Latest news with #Whitehead
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Breathtaking Kimberley VR experience now showing in Freo
Fresh off the Great Kimberley Wilderness success at the WA Museum Boola Bardip earlier this year, the VR experience is making its way to the port city. The 35-minute immersive VR experience narrated by Luke Hemsworth, older brother to fellow Hollywood stars Chris and Liam, and produced by award-winning WA filmmaker Briege Whitehead will show at the WA Maritime Museum for three weeks from this weekend. In a custom-built gallery, with surround sound and large-scale digital projections across all wall surfaces, audiences will have a 360-degree view of some of the planet's most ancient landscapes in a guided tour of places that few outside the traditional owners have ever seen in person. Your local paper, whenever you want it. Whitehead said that included transporting viewers over the edge of waterfalls, across stunning coastlines and into the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park. 'There are so many locations I know, or as far as we've been told, that we're the first people to capture them on camera,' Whitehead said. The film was shot and produced in 8K format using drones capable of capturing 3D footage and with Dolby Atmos sound. 'I call it story-living, rather than the storytelling,' Whitehead said. 'That's what the ability of 360 degrees in a VR headset provides, because everywhere you look, it's like you're literally standing there, or flying over the waterfalls or hanging out of the helicopter with Luke next to you.' Fremantle Labor MP and Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk said the exhibition was leading the way in digital immersive storytelling by combining technology with authentic storytelling. 'We are proud to extend this experience to the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle, supporting an initiative that highlights WA's rich cultural heritage, deep Indigenous knowledge, and awe-inspiring landscapes,' she said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Southern Utah developers pick new route to create cities due to roadblocks with county leaders
The developers behind two proposed Utah cities that would be created via a new mechanism that bypasses local officials' scrutiny say they tapped the alternative incorporation route after hitting roadblocks in dealing with county leaders. 'We worked closely with Kane County for nearly two years before applying for a preliminary municipality,' said Greg Whitehead, representative for Kanab 600, the developer behind Willow, a proposed new development 1.4 miles east of Kanab in Kane County. Realizing the applicable county zoning guidelines wouldn't allow for the higher housing density project that developers sought, they opted to pursue incorporation via a mechanism created in Utah law just last year — a process that's raised concerns among some. Going the route outlined in SB258, developers create the plans for the sort of locale they seek — called preliminary municipalities — and the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office reviews, considers and, if they pass muster, approves them. 'The best path forward to achieve our vision — one that aligns with the governor's and state's priority of increasing accessible housing — was to pursue a preliminary municipality,' Whitehead told The Willow plans, fully developed, call for 1,276 housing units, including 794 single-family homes, 206 townhomes, 168 apartments and 108 vacation rentals, spread over 595 acres. The request to become a new city, filed Jan. 1, is still in the works. In Grand County, Kane Creek Preservation and Development and G&H Miller Family Holdings are pursuing a proposal on around 180 acres of land about a mile southwest of Moab. Fully developed, their community, previously called Kane Creek and now named Echo Canyon, calls for 478 housing units, 48 of them identified as affordable housing, and 102 'overnight accommodation units.' A spokesman for the project — which has sparked strong opposition from some — said the developer initially worked with the Grand County Commission to try to get support for the plans. After four years of what the spokesman described as fruitless efforts, they also applied for preliminary incorporation with the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office. 'We've never asked for a favor. We just wanted a fair processing of our application, and that clearly hasn't happened. So that's why we started pursuing this,' said the spokesman, who asked not to be named given the intense sentiments the issue has spurred. The developers, still open to working with Grand County officials, submitted their preliminary municipality petition on May 1, 2024, and it is still under review, though it is much further along than the Willow request. The Echo Canyon developers' plans fall within guidelines spelled out in the zoning laws of Grand County, home to Arches National Park and a popular tourist destination. But county officials have rebuffed, stalled and delayed action, the spokesman charges, because of a 'no growth' mindset. Thus, when they learned of the mechanism spelled out in HB258 that gives them leeway to work with the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office in creating a city, opening another route for their plans to move forward, they jumped. 'If nothing else, even if it just brought the county to the table to treat us fairly, that'd be an OK outcome, too,' he said. The Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office has yet to grant final approval to any of the four preliminary municipality requests it's received since last year. Development is a delicate topic in fast-growing Utah, and the preliminary municipality process as spelled out in SB258 was targeted by another measure during the 2025 legislative session, HB540. HB540 — pursued amid concerns that SB258 gives developers too much leeway and weakens the authority of local government on development questions — aimed to halt or limit use of the process, but the measure ultimately stalled. At any rate, as described by the Willow and Echo Canyon developers, their moves to go the preliminary municipality route aren't about flaunting local officials or local development guidelines. 'Throughout our collaboration with the county, we explored ways to create a master plan that would allow for more attainable housing, which generally sits on less than 1-acre lots,' said Whitehead. 'However, given the existing zoning restrictions, we ultimately realized that we wouldn't be able to provide the level of affordability and variety of housing options that we felt were truly needed — homes that allow young families, first-time buyers and longtime Utah residents to stay close to their roots and build their futures.' Furthermore, Whitehead noted, the plans still face scrutiny by the state, which requires studies for proposed new locales to make sure they are financially feasible, among other things. 'We welcome ongoing conversations and community engagement to help shape this new city in a way that benefits everyone,' Whitehead said. The Echo Canyon spokesman stressed the fact that the proposed development falls within development parameters already spelled out in Grand County zoning ordinances. The developers sought 'zero variances,' he said. While the traditional incorporation route is spearheaded by registered voters in a development who want to convert the locale into a city, developers are the key force behind preliminary municipalities, typically on undeveloped land. Still, the Echo Canyon spokesman noted that a traditional elected city government would have to be created in preliminary municipalities on reaching 100 residents, among other requirements. Developers behind two other projects, Park City Tech in Summit County and Nine Springs in Morgan County, have also applied to become preliminary municipalities. Summit County Manager Shayne Scott, however, said the Park City Tech developers, Park City Junction, plan to work with county officials in finalizing their plans. Park City Junction reps didn't respond to queries seeking comment. Brach Nelson, who represents the Nine Springs developers, Spring Mountain Ranch and SISO, declined comment.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dehumanization of homeless population causes violence against it, homeless advocate says
May 22—Violence is no stranger to Spokane's homeless population. Besides Thursday's murder sentencing of Aaron R. Holder, a judge sentenced Steven P. White, 48, last month to 30 years in prison for fatally stabbing 44-year-old Shan Anderson, who was lying on the ground possibly sleeping, more than a dozen times in 2023 in downtown Spokane. Last month, three teenagers brutally attacked a homeless man on the ground outside the downtown Spokane Public Library, leaving the man with skull fractures and brain bleeding, according to court documents. About 30 minutes later, one of the teens threw an electric scooter at a man sleeping in a sleeping bag on Sprague Avenue and Wall Street, court records show. Donald Whitehead, executive director at National Coalition for the Homeless, described attacks on homeless people as a "crime of opportunity." Homeless people often don't have ties to the larger community and are not connected to their relatives, so the crimes may go unnoticed or may not be adjudicated in the same manner, he said. Whitehead said the homeless population is more susceptible to violence because communities push to dissolve encampments, forcing them into isolated locations where they are more prone to be victims of violence. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson that municipalities can criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property because it does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Last month, the Spokane City Council voted to not move forward with reinstating Proposition 1, the voter-approved anti-homeless camping law that the Washington Supreme Court had recently struck down. Proposition 1 banned camping within 1,000 feet of parks, schools and licensed day care facilities, making violations a misdemeanor offense. The state Supreme Court argued the proposition had gone outside the legal bounds for a local initiative, though it did not make a ruling on the merits of the law, leaving it open for the City Council to reinstate the law, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting. Whitehead said many people who attack homeless people view them as less human, a narrative that has ramped up in certain states and led to more attacks on the homeless population. Oregon has one of the highest levels of crimes against unsheltered people, Whitehead said, and attributed it to the negative publicity around the Grants Pass v. Johnson case, noting the direct correlation between dehumanizing homeless people and the violence that's perpetrated upon them. The Oregonian reported in February 2024 that a growing number of homeless people were being shot and killed in Portland. Five of the 15 homicides at that point in the year in the city involved a homeless person, the publication reported. Whitehead said he expects the homeless population and violence against it to dramatically increase if President Donald Trump's budget proposal and the reconciliation bill, the latter of which cleared the House this week, are approved. Trump proposed dramatic cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That includes eliminating HUD's rental assistance program, including Section 8 vouchers, and allowing states to make their own rental assistance programs instead. The plan would include a two-year cap on rental assistance for able-bodied adults. Whitehead said the cuts to HUD will make it much harder to get people out of homelessness. The reconciliation bill proposes several changes to Medicaid, including work requirements for able-bodied adults. Whitehead said medical expenses are one of the reasons people can't afford housing. The "cascading list of changes" will have negative effects, he said. "People will die because of these changes," Whitehead said.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Safety fears over lack of parent and child parking spaces
A mother of three who is also a Mid and East Antrim Borough councillor is calling for more parent and child parking in off-street car Gray brought forward the motion to the council following difficulties getting her own children out of the car safely."I've had to leave my three-year-old with my baby on the sidewalk while I try to reverse to get the doors open," she said. "That really is a safety fear but I had no other option."The council said the borough currently has 13 family-friendly bays in its town car parks with plans for that number to increase. Mid and East Antrim Council is one of only five local authorities in Northern Ireland with parent and child spaces at its council-run car parks. This does not include facilities at leisures Ms Gray said the number of family-friendly spaces was "lacking" in the council's car parks."Modern life doesn't really blend well with our existing town infrastructure because our towns are quite old," she said increasing the number of bays would "ease stress for local families and carers" who need to get toddlers, babies and prams out of their cars."We need to make our town centre more accessible if we want people to come and shop and spend time here," she added."Not only is this a real safety issue for parents and carers, it really is a combined effort to get everybody into the town centre so that we can continue to grow and increase our footfall." 'Cars are bigger, spaces aren't' Amy Moore from Whitehead, County Antrim, agreed, saying it was "definitely hard getting out of a normal car parking space with two children"."Anywhere that we go to park we need both doors open to get them out," she said."We've got the baby bag and all of the things to get out of the car so we definitely need the extra space."Mrs Moore said, on occasion, she has "driven around three or four times to find a space that would be suitable"."I think a lot of the cars now have increased in size now but the spaces haven't increased as well," she said. 'Difficult' with four grandchildren Amy's mother Anna Rolloos has four grandchildren and said it can be "difficult" to get them all in and out of the Rolloos said she needs space to open the doors, get the pram out and her youngest grandchild strapped in before getting the other children out."It's the safety of having them all close beside you, being able to open the doors of the car," she said."One of the children maybe needs someone holding their hand."She said having parent and child spaces close to shops is "excellent" as it means "not having to walk them through a busy car park". The motion calling for more parent and child parking bays at Mid and East Antrim Borough Council was backed unanimously in February.A spokesperson added that an additional 22 family-friendly bays were due to be added in Ballymena car parks. What is happening at off-street car parks in other areas? Derry City and Strabane Council recently introduced new bays and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has plans to increase the number of spaces from 14 to City Council has 17 family-friendly spaces across 30 car parks with no plans to increase that number, while Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has six such spaces with plans for additional spaces in the and North Down Council as well as Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council have no family-friendly spaces at their off-street car parks, but there are some at their leisure facilities. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council does not provide any parent and child car parking spaces within its car parks, adding that councils are "not legally obligated" to do Ulster does not have any parent and child spaces in any of the council-maintained car parks and has no plans to change Fermanagh and Omagh District Council does not provide parent-child parking spaces in its off street car parks but is currently reviewing its overall car parking Coast and Glens said the council did not keep a record of such information.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Conference attendees decry bill banning unauthorized camping, sleeping on public land
Graphic: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. As many as 170 communities have enacted ordinances banning unauthorized camping and sleeping since last June when the U.S. Supreme Court okayed them, Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, told attendees of the 'Bringing it Home 2025' conference in Raleigh on Thursday. Fining, jailing or ticketing someone experiencing homelessness for unauthorized camping or sleeping outside will not solve the homelessness problem, said Whitehead, the event's keynote speaker. He urged conference participants to fight against proposed legislation in North Carolina that would make unauthorized camping and sleeping illegal. 'I'm asking you today, before you leave this conference, call your representative in Washington, in the state House, make sure that North Carolina doesn't become included in those communities that are criminalizing homelessness,' Whitehead said. Whitehead was referring to House Bill 781, which is winding its way through the General Assembly. The bill would ban unauthorized camping and sleeping on public property and allow local governments by 'majority vote' to designate local government-owned property to be used for a 'continuous period of up to one year for public camping or sleeping purposes.' Local governments can renew the one-year period. Whitehead shared that a 2014 study in Osceola, Florida found that 37 chronically homeless people were arrested approximately 1,250 times at a cost of more than $6 million to the community. 'We know, if you jail, fine or arrest somebody, it does not solve homelessness,' Whitehead said. 'Criminalization is not the solution, but those are local decisions, and the only way we can have an impact on those local solutions, those local issues, is that we have to be advocates in our community beyond the service.' Rep. Brian Biggs (R-Randolph), a cosponsor of HB 781 has pushed back against claims the bill criminalizes homelessness. 'This bill does not criminalize homelessness,' Biggs insisted. 'It addresses unauthorized public property camping and sleeping without prohibiting homelessness itself.' Biggs has said HB 781 grew out of conversations with municipal leaders who asked for guidance around handling the state's growing homeless crisis. He said the state can no longer wait to address the problem. Speaking just ahead of Whitehead on Thursday, Gov. Josh Stein also took aim at HB 781, contrasting it with bills introduced this session that are designed to increase affordable housing stock. Stein said lawmakers have put forward 'many creative solutions' to address the state's housing shortage, such as a proposal to allow developers to build new housing in any area zoned for commercial, retail or office use without having to rezone the property. 'They're [lawmakers] thinking boldly about how we can increase housing supply, and this is certainly an issue where there is a possibility for bipartisan solutions,' Stein said. 'On the other hand, we are seeing efforts at the General Assembly to make sleeping in a park a crime. No one should have to sleep outside. It's a real problem, but we need to find real solutions by connecting people with supportive services and putting more roofs over more heads.' Bans on authorized camping and sleeping are coming as the rate of homelessness is rising, Whitehead said. 'Last year, we had the highest number of people experiencing homelessness in the history of our country, at least since it's been measured by Congress, which goes back to the early 2000s, over 770,000 people (an 18% increase over the previous year),' Whitehead said. HUD's 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) found that the number of people experiencing homelessness increased in every category — except for veterans — measured during the department's annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count. The count is a snapshot of the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing and unsheltered on a single night. The Founding Fathers in the Preamble to the Constitution promised U.S. citizens life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, Whitehead said. 'You can't pursue happiness sleeping under a bridge,' Whitehead said. 'There is no liberty when you are fined, jailed or ticketed because you can't afford a place to live. You cannot pursue happiness if you lay your head in the back of an automobile.' State advocates for people experiencing homelessness contend HB 781 will diminishes local autonomy while making cities and counties both fiscally responsible and legally liable for the implementing state-sanctioned encampment policies. The NC Coalition to End Homelessness (NCCEH) has also expressed concern that the proposal is being pushed by the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, that has led efforts to pass similar legislation in Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin and Kentucky. The institute was founded by tech-industry capitalist Joe Lonsdale, who is critical of the 'housing first' approach to ending homelessness. That model prioritizes providing individuals and families with permanent, affordable housing as the first step in ending their plight. 'While Cicero describes itself as a think tank, its policies promote industries that potentially profit from criminalizing poverty,' said Dr. Latonya Agard, executive director of NCCEH. Agard said Cicero's policies promote industries that will potentially profit from criminalizing poverty. 'States that adopted Cicero laws find they are funneling more public money into incarceration, so while these bills could lead to the financial enrichment of out-of-state investors of privatized jails and prisons and monitoring technologies, they will worsen conditions for North Carolinians without housing,' Agard said. Both Stein and Whitehead expressed concerns about proposed federal budget cuts to eliminate Section 8 housing. 'More than 25,000 people in North Carolina depend on Section 8 to have a home they can't afford to have that support taken away from them, and we cannot afford it either,' Stein said. 'Let's work to expand access to housing, not take it away.' Stein said he's also concerned about proposed cuts to Medicaid and the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.) The SNAP program, once referred to as Food Stamps, provides low-income families with food for an adequate diet. 'These cuts pose a serious threat to the wallets and wellbeing of so many hard-working families here in North Carolina,' Stein said. 'Cuts to essential needs like health care and food make it that much harder for people to afford housing, and they'll make it even harder for our state to afford to support our people.' Whitehead said the proposed cuts to the nation's social safety net programs would push more people into homelessness and cause harm to those who are already unsheltered. 'If that budget goes through, it would be a devastating impact on people experiencing homelessness,' he said. 'I don't know who you voted for, but I don't think you voted for an 80% reduction in HUD [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] staff or $1 trillion worth of cuts between Medicaid and the SNAP program — I don't think that's what you voted for — and all of that in order to be able to enact a $45 trillion tax cut, which benefits people at the top of the economic ladder.' Devdutta Sangvai, the N.C. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said that in the coming days the proposed Medicaid and SNAP cuts will be widely discussed. Sangvai reminded conferences attendees that both are connected to housing. 'Behavioral Health is connected to housing. Housing is connected to child care. Child Care is connected to the economy,' Sangvai said. 'We do not have to artificially connect the dots to make a point. It is proven. There are data out there to support that. And so we really need to understand that if we don't address the homelessness issue in the housing crisis, it poses a direct threat to the stability and economic well being of North Carolina.' Bring It Home 2025 is sponsored by the N.C. Housing Coalition, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness. The conference concludes Friday.
