Latest news with #ruralcommunities
E&E News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Lawmakers aim to slash climate funds in two spending bills
House Republican appropriators Wednesday proposed deep cuts in many agriculture programs, eliminating the long-standing 'climate hubs' at the Agriculture Department and targeting resilience for natural disasters in military and veterans funding. Annual spending legislation for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 would set discretionary spending at USDA and related agencies at $25.5 billion, which Republican appropriators said would reflect a 4.4 percent decline from this year's level. While the proposal would hit certain areas especially hard — such as the climate hubs, conservation and urban agriculture — it would increase spending at the Agricultural Research Service and maintain funding to fight animal and plant pests and diseases at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Advertisement The Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture is scheduled to mark up the bill Thursday. Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) said in a news release that the measure 'reflects a clear, conservative commitment to fiscal responsibility while ensuring that America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities remain a top priority.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Five Mississippi articles reveal rural economic shifts and community impacts in 2025
Stories by Biloxi SunHerald journalists, with AI summarization Five recent Mississippi articles show how economic changes are reshaping rural communities in 2025. The closure of 62 Dirt Cheap discount stores has forced locals to search further for affordable essentials and left workers without jobs, prompting groups like the Blue Mountain Civic Association to provide support. Meanwhile, Enviva shut down its Amory wood pellet plant after bankruptcy, but keeps operating in Lucedale and Pascagoula, raising questions about long-term job stability in the region. A favorite local bakery, Cheeky Monkey, closed its doors but now shifts to custom orders from home, preserving its connection with loyal customers. At the same time, ALDI is opening new stores in place of closed Winn-Dixies, offering different shopping experiences and filling some retail gaps in these affected areas. Bankruptcies like that of Dirt Cheap often leave behind limited retail options in rural communities. | Published January 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mallory Strickland Two months after emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Enviva is closing its plant in northern Mississippi and looking at efficiencies at its other facilities, including two in South MS. | Published February 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mary Perez Here's a throwback to Southern-style buffet restaurants that were popular on the MS Gulf Coast 25 years ago and owned by the same chef. | Published February 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mary Perez The Biloxi bakery with an unusual name is going in a different direction after the head baker decided to stir things up. Here's what is next for their cakes and treats. | Published March 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mary Perez Get a quarter ready for the shopping cart and bring your grocery bags. Shopping at this new ALDI store is a little different than at other supermarkets. | Published April 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by Mary Perez The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dignity Made Launches to Fight Trafficking with Ethical Coconut Oil
St. Paul, MN, May 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Dignity Coconuts, known for its premium, ethically sourced coconut oil, has rebranded as Dignity Made, a powerful new identity that puts its social mission front and center. More than a name change, the launch of Dignity Made signals a bold step forward in using business as a force to prevent human trafficking and empower coconut farmers in rural areas of the Philippines. Rooted in the belief that ethical jobs can prevent exploitation, Dignity Made partners directly with coconut farming communities in the Philippines to provide dignified work, education, and economic opportunity- especially for women vulnerable to trafficking. With each product sold, the brand fuels real solutions to generational poverty and systemic injustice. 'We're not just making coconut oil. We're creating a path out of poverty, one jar at a time,' said Erik Olson, CEO of Dignity Made. 'Our rebrand reflects who we've truly been all along: a company committed to making better products and a better world.' Same Mission, Bigger Vision Originally founded in 2010 as Dignity Coconuts, the company has earned awards for its raw, centrifuge-extracted coconut oil and transparent sourcing model. Now, with a growing lineup of clean beauty and wellness products, the Dignity Made name reflects a broader commitment to both consumers and the communities behind each the tagline 'Better for You, Better for All,' Dignity Made continues its pledge to offer clean, safe products while empowering the people who make them through fair trade, safe jobs, and skills-based employment. Real Impact Where It Matters To date, the company has helped over 200 families rise above subsistence living. Through on-the-ground programs in financial literacy, education, and job creation, Dignity Made is breaking cycles of dependency and trafficking vulnerability—replacing them with dignity, purpose, and hope. 'I used to feel hopeless,' says Angeline, one of the women employed through Dignity Made. 'Now my child is in school, I have peace at home, and I'm always smiling. I can't explain the joy—it's spreading through our whole community.' As a verified member of the Fair Trade Federation, Dignity Made adheres to the highest standards of ethical production and environmental stewardship, including a goal to have zero-waste coconut processing that maximizes every part of the crop. To learn more or explore Dignity Made's product line, visit Dignity MadeDignity Made is a purpose-driven social enterprise committed to fighting poverty and human trafficking through clean, coconut-based products. By building direct trade partnerships with Filipino farmers and investing in community transformation, Dignity Made goes beyond commerce to create lasting change. Every product supports ethical labor, environmental responsibility, and the belief that everyone deserves the chance to live free from exploitation. CONTACT: Press Contact: Heather Holmes heather@ +1 (828) 332-5307 in to access your portfolio
CBC
22-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Half of Quebecers don't have first responder services in their communities, report says
A new auditor general report has found that about half of Quebec's population lives in communities with no first responder service, despite numerous calls over the years to improve access to potentially life-saving first aid. Alain Fortin, Quebec's interim auditor general, noted that first responders, who can include firefighters and other people with first aid training, are usually first on the scene to provide basic care until paramedics and ambulances arrive. His report published Thursday noted that 45 per cent of very urgent calls in municipalities without first responders have an ambulance response time of more than 10 minutes. "However, it has been shown that a rapid response to very urgent calls can reduce deaths, and reduce the length and cost of hospitalization, as well as the risks of long-term effects," he told reporters in Quebec City. The need for first responders is greatest in rural communities, Fortin said, where there are fewer ambulances compared to urban centres, and where the size of the territory can delay response times. The report noted that studies have found that the chances of survival for a person in cardiorespiratory arrest drop sharply every minute they have to wait for care. "After 10 minutes, the chances of survival are almost zero," the report noted. A government-mandated committee recommended in 2014 that the province take steps to ensure first responders are available across the territory. But Fortin's report says that despite that recommendation, the number of communities with first responder service has remained "stable." As of September 2024, 70 per cent of communities were without such a service. Earlier this month, a Quebec coroner pointed to a lack of first responders in the death of a 37-year-old man from hypovolemic shock and blood loss, which occurred after he cut himself on a glass door in Rivière-à-Pierre, Que., a rural community northwest of Quebec City. "Rivière-à-Pierre does not have a first responder service, a solution which could have allowed [the deceased] to receive care more quickly," coroner Audray Tondreau wrote. 'If you get sick good luck,' opposition says The government's pre-hospital care plan includes the objective of increasing the percentage of the population who have access to first responders from 50 to 80 per cent by 2028. But, as of the winter, a committee made up of the Health Ministry, Santé Quebec and the province's union of municipalities had not reached an agreement on how to finance such services. Fortin's report also noted that ambulances have to spend close to 50 minutes on average waiting at the emergency room for their patients to be admitted and preparing their vehicles to return to service. The report suggested the government find ways to expand other forms of medical transport in order to free up ambulances for the most urgent cases. In response to Thursday's report, opposition parties in the legislature were quick to accuse Premier François Legault's government of failing to act to improve care. The lack of services for Quebecers "has been going on for years," said Québec Solidaire member Vincent Marissal. "It doesn't interest the government." He described the government action plan to increase first responder access to 80 per cent as a "failure all down the line," especially for people living in rural areas. "If you get sick good luck. That's what we're telling people," he said. Legault told the legislature that ambulance service in the province was "heading in the right direction," and noted that the amount of time ambulances spend waiting at the hospital has decreased. "But we understand and Quebecers can understand that with the size of territory to cover, we can't have an ambulance on every street corner in Quebec," he said.
Globe and Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Canada Post workers could strike again. If they do, the public will see red
The first alert came from my bank. Then every other company that sends me a monthly paper bill followed suit. Canada Post workers could go on strike later in May, they warned. So, sign up for e-statements instead because you're still on the hook for paying on time. 'We also recommend that you set up preauthorized debits and payments to help avoid any inconvenience with your payments during the service disruption,' my bank said. Call me old-fashioned, but I hate e-bills and paying with plastic. But making the switch is starting to seem logical now that Canada Post has received a strike notice from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). Canada Post workers could walk out at the stroke of midnight on Friday just as their extended contract expires, continuing a protracted labour dispute. If you recall, postal workers were ordered back to work last December after a strike that lasted 32 days and disrupted the holiday shopping season. The memory of stranded holiday presents and letters to Santa are still fresh in people's minds. So, the prospect of yet another postal delivery disruption is sure to irk Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Mail delivery is an essential service, especially for people who live in rural communities. But Canada Post is facing a worsening financial crisis. As a result, mail service is costing more but becoming less dependable. For all those reasons, postal workers risk destroying the last shred of the public's sympathy if they strike for the second time in less than six months. Canada Post may have a monopoly on mail delivery, but its finances are a mess and only expected to get worse over the coming years. From 2018 to 2023, the Crown corporation lost a whopping $3-billion on a pretax basis. Plummeting mail volumes – 5.5 billion letters were delivered in 2006 versus 2.2 billion in 2023 – are one source of financial pressure. So, too, is population growth, which results in roughly new 200,000 addresses annually. There has also been a marked shift from letter mail to parcels as more Canadians shop online. But Canada Post is increasingly competing with private delivery services that benefit from lower labour costs. As a result, Canada Post's market share in the parcel delivery market tumbled from 62 per cent prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to 29 per cent in 2023. 'Canada Post's financial situation is unsustainable,' states its 2023 annual report. Accordingly, the federal government threw Canada Post a financial lifeline this past January – a $1-billion-plus loan of taxpayers' money. In this softening economy, however, voters have little appetite for throwing good money after bad and little patience for public-sector unions that are oblivious to the fiscal realities facing the federal government. The CUPW needs to be realistic with its wage demands and demonstrate flexibility about the use of part-time staff to make weekend deliveries. A recent report by the Industrial Inquiry Commission recommended that part-time staff who work weekend shifts be covered by the collective agreement, which is an entirely sensible approach. The report's other key recommendation, the phase-out of door-to-door delivery, is likely inevitable, too, whether the union admits it or not. 'Bargaining largely failed because one party – CUPW – is defending business as usual, and wants to improve on the status quo with, for example, further job security enhancements and even better than best-in-class total compensation and terms and conditions of employment," states the report. That assessment is not going to land well with taxpayers, especially since mail delivery has become less reliable in recent years. While people in other countries enjoy Saturday mail delivery, Canadians can't even count on their supermarket flyers arriving before the start of sales. Taxpayers have had enough. Canada Post is bleeding red. Instead of being part of the solution, CUPW seems intent on forcing it to go belly up.
