Latest news with #Villalba
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Land reform Bill: Labour MSP in bid to introduce 500ha cap
The MSP is to lodge amendments that would introduce a presumptive cap on land ownership. Her proposal would prevent any individual or entity from buying, selling or owning more than 500 hectares by default. READ MORE: MSPs backed the general principles of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill in March. Holyrood's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee is set to begin Stage 2 scrutiny on Tuesday, considering hundreds of proposed amendments. The Bill has two parts. The first would place a duty on the owners of the largest landholdings to engage with the local community about the use of the land. It also proposes mechanisms to make it easier for community groups to purchase land when it is put up for sale. The second part addresses the agricultural and environmental use of leased farmland. Ms Villalba's amendment would mean any transaction exceeding the 500 hectare threshold would trigger a forward-looking public interest test, assessing whether the sale benefits local communities and Scotland more broadly. Where estates fail the test, ministers could require them to be divided and sold in smaller parcels—a measure aimed at curbing further concentration. She also plans to amend the Bill's definition of 'large-scale' landholding to account for total land owned, rather than just contiguous holdings. This is intended to prevent landowners from avoiding regulation by holding multiple, smaller, separate parcels. A further amendment would stop ministers from raising the acreage thresholds without full scrutiny by the Scottish Parliament, amid concerns future governments could dilute the reforms. Ms Villalba said more ambitious action is needed to dismantle Scotland's entrenched 'land monopoly'. Mercedes Villalba outside the Trump course in Balmedie (Image: Contributed) Despite over two decades of land reform legislation, the country is often cited as having the most unequal land ownership in the western world. Research published last year by former Green MSP and land reform advocate Andy Wightman found that half of Scotland's privately owned rural land—some 3.2 million hectares—is held by just 433 owners, including estates, corporations and trusts. Community bodies, by contrast, own only around 2.8% of rural land. Campaigners argue that this extreme concentration has remained largely unchanged since the early 20th century, resulting in 'localised monopoly' power in some areas. However, in response to the Scottish Government's consultation, Scottish Land and Estates argued there is no substantial evidence that the scale of landholdings negatively impacts the country. They said scale and concentration should be treated as separate issues. 'There appears to be no evidence that there is a detrimental impact on Scotland due to the scale of land holdings,' they said. ' The Scottish Land Commission's own evidence points to the issue being potentially one of concentrated land ownership in specific areas, rather than scale itself. Therefore any measure of scale will always be an inappropriate instrument in dealing with any adverse impacts on communities or the prosperity of Scotland in a wider context.' READ MORE Ms Villalba said:'To deal with the serious problem of concentrated land ownership, we need a radical shift that prioritises community benefit and empowers local people to shape the future of their land, rather than merely tinkering round the edges. 'Today, Scotland's land is concentrated in the hands of the new nobility—asset managers, foreign billionaires, and the inheritors of huge estates. Just 0.025% of the population own 67% of our countryside. 'This Bill presents a chance to change that, break the ultra-wealthy's grasp on Scotland's resources and build a fairer, more prosperous Scotland for all of us. But currently it simply does not meet the scale of the challenge. 'That is why the proposals must include a presumed limit on ownership over 500 hectares, unless it is in the public interest. 'Without a meaningful public interest test, we risk allowing land to be sold or managed in ways that benefit private interests at the expense of the public good. We need a mechanism that ensures that decisions about land are made with the long-term wellbeing of our communities at heart.'
Canberra Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Canberra Times
Doctors said their pain was 'in your head' for years, until this surgeon came along
Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 25 per cent of women of reproductive age and nearly half of Australian women at some point in their lives. Dr Villalba's patients had Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (varicose veins in the pelvis), which is increasingly being recognised as a main contributor to chronic pelvic pain - with some research attributing a third of cases to it.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-05-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I was alive but not living': The chance discovery that saved Lilli chronic pelvic pain
'What did you do to me?' is not a phrase doctors want to hear from a patient after surgery. But for vascular surgeon Laurencia Villalba, it became a welcome pattern among her female patients with varicose veins. 'I'd answer, 'I fixed your leg', and they would say, 'but the pelvic pain is gone too',' said associate professor Villalba, an honorary fellow at the University of Wollongong's faculty of Science, Medicine and Health. Persistent pelvic pain affects between 15 and 25 per cent of Australian women. But research into the poorly understood, complex and multifactorial causes is underfunded, leaving an estimated 50 per cent of cases undiagnosed. 'So, I started looking more closely and asking more questions, and I soon realised that a lot of my patients had chronic pelvic pain that had not been diagnosed, or treated or even investigated,' Villalba said. Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is among the chronically under-researched contributors to chronic pelvic pain. It's characterised by damage to the major veins that run through the pelvis, restricting blood flow and causing pressure to build up. Some studies suggest this may contribute to 30 to 40 per cent of chronic pelvic pain cases where no other cause (such as endometriosis) can be identified. Loading One promising treatment is stenting, which involves inserting a small mesh tube to open a narrowing or blocked vein. The technique is more commonly associated with repairing the arteries of cardiovascular patients. A recent study, led by Villalba, followed 113 women (aged 17 to 88) with a blockage in an iliac vein – major veins running from each leg through the pelvis – who underwent stenting after suffering severe pelvic pain, some for up to 25 years. Before stenting, the women's median pain score was seven out of 10 (10 being the most severe).
The Age
24-05-2025
- Health
- The Age
‘I was alive but not living': The chance discovery that saved Lilli chronic pelvic pain
'What did you do to me?' is not a phrase doctors want to hear from a patient after surgery. But for vascular surgeon Laurencia Villalba, it became a welcome pattern among her female patients with varicose veins. 'I'd answer, 'I fixed your leg', and they would say, 'but the pelvic pain is gone too',' said associate professor Villalba, an honorary fellow at the University of Wollongong's faculty of Science, Medicine and Health. Persistent pelvic pain affects between 15 and 25 per cent of Australian women. But research into the poorly understood, complex and multifactorial causes is underfunded, leaving an estimated 50 per cent of cases undiagnosed. 'So, I started looking more closely and asking more questions, and I soon realised that a lot of my patients had chronic pelvic pain that had not been diagnosed, or treated or even investigated,' Villalba said. Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is among the chronically under-researched contributors to chronic pelvic pain. It's characterised by damage to the major veins that run through the pelvis, restricting blood flow and causing pressure to build up. Some studies suggest this may contribute to 30 to 40 per cent of chronic pelvic pain cases where no other cause (such as endometriosis) can be identified. Loading One promising treatment is stenting, which involves inserting a small mesh tube to open a narrowing or blocked vein. The technique is more commonly associated with repairing the arteries of cardiovascular patients. A recent study, led by Villalba, followed 113 women (aged 17 to 88) with a blockage in an iliac vein – major veins running from each leg through the pelvis – who underwent stenting after suffering severe pelvic pain, some for up to 25 years. Before stenting, the women's median pain score was seven out of 10 (10 being the most severe).
CBS News
20-04-2025
- CBS News
Alleged DUI driver arrested for crash that killed 1, injured three others in Riverside
An alleged DUI driver was arrested and faces a murder charge for a deadly crash that happened in Riverside on Wednesday night. The crash happened at around 6 p.m. at the intersection of Fifth Street and Market Street, according to the Riverside Police Department. Investigators say that Isaac Isaiah Villabla, a 19-year-old Redlands resident, was behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger heading southbound on Market at a high rate of speed when he slammed into the back of a Honda Civic heading in the same direction. The force of the impact caused the Honda to veer into oncoming traffic. "The Honda collided head-on with a vehicle traveling northbound on Market," police said. "The Dodge continued and collided with another vehicle as it came to rest." The Honda driver, since identified as 37-year-old Riverside man Christian Barragan, was rushed to a nearby hospital in grave condition. He died less than an hour after arrival, police said. Two other drivers and a passenger were also hospitalized for injuries ranging between minor and moderate. Villalba was arrested after he attempted to flee from the scene. Police say that he "resisted officers with violence before being safely taken into custody. He was also hospitalized but booked into jail after he was cleared, they noted. The intersection was closed for several hours as the investigation continued on Wednesday night. Villalba was expected in court on Friday after he was charged with murder, three counts of driving under the influence of drugs resulting in injuries and one count each of hit-and-run causing death and resisting arrest, police said. He also faced great bodily injury sentence-enhancing allegations. He remains behind bars in lieu of $1 million bail.
