Latest news with #Ways
Ottawa Citizen
6 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Adam: Amilcar will leave OC Transpo in better shape than the transit system was in four years ago
Come to think of it, it is not a huge surprise that OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar is leaving the job to pursue new career opportunities elsewhere. Article content Almost four years in the pressure-cooker position of managing the city's beleaguered transit service is probably about all anyone can take. You can't blame her for walking away. Article content Article content Amilcar, who leaves her post July 18, inherited an impossible task when she came to town in 2021, but she must have known what she was getting into. She arrived at a time when the transit service was in complete disarray, plagued by low ridership that was exacerbated by COVID-19, budget shortfalls, poor management, lack of transparency and in particular, a broken LRT system. We all remember the busted axles, gear box, wheel hubs and bearing issues that derailed the Confederation Line and led to the suspension of service for weeks on end in August and September 2023. Article content Then there were delays with the Trillium Line, which, combined with everything that was going on, sapped public confidence in the transit service. The city was at war with its main rail contractor, the Rideau Transit Group (RTG), exchanging legal blows in court filings. It was the most inopportune time for anyone, no matter how experienced, to land at OC Transpo. Things were so bad, the Ontario government launched a public inquiry into the handling of the city's LRT. Justice William Hourigan's subsequent report was a scathing indictment of the city and RTG, exposing 'deliberate malfeasance' of managers and 'egregious errors' that called into question the ability of the city to run such a massive infrastructure project. Though not of her doing, Amilcar became the face of everything that was wrong with OC Transpo, and did her best under the circumstances, though it may not have been enough to satisfy riders. Article content Article content Amilcar certainly steadied the ship, bringing some stability to the Confederation Line, helping launch the Trillium Line extension, and the spur to the airport. One of her bigger achievements may have been the restoration of transparency and accountability at OC Transpo. Before her time, OC Transpo was a closed shop where a few people made decisions behind closed doors with no transparency or accountability. She changed that, to some degree. Throughout the 2023 derailment, she was upfront with information, telling residents what she knew and what she didn't. It was a breath of fresh air. Article content Article content But one thing she completely owns is 'New Ways to Bus,' the largest bus service change in the city's history. The idea is to improve bus frequency, local service and connections to LRT. The system overhaul, which meant the elimination or rejigging of some routes, has been met with fierce criticism from riders, who say it is a backward move that will cause a reduction in service as some 70 routes are eliminated or replaced. It is too early to say whether New Ways will be successful or not, but this is one thing for which she will wear the outcome.
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Walking on Mother Earth and understanding self-love with Karen Delver
(ANNews) – Indigenous Knowledge Systems are founded in Indigenous Epistemologies and Indigenous Ways of Knowing are rooted in Indigenous cultures and traditions. These ways of knowing are a process of diving deep into a part of each learner's own stories and being accountable for how they walk with their own hurt. As each person continues to learn along the way, these stories can transition into new ways of knowing that are centred around teachings of love. Over time, our First Nations sister Karen Delver from onihcikiskwapowin, Saddle Lake Cree Nation has come to know the importance of learning as a continuous healing journey of self-discovery and self-love. 'Keep learning and learn everything you can, stay focused on those learnings – love yourself, accept yourself. Self-love and loving ourselves are key components to healing and well-being and [are two] of our universal laws,' shared Delver, a life-long learner of Indigenous Epistemologies and current project coordinator supporting the Indigenous Language Revitalization Initiative at the UAlberta main campus. Relationality is interconnected with Indigenous ways of knowing and humility is at the forefront of how Indigenous people can better understand people, places and things. These understandings came from a place of humble beginnings for Delver, and how relationality has supported her on her journey. 'Everyone has a story,' she says. Listening to these stories while in recovery 'gave me compassion and understanding so I am not so self absorbed and taught me how to pray for others so it's not just about me and my kids. This taught me the importance of prayer, seeing everything's purpose, intention and what it's meant to be.' Although Delver is on her way to being decorated with many degrees, the start of her learning journey was rooted in understanding that the only way out of poverty was for her to get an education. The foundation of her education and healing journey began when she enrolled at Blue Quills University. This was the shift that Delver made, part of her evolution of healing. She continues to pave the way for her children and grandchildren, so they know how to love themselves. Delver cried a lot during her time at Blue Quills University. The crying was cleansing, releasing cortisol, a stress hormone that triggers fight-or-flight responses. It brought her to taking ownership of her own health, how she engages in the world, healthier life choices, and being her own best friend. 'The one thing that continues to guide me on my journey through higher education is the deep understanding of education through Indigenous epistemology. As I walk this path, I know I am not pursuing education just for myself – I am doing this for my people. I carry this knowledge so that together we can build understanding, strengthen one another, and live in a way that honours universal love – for sâkihitin – love, because we all deserve to be loved.'
Ottawa Citizen
26-04-2025
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Parents pressure OC Transpo into reversing route changes
It's 6 a.m., and teenagers in the South Ottawa communities of Blossom Park, Emerald Woods and Sawmill Creek are waking up to go to St. Francis Xavier High School. Article content Article content A group of the students leave their homes to catch the 693 bus shortly after 7 a.m. It's already overflowing with other students. The bus then winds through the neighbourhood, past the airport, and down Leitrim and Limebank Roads until it finally arrives at the school better known as St. FX. Article content Article content By the time they get off the bus, students often have to race to get to class by 8 a.m. Article content Article content In total, the journey takes about half an hour — but it's a route students and their parents fought hard to keep. Article content On April 4, members of the St. FX community learned their 693 direct route would change on April 27, when OC Transpo rolls out its New Ways to Bus schedule. Article content This will be the largest bus service change in Ottawa's history, introducing new routes and retiring others with low ridership, changing schedules, and shortening, extending or dividing some routes. One of the planned changes was cutting the 693 bus route to run only between St. FX and Limebank Station, and not through any of the communities it currently serves. Article content St. FX parents said the changes would have risked students' safety and affected their ability to learn successfully. They said families did not receive enough communication about the changes, and that OC Transpo was not taking responsibility for affecting the students' ability to get to school. Article content Article content But after weeks of speaking out, emailing city councillors and expressing their discontent to OC Transpo, parents are relieved to find out some of the changes are being reversed. Article content Article content 'I feel like a load has been lifted off my shoulders,' said Tammy Bouchard. 'I'm so relieved.' Article content OC Transpo is keeping three direct routes to St. FX in the morning and two in the afternoon, according to a statement to the Citizen. Article content That's in addition to the new route in the New Ways to Bus schedule that was the cause for concern. On that route, students would take the 40 Greenboro bus to South Keys, then transfer onto the Line 2 train in the direction of Limebank. Once at Limebank Station, students would transfer again to the 99 Barrhaven Centre via Weybridge bus, which will take them to a bus stop down the road from St. FX.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House joins Healey in pressing forward on spending
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, APRIL 16, Democrats will push for a significant increase in state spending after months of voicing discomfort about federal funding uncertainty and economic upheaval. The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday will roll out a $61.4 billion annual budget for fiscal year 2026, a plan whose combined traditional and wealth surtax spending is about 6.4% higher than the budget Gov. Maura Healey signed last summer. Lawmakers traditionally add spending to the budget through the amendment process, which will unfold when the House takes up the proposal during the week of April 28. Beacon Hill has been wracked with angst for months about President Donald Trump's dramatic efforts to cut federal spending, which could whittle away significant dollars that flow toward state governments. Healey previously estimated that federal revenue would contribute about $16 billion toward her budget plan. House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz said representatives 'feel confident' that they can sustain spending growth at more than twice the rate of the prior year. 'In some respects, there's greater need, like in food insecurity and places like that. I think our budget is balanced, it's responsible,' Michlewitz told reporters. 'We feel that it provides the services that are necessary in these times, which is unprecedented in terms of the chaos that we're dealing with from not having a reliable partner on the federal side of things.' The House budget is the first major state spending plan for next year to emerge after Trump and Republicans moved to significantly overhaul federal funding. While the bottom line may grow during House budget debate, mostly through mega-amendments constructed in private that steer millions of dollars to local earmarks, the House Ways and Means Committee draft starts nearly $600 million lower than Healey's plan. Michlewitz said with a slightly smaller bottom line than Healey proposed, the House budget would enable the state to be able to better respond to federal cuts that might materialize. 'The aggressive actions of the new administration in Washington, particularly around tariffs, will only drive prices up and will further put pressure on both the state's fiscal outlook and people's wallets,' Michlewitz said. 'A trade war on top of unilateral funding freezes and a general sense of chaos emulating out of our nation's capital leads to major challenges towards constructing a budget, to say the least. The worst-case scenario for a budget writer is uncertainty. When faced with cuts, we know where we can cut. When faced with a surplus, we know what we can add. But not knowing what the future will bring means that we have to plan for anything and everything.' The House Ways and Means budget redraft omits a series of new taxes and tax increases Healey proposed in her version, including a charitable donation cap and a tax on prescription drug manufacturers for excessive price increases, together worth an estimated $471 million in revenue. The panel matched Healey's proposal to draw about $1.6 billion from one-time sources to pay for spending increases, including an idea to redirect more than half a billion dollars in capital gains tax collections that normally would be deposited into the state's long-term savings account. Some of the spending growth would be driven by the voter-approved surtax on wealthy households. In the fiscal 2025 spending plan, lawmakers and Healey agreed to use $1.3 billion in revenue from that source; in fiscal 2026, that would rise to $1.95 billion. Surtax dollars in the House budget would continue to fund free school meals for all students, early education grants, and free community college. They would also contribute to a significant increase in funding for the MBTA -- the House proposes a total of $687 million for T operating costs -- at a time when the transit agency faces a major funding gap that could imperil recent service improvements. The largest area of spending remains MassHealth, which combines Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program under one umbrella. House Democrats proposed $22.43 billion for the program, a $2.36 billion increase over last year's budget. Much of that money is traditionally reimbursed by the federal government, but Republicans in Washington, D.C. are seriously considering deep Medicaid spending cuts in part to fulfill their tax relief goals. House Democrats packed their plan with several noteworthy policy riders. The bill would expand the duration of a pilot program at the Massachusetts Health Connector from two years to three years, and raise the eligibility threshold for subsidized ConnectorCare coverage from 300% of the federal poverty level to 500%. Michlewitz and House Speaker Ron Mariano now also appear to be on board with limiting the impact of broker fees on renters, an idea that House Democrats killed during negotiations with the Senate on a housing bond bill last year. The House budget would prohibit a real estate broker from charging a tenant or prospective tenant for finding an apartment if the renter did not initiate use of the broker's services. Mariano said the measure would ensure 'that the party who hires the broker ultimately pays the fee.' 'While shifting the burden of those fees is only one facet of our effort to bring down the cost of renting here in the commonwealth, the fees are simply unfair,' Mariano said. 'It's an unfair cost for renters who do not contract a broker and therefore should not have that as a responsibility.' Representatives outlined significant changes to education funding and policy compared to Healey's budget, calling for a minimum school aid amount of $150 per student, compared to $75 per student in Healey's budget, and moving to block any changes to vocational school admissions policies for at least a year. Their budget also seeks a cut in funding for the emergency assistance shelter program, which for much of Healey's term has been crushed by soaring demand. Lawmakers and Healey have agreed to several additional rounds of dollars to the program, pushing the annual cost close to $1 billion, while implementing reforms designed to cut eligibility, length of stay and caseloads. The House budget -- rolled out as the Healey administration said current caseloads in shelters dropped below 5,000 for the first time in nearly two years -- would fund the program at $275 million in fiscal 2026. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vape regulation bill advances in Tennessee House
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A legislative committee advanced a bill co-sponsored by a local lawmaker that would tax vapor products and limit which products can be sold. State Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) is the co-sponsor of House Bill 968, which cleared the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee in a 12–1 vote Monday. Amended bill would give Johnson City power to set alcohol sale hours The bill would limit the sale of vapor products to those that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or are still under FDA review. It would also tax disposable vape products at 7 cents per milliliter and refillable vape products at 10% of wholesale cost price. Speaking before the committee, Hawk said the goal of the bill is to keep vapor products out of children's hands. Opponents say it would force most if not all vape shops to close and lead to more people turning to tobacco. The bill will now go to the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee. The Senate version, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Yager (R-Kingston), is on the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee's agenda for Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
