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IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
One year later: Margate's local businesses struggle to recover after April 2024 floods
File image of damages caused by the April 2024 flash flood in Margate on the KZN South Coast. Image: Johan Steyn More than a year after a devastating flash flood lashed Margate, the "gem" of the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, many local businesses still face an uphill battle in their recovery. The floods of April 2024, which claimed five lives and devastated numerous homes and businesses, have left scars that are still evident throughout the town. Gary Wridgway, who owned a mini golf business called The Duck and Putt in Margate, said his business was a success before the floods destroyed everything. 'When the floods came I lost everything in my business, my ducks and geese that I had as an attraction were scattered all across the Margate area. Fortunately, they were all recovered. The concrete slabs for the mini golf were all ripped up and broken,' he said. Following the incident, Wridgway recalled that there were roughly 10 vehicles from neighbouring properties dispersed on the property. He also noted that his tuckshop was submerged in almost two metres of water, resulting in a half-metre of mud and extensive damage afterwards. 'I unfortunately was unable to recover or restore anything. I had just finished renovating and had spent all my money,' said Wridgway. According to Wridgway, there was talk of a government relief fund that was quoted at R400,000 to rebuild his business alone. 'It never came through. My landlord expected me to restore the ground and be up and running within 3 months before continuing to pay rent; therefore, I had to leave,' he lamented. Based on his observations, Wridgway said there evidence still remains of the flood throughout Margate. 'The effort to clean up has been slow at best; the only work being done is by the community to my knowledge,' he said, adding that The Duck and Putt still looks like a disaster site. 'I am still trying to recover from my financial loss brought on by the floods; it has been one of the toughest years of my life,' he said. File image of a damaged vehicle following the April 2024 flash flood in Margate on the KZN South Coast. Image: Johan Steyn Ivor Shead, owner of One-Stop Mobile Mechanic, said he has been forced to try and run his car repair business from his home since the flood. Shead's workshop, which he was renting, was completely destroyed, including nine vehicles and a trailer that were washed away. 'It's a struggle, things aren't what they once were, and we're simply doing the best we can,' he said. He further explained that no repairs have been undertaken on the rental property since the flood, and due to what he had lost, he was not willing to stay there. 'With the clients' cars, tools and other things, we lost just over R2 million,' he said. In terms of being able to pay bills from month to month since the flood, Shead said he is in arrears for about R40,000. According to Shead, they were asked to fill in forms for relief, but he has not received any feedback yet. 'Even the government, when they sent the council down to see what we lost, they've never come back to us either,' he said. File image of damages caused by the April 2024 flash flood outside Wimpy in Margate on the KZN South Coast. Image: Johan Steyn Shead believes not enough has been done to restore Margate to what it was before the flood. 'That whole area is still a mess. Even the area where Wimpy was, the council is only starting to repair that now. Margate will never be the same.' He added that all the people he knows who were affected by the flood are struggling. 'We tried to get back up on our feet, but it's really hard. I was with one guy now; he was doing woodwork. He is also struggling.' Reggie Lantz, whose panel-beating workshop, including 16 vehicles he was working on, in Margate was washed away during the flood said he is struggling to get back up on his feet. 'The workshop washed away, and I lost everything: my vehicle, my tools, everything,' he said. Repairs to paving outside the Wimpy on the beachfront in Margate last month. A flash flood in April last year damaged infrastructure, businesses and houses. Image: Alan Bosch Lantz said the infrastructure that was damaged during the flood has not been fixed, and he is now using a different workshop on the same property. 'Business is very quiet; I'm in arrears with everything because of the flood. I'm behind with my rent here; I'm behind with rent at my house. It's tough, and we are just trying to make ends meet,' he said. With regard to relief from the government, Lantz said, 'nobody helped us with anything. Nobody came and assisted us; they all came here with their cameras and everybody, and that was it". Alan Bosch, Margate councillor, recalled how Margate was devastated by the flood a year ago and that the beach areas were particularly affected. 'The damage to the infrastructure was immense, and although there has been some progress, there is still a lot to be done to restore the paving, railings, toilets and building damage to an acceptable standard,' he said. Bosch highlighted that Margate is a prime holiday destination for the south coast area and that the effect on businesses and tourism has been devastating. 'While funding from the central government has been sparse, we still need the local government to act,' he said. Margate councillor Alan Bosch has started a petition to fix Margate Beach in an effort to speed up the process to address some issues, including decay of buildings, walkways and toilet facilities among others. Image: Alan Bosch On a positive note, Bosch said the Olympic swimming pool is once again open and operating and 'looks magnificent.' 'There is also a team on the ground busy with the restoration of the paving on the main beachfront,' he said. He noted that there is also a strong law enforcement presence in the Margate beach area. Bosch stated that the most positive thing for Margate is the activities undertaken by the Tidy Towns team, who manage under difficult conditions to keep the beach area clean and safe for residents and holidaymakers alike. 'What is required, however, is to rectify the decay of buildings, walkways and facilities, particularly toilet facilities,' he said. With that in mind, Bosch launched a petition under the Democratic Alliance banner to encourage the authorities to prioritise the restoration of the beach facilities. Margate councillor Alan Bosch has started a petition to fix Margate Beach in an effort to speed up the process to address some issues at the beach including decay of buildings, walkways and toilet facilities among others. Image: Alan Bosch The ongoing campaign called Petition to fix Margate Beach has garnered support from more than 2,600 residents to date. 'I am getting some co-operation in addressing some issues, but the process needs to be sped up,' said Bosch. The KwaZulu-Natal Department: Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea), Ugu District Municipality and Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality did not respond to several requests for comment. Former KZN Edtea MEC Siboniso Duma, who visited the area following the flood with local government leadership, said it is unfortunate that the gains the province has made in its quest to ensure economic recovery and the growth of tourism are threatened by recurring storms and floods. Duma said climate change is the biggest threat to human development. 'Climate change is affecting almost every sector of the economy in this province. Therefore, it is important that stakeholders work together to tackle both adaptation and mitigation.' In response to questions about what progress has been made to restore Margate to what the town was before the flood, South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise (SCTIE) referred the queries to Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality.
Axios
06-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Exclusive: Heartland Forward jump-starts AI education
Heartland Forward has selected an education technology company to develop gamified artificial intelligence curricula for students and entrepreneurs living in the center of the U.S. An announcement about the partnership is expected at the Heartland Summit this week. Why it matters: AI fluency is increasingly a workforce expectation. Up to 30% of hours worked in the U.S. economy are projected to be automated by 2030, making AI aptitude critical for career readiness. The urgency is palpable. President Trump recently created an AI education task force, and more than 200 CEOs signed a letter Monday urging state leaders to mandate AI and computer science as a high school graduation requirement. The letter claims a single computer science course in high school boosts wages by 8%. State of play: Bentonville's Heartland Forward, a self-described "think-and-do" tank, selected Dallas-based Stemuli to help build the curricula using a computer-game-like interface where students can learn. They plan for the program to eventually be deployed in all 20 states the organization defines as the heartland. Stemuli uses AI technology to create personalized learning for each individual in a platform that's similar to immersive games like Roblox. In collaboration with Heartland Forward, the company will look at talent gaps the largest employers in the middle of the U.S. are predicting and will build learning "geared towards preparing young people for those particular jobs," Stemuli founder Taylor Shead told Axios. Heartland Forward envisions also offering the learning to entrepreneurs who may benefit from AI. A Heartland Forward representative declined to say how much the nonprofit would invest in the effort, saying only "it's a significant project." Reality check: Students in rural communities often get left behind in tech adoption, Heartland Forward president and COO Angie Cooper told us. "This program ensures the heartland is included in AI readiness, so that no one's left behind," she said. A cohort of 10 rural Arkansas schools will likely be the first to use the platform once it's ready, along with entrepreneurs who are part of its Builders + Backers program. Stunning stat: Students using Stemuli at P-TECH in Texas graduated with average earnings between $60,000 and $70,000, outpacing their peers' $46,000 average, Shead said. What they're saying:"The general thing with AI is it's a manufacturer of time," Shead said, noting it can take two years for a community college to develop new curricula. "So what you're able to do with AI is you're able to build faster, which means you essentially can … do more, cheaper." Stemuli will continuously update curricula as technology evolves, she said. "This is something that's coming to the heartland before coming to California or New York." The big picture: The invitation-only Heartland Summit — held in Bentonville on Wednesday and Thursday — convenes about 350 policymakers, civic leaders, entrepreneurs and investors to network and discuss economic development in the 20 states in the middle of America. Heartland Forward was founded in 2019 — after a one-off Heartland Summit in 2018 — to improve the economic performance in the center of the U.S. by advocating for job creation, inclusive growth and improved health. It's funded through private donations. In many ways, it is the heartland's equivalent of the annual World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. What we're watching: The summit has been a powerhouse of economic news in the past, usually sporting an eclectic mix of thoughtful guests from Pharrell Williams and Chelsea Clinton to Boris Johnson and Matthew McConaughey.
New York Times
10-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Raptors end-of-season awards featuring Jakob Poeltl's floaters and Jamal Shead's dunks
A colleague told me that these last two Toronto Raptors seasons were the first time the franchise has lost 50 games in back-to-back years since their second and third marathons through the NBA calendar. For an organization with a history as varied as the Raptors, that did not seem right, even if they had recently put together nearly a decade of competence. Pull out your asterisks. While the fact is technically true, each team played just 66 games in 2011-22 because of a lockout. The Raptors went 23-43 in Dwane Casey's first season. That put them on pace for a 29-53 season, which would have followed a 22-60 season. Advertisement Regardless, the Raptors will back up last year's 57 losses with at least 50 this season, with two final games to play in Texas over the weekend. You might not want to remember, but we celebrate the good and the bad here. With that, here are my annual end-of-season Raptors awards. Of the 83 players who stood up straight without shoes at last May's NBA Scouting Combine, Shead ranked 82nd, a quarter inch taller than 6 feet. He had a maximum vertical leap of 37.5 inches, 24th among those who tested — fine, but not eye-popping. It was a surprise, then, when he accepted the runway that the Washington Wizards gave him and flew in to put back a miss from RJ Barrett with a dunk. That the Wizards completely failed to box out Shead was understandable: How could anybody have thought that was coming? Nominees: Jakob Poeltl goes coast to coast; Ochai Agbaji posterizes his teammate; Agbaji blocks Miles McBride in transition Barrett deserves special praise here. Without Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, he was a playmaking machine, dropping a career-high 15 assists. Six of those were to Poeltl. The Celtics were giving up the middle, trying to keep Barrett out of the paint, and Poeltl's array of push shots was deadly. Poeltl made 16 of 19 field goals, tying him with Kawhi Leonard for the second-fewest misses for any Raptors player to ever hit 16 buckets in a game (Gary Trent Jr. went 17 of 19 in a game once. Really. I suppose anything could have happened in the Tampa season). Nominees: Barnes destroys the 76ers in Philadelphia; Barrett lights up the Pacers; Agbaji and Jamison Battle combine for 12 3s in New Orleans Advertisement The Raptors scored fewer than 20 points in three quarters, which is hard to do in the modern NBA. Ja'Kobe Walter went 1 of 10 from the field. Shead was 2 of 10 and a minus-37 in 25 minutes. The Raptors were minus-25 in Kelly Olynyk's 10 minutes (!!!) and minus-39 in Barnes' 31. Barnes' performance included six turnovers and 1-of-8 shooting from 3. Pick any of them, or, like, three or four others from that game. Nominees: Shead goes scoreless with seven turnovers in Indiana; Barrett disappoints in Detroit Brick City; Barnes has a nightmare opening night It was just so easy. Dončić dissected the Raptors defence, not yet at peak powers, with ease, spraying passes to wide-open shooters. Dončić had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, leading the Mavericks to three 30-plus-point quarters to start the game. Kyrie Irving, like Dončić, had six 3s, but it was the Slovenian who controlled the game. The Mavericks moved to 16-8 with the win. I'm sure that continued, with nothing else to note about the Dallas season. Nominees: Nikola Jokić carries the Nuggets to an early-season overtime win; Darius Garland cooks the Raptors in Cleveland; Domantas Sabonis has a perfect game (no misses, no turnovers) in a triple-double in Sacramento The Raptors fell to 2-11 the night before with a home loss to Detroit, back when that result seemed worse than it ended up being. A back-to-back after a late-night flight to Boston seemed like a recipe for disaster. Instead, as mentioned above, Barrett and Poeltl kept the Raptors alive despite being short-handed. The Celtics weren't at full strength, but were still 10-3 entering the game. Barrett could not close out the game down the stretch, giving the Raptors the lead once in the final minute of regulation, but not twice, after the Celtics had tied the game. Advertisement Instead of fading away in overtime, Agbaji gave the Raptors the lead with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left, and Barrett tied it in the last minute. Ultimately, Jayson Tatum did what he couldn't do in regulation — beat the buzzer with a 3, ending a night that was way more fun than anyone would have predicted. Nominees: Narrow defeats in Golden State and Cleveland; Barnes comes through in crunch time in Atlanta; Quickley almost propels Raptors to win in Intuit Dome debut Did you know the Raptors didn't win a single road game against a team that will finish .500 or better this season? That's hard to do. Washington, Utah, Charlotte, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, the six teams that will finish below the Raptors in the standings, all had at least one. Anyway, this was in the heart of The Great Boston Panic, when the Celtics lost to several lesser teams, and flirted with a few other defeats. Still, the Raptors boat-raced Boston here. The Celtics had their normal starting lineup, and the Raptors dismantled them: Derrick White was minus-29 in 21 minutes; Jaylen Brown was a minus-23 in 33 minutes. Sure, the Celtics looked bored, but that just highlighted how young and hungry the Raptors were. With 35 assists on 45 buckets, it was one of the Raptors' most aesthetically pleasing nights, too. Nominees: Wins over the Timberwolves and Clippers at home; Raptors dismantle the Hawks in Atlanta The Raptors lost their last four games of 2024 by a combined 126 points, so I don't make this pick lightly. At least they had the injury excuse in those games. The Raptors were on a roll entering this game, having won five in a row and seven of eight. Additionally, the Bulls didn't have Zach LaVine for this game. The Raptors laid a defensive egg, allowing the Bulls to shoot 51 percent from the field and hit 18 3s. They forced just 10 turnovers and grabbed only seven offensive rebounds. An inexcusably flat performance. Nominees: Early-season loss in Charlotte; the end of December; Quickley's gaffe results in a brutal loss in Chicago Advertisement For financial purposes, the Raptors needed to hit on one of their second-round picks or undrafted free agents, especially after they traded for Brandon Ingram, muddying their long-term cap situation. Shead was known for his on-ball defence at the University of Houston, and that has carried over to the NBA. He has shown more offensive potential than expected, improving his shot as the season went on and providing some necessary paint penetration for a team that can string together passes but rarely gets to the rim. Shead has a long way to go, but he looks like a keeper as a backup point guard. Nominees: Agbaji's solid play; Chris Boucher can't miss; Poeltl's stat-stuffing; Walter's end of season; the competent defence Nobody attempted more shots per game than Barnes and finished with a lower true-shooting percentage. That is a problem. Entering Wednesday night's game, only seven players who attempted more than 10 field-goal attempts per game had a lower true-shooting percentage, including two rookies. Not great. Nominees: Quickley's parade of injuries; Barrett's efficiency drop; Gradey Dick's disappointing sophomore season; the Brandon Ingram trade A winner true to the spirit of the award's namesake. Agbaji is a low-usage, no-nonsense player who helps lineups click. On a team full of players figuring out how to play in the NBA or adjust to new roles, Agbaji found his niche and delivered a steady season, even if his 3-point accuracy wavered. He seemed manically dedicated to making the correct basketball play on both ends. Agbaji is a smart basketball player with above-average athleticism. If he can make 3s as often as he did this season — 39.1 percent on more than five attempts per 36 minutes before Wednesday's game — he should be a rotation player, no matter the team. Advertisement With about eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, coach Darko Rajaković pulled Poeltl and Barnes against the Orlando Magic, ending their nights. In the month to come, this became normal practice. At the start of March, this was a first. The Raptors were significantly limiting the resources they were putting toward winning games. Barnes left the game with the Raptors up by nine, and the Magic needed seven more minutes to erase the deficit. Down two in the waning seconds, Rajaković drew an out-of-bounds play that went to Walter. The rookie spread his legs wildly to get off the shot, somehow hitting the 3 with less than a second remaining. This was the Raptors season in miniature: They won a little too much, but some developmental wins made the loss of lottery balls easier to accept. Nominees: The buzzer beats Shead; Vince Carter's jersey retirement; Coby White's four-point play
NBC Sports
18-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Addition of Milos Uzan helps top-seeded Houston Cougars reload for another March Madness run
HOUSTON — Milos Uzan was searching for a new school last year after entering the transfer portal following two seasons at Oklahoma when he talked to Houston assistant Kellen Sampson. 'He was saying how a lot of schools are trying to get into the tournament and what got me was he was saying how we're trying to win it,' Uzan said. 'And that's just really what pulled me in.' Uzan joined the second-ranked Cougars this season and his performance has helped them earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they will face 16 seed SIU Edwardsville as they chase their first national championship. While Uzan is thriving now, it took time for him to start feeling good in his new environment. The point guard was the only new starter on the team and replaced Jamal Shead, one of the most decorated and popular players in recent school history. Shead spent four seasons with the Cougars, helping the team to a 120-18 record in his career. He capped his spectacular time at Houston by becoming the first player in Big 12 history to win both player of the year and defensive player of the year and was a consensus All-American. Given all that, coach Kelvin Sampson knew picking the right person to replace Shead could make or break his team this season. 'You just can't take anybody,' Sampson said. 'When you have four starters back, you got to be really careful about the kind of personality you add. Forget his skill set or what the numbers say. That's never really floated my boat … but (it was) his personality, his willingness to fit in, and then did we think we could develop a little more competitiveness in him.' The pressure of filling in for Shead coupled with adjusting to a new school and city was a lot for Uzan at first. He admitted September and October were particularly difficult for him, a situation made worse when a collision in practice led to a broken nose that required surgery. He recovered and began to gel with his new team thanks in large part to the squad's veterans. 'There's great leadership on this team, L.J. (Cryer), Emanuel (Sharp), J'Wan (Roberts),' he said. 'I feel like those guys really accepted me for who I am super early. So, I was able to get comfortable pretty quickly around these dudes.' Though he was feeling better by the time games started he still wasn't playing the way everyone knew he could. Teammates and coaches chided him for not being more aggressive as the leader of the offense. Uzan recalled a film session where Sampson told him that it feels like he's 'renting the place right now and needs me to own it.' Cryer, a senior guard who leads the team at 15.3 points a game, agreed and said everyone encouraged him to be himself on the court. 'At first he was trying so hard to fit in and taking a backseat to us and that was good,' Cryer said. 'But we knew we needed him to take another step for us to be a great team, and we ain't need him to fit in no more. We needed him to stand out.' Slowly he heeded their advice and after averaging just 8.9 points a game in the 12 games before Jan. 1, his averaged jumped to almost 12.6 points in the last 19 games of the regular season. 'When he noticed that we really have that belief in him,' Cryer said. 'That's when he started to take off.' That support meant everything to Uzan. 'Stuff like that, it just, I think it builds up and eventually… you'll start to flourish,' he said. Uzan has also taken Sampson's insistence on improving his assist to turnover ratio to heart. Last season he averaged 4.4 assists and two turnovers a game. In this year's regular season, he again averaged 4.4 assists but lowered his turnovers to just 1.4 a game, a ratio which ranks 10th in the nation. This is Houston's school-record seventh straight trip to the tournament and the Cougars have reached the Final Four six times with their most recent trip coming in 2021. They won the Big 12 regular season title and Uzan's career-high 25 points against Arizona led them to the conference tournament championship. Uzan is confident he can help Houston reach the Final Four again and perhaps even bring home that elusive first title. 'This is why you come to places like this, and this is what you grow up dreaming about — playing in March Madness and making a run,' he said. 'I think we can get this one done for sure.'
Fox Sports
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Addition of Milos Uzan helps top-seeded Houston Cougars reload for another March Madness run
Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Milos Uzan was searching for a new school last year after entering the transfer portal following two seasons at Oklahoma when he talked to Houston assistant Kellen Sampson. 'He was saying how a lot of schools are trying to get into the tournament and what got me was he was saying how we're trying to win it,' Uzan said. 'And that's just really what pulled me in.' Uzan joined the second-ranked Cougars this season and his performance has helped them earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they will face 16 seed SIU Edwardsville on Thursday as they chase their first national championship. While Uzan is thriving now, it took time for him to start feeling good in his new environment. The point guard was the only new starter on the team and replaced Jamal Shead, one of the most decorated and popular players in recent school history. Shead spent four seasons with the Cougars, helping the team to a 120-18 record in his career. He capped his spectacular time at Houston by becoming the first player in Big 12 history to win both player of the year and defensive player of the year and was a consensus All-American. Given all that, coach Kelvin Sampson knew picking the right person to replace Shead could make or break his team this season. 'You just can't take anybody,' Sampson said. 'When you have four starters back, you got to be really careful about the kind of personality you add. Forget his skill set or what the numbers say. That's never really floated my boat … but (it was) his personality, his willingness to fit in, and then did we think we could develop a little more competitiveness in him.' The pressure of filling in for Shead coupled with adjusting to a new school and city was a lot for Uzan at first. He admitted September and October were particularly difficult for him, a situation made worse when a collision in practice led to a broken nose that required surgery. He recovered and began to gel with his new team thanks in large part to the squad's veterans. 'There's great leadership on this team, L.J. (Cryer), Emanuel (Sharp), J'Wan (Roberts),' he said. 'I feel like those guys really accepted me for who I am super early. So, I was able to get comfortable pretty quickly around these dudes.' Though he was feeling better by the time games started he still wasn't playing the way everyone knew he could. Teammates and coaches chided him for not being more aggressive as the leader of the offense. Uzan recalled a film session where Sampson told him that it feels like he's 'renting the place right now and needs me to own it.' Cryer, a senior guard who leads the team at 15.3 points a game, agreed and said everyone encouraged him to be himself on the court. 'At first he was trying so hard to fit in and taking a backseat to us and that was good,' Cryer said. 'But we knew we needed him to take another step for us to be a great team, and we ain't need him to fit in no more. We needed him to stand out.' Slowly he heeded their advice and after averaging just 8.9 points a game in the 12 games before Jan. 1, his averaged jumped to almost 12.6 points in the last 19 games of the regular season. 'When he noticed that we really have that belief in him,' Cryer said. 'That's when he started to take off.' That support meant everything to Uzan. 'Stuff like that, it just, I think it builds up and eventually… you'll start to flourish,' he said. Uzan has also taken Sampson's insistence on improving his assist to turnover ratio to heart. Last season he averaged 4.4 assists and two turnovers a game. In this year's regular season, he again averaged 4.4 assists but lowered his turnovers to just 1.4 a game, a ratio which ranks 10th in the nation. This is Houston's school-record seventh straight trip to the tournament and the Cougars have reached the Final Four six times with their most recent trip coming in 2021. They won the Big 12 regular season title and Uzan's career-high 25 points against Arizona led them to the conference tournament championship. Uzan is confident he can help Houston reach the Final Four again and perhaps even bring home that elusive first title. 'This is why you come to places like this, and this is what you grow up dreaming about — playing in March Madness and making a run,' he said. 'I think we can get this one done for sure.' ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and recommended in this topic
