bathtub was too far from the tub, allowing water to fall on the floor; the roof leaked; gas-grill fumes invaded the garage; and the lighting in the wine room didn't work. In total, the consultant hired by James estimated that the cost of repairs would be roughly $1.4 million. A lawyer for U.S. Construction said it completed, or had been willing to complete, the repairs found post-sale, and said that the damages listed by the inspector were 'woefully overstated.' It looks like the drama may soon come to an end. On March 28, a report filed by the trustee indicated that a settlement with James had been 'reached in principle.' Tentative terms weren't specified. Until it is finalized, a pretrial conference in the James lawsuit is scheduled for May in the bankruptcy court in Newark, N.J. Meanwhile, the property's current owner, a limited liability company, is seeking a building permit from the city of Delray Beach to make a host of improvements throughout the interior and exterior of the property. They include enclosing the balconies and doing work on windows, doors and toilets. The application for the permit estimates that the cost of the improvements is $200,000. Kishore Mirchandani, who is identified as the property owner or agent on the LLC's building permit application, as well as manager on the LLC's state incorporation records, didn't respond to requests for comment. Gina Carter, spokeswoman for the city of Delray Beach, said the city is awaiting more information from the owner that would support the repair estimates. Write to Becky Yerak at
