Latest news with #Libby
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here are the Republicans vying to replace Gov. Janet Mills next November
Both the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial primaries, slated for June 9, 2026, are open to all Maine voters. (Photo by Getty Images) Ben Midgley, a fitness executive from Kennebunkport, on Tuesday officially became the seventh Republican candidate in a crowded race for Gov. Janet Mills' seat. Midgley is the latest of 17 officially registered candidates vying to replace Mills, a Democrat who terms out next year. Both the Republican and Democratic primaries, slated for June 9, 2026, are open to all Maine voters. The primaries will be a ranked-choice ballot though the general election for governor in November will not. Most of the Republican candidates listed on the Maine Ethics Commission website have not held public office at the state level, with the exception of state Sen. Jim Libby (R-Standish). Bobby Charles, a lawyer who served under former Republican presidents, and former Paris selectman Robert Wessels have also been involved in politics in different capacities. In contrast, the Democratic field is stacked with party leaders, including Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson, and former Speaker of the Maine House of Representative and Mills administration official Hannah Pingree, among others. Other GOP candidates, including University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy, tout their financial credentials while framing themselves as political outsiders. All seven appear to have varying stances on issues including the economy, education and immigration, but almost all have expressed concern about the increasing cost of living in Maine, which according to a Pan Atlantic Research poll conducted this year was the biggest concern expressed by voters. Some have affiliated themselves with President Donald Trump, particularly real estate firm owner David Jones, who formed a political action committee to support his 2016 presidential campaign. Libby and Kenneth Capron are also the only candidates in the gubernatorial race so far relying on Maine Clean Elections Act funding. A bill this session that called to expand the fund failed, and the Maine Ethics Commission has raised concern about allocations not being enough if more than just two gubernatorial candidates run under the program in 2026. Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford, who left the Republican party to run as an independent for governor, said he chose not to run under clean elections because of fear that there wouldn't be sufficient funding. Libby, who represents parts of Cumberland, Oxford and York counties, is in the middle of his second consecutive term in the Maine Senate. He has also spent time as a state representative after being first elected to the Legislature in 1992, serving for six non-consecutive terms overall. Libby first ran for governor in 2002, but did not win the Republican gubernatorial primary. He is a professor at Thomas College, and serves on the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. Among the notable bills he introduced this legislative session are measures to add political affiliation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and reinstate the failed Property Tax Stabilization Program, neither of which passed. The Kennebunkport Republican has served as the president of Planet Fitness, the national gym chain with more than 2,700 locations, and was a founding partner and the former chief executive officer of Crunch Franchising, another chain with 460 locations nationwide. In a Facebook post announcing his candidacy, Midgley highlighted his background, explaining that he went from relying on food assistance to building successful businesses, and saying that that path is becoming increasingly inaccessible. 'Like so many, I've watched the cost of living skyrocket while paychecks fall further behind. I've seen small businesses struggle under burdensome regulations, families buckle under rising electricity bills, and young people leave Maine because they can't afford to stay,' he wrote. Ken Capron is a Portland-based retired Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and financial fraud investigator, according to a press release from Capron shared with News Center Maine. According to his LinkedIn profile, Capron is founder of MicroRail Inc., a transportation research organization, and previously served as Maine Medical Center's accounting director, among other positions. He declined to provide comment to Maine Morning Star. In 2022, he lost against Democrat Jill Duson in a bid for Portland's Senate District 27 seat. In his statement to News Center Maine, Capron raised issues with Maine's 'broken' legislative system, saying it 'imposes laws upon us that infringe on our everyday lives.' David Jones, a real estate firm owner from Falmouth, added his name to the list of Republicans running this spring. Jones owns F.O. Bailey Real Estate, and according to the Bangor Daily News, previously founded a commercial construction company that built high-rises, apartments and single-family homes. Jones has never held public office, but ran for governor as an independent two decades ago, but ultimately withdrew and endorsed the Republican candidate. On his campaign website, Jones has a photo with President Donald Trump, saying he has supported Trump since 2015 and in 2016 launched the Making Maine Great Again PAC. McCarthy, a University of Maine trustee from Gorham, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in June. On his campaign website, he said he was tired of the one-party rule in Augusta. 'The cost of living is spiraling out of control,' he said. 'We pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation to fund schools whose performance has dropped from among the best to nearly the worst. For too many Mainers, homeownership has shifted from the American Dream to merely a dream,' he wrote. McCarthy is a Harvard Business School graduate who co-founded MedRhythms, a medical technology company which helps patients recover mobility, the Portland Press Herald reported. He wants to focus on tax relief and 'crack down on illegal immigration by cooperating with federal law enforcement,' according to his website. Bobby Charles, a Leeds resident and lawyer who served under former President Ronald Reagan and both Bush administrations announced his candidacy in April. His campaign website highlights his tenure in federal politics, including as Assistant U.S. Secretary of State under George W. Bush. He has been vocal through his website, interviews and ads about making reforms including a 'crackdown on crime,' supporting law enforcement, cutting taxes and 'removing woke politics from the classroom.' In a campaign ad, Charles also called for the resignation of Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland) for her 'pro-Somalia rhetoric.' Bangor resident and veteran Stephen Sheppard does not have political issues listed on his campaign website, nor has he spoken to any media outlets on his candidacy so far. His campaign filing shows two donations, both made in April, one from himself and one from a friend totaling $700. On his website, he says he will make the Appalachian Trail a top priority. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Times
‘We had no idea our son was at risk': readers on living with epilepsy
When the writer Caroline Scott revealed how epilepsy had blighted her 24-year-old son's life, comments from our readers poured in. Here, you share your stories about losing children, living with the risks, caring for loved ones and building awareness around an often invisible disease. Despite epilepsy affecting 630,000 people in Britain, and causing 21 deaths a week, readers described pervasive misunderstanding of the condition, especially Sudep (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy). Hussey's daughter Libby died from Sudep last September. She was 38. The NHS was brilliant. We were close to a very good centre of excellence here in Bristol, where there was a neurology unit. The only time it wasn't helpful was when Libby left university and their advice from a nurse was that she should go home, join some local support groups and we should monitor her in every room. Libby turned to me and said, 'Bleep that, I'm going to live my life.' She was incredibly brave and always hopeful. She lived a full and fulfilled life. She went to university, eventually found a job she loved and was happily married. All the time I lived in dread of the phone, every ambulance siren could be her, every unanswered call could only mean one thing. My only comfort is that she lived life on her terms, despite the epilepsy. We miss her. Verbeeten was diagnosed at 25, after seven years of occasional seizures that doctors had attributed to lifestyle and work stress. I was not in a rush to be diagnosed with epilepsy! Finally, I had a bad [seizure] while driving and could not ignore it any more — I ended up in a ditch having crashed through two farm gates and a fence. I have had seizures on ski slopes, in public, at home and during important business meetings. I'm usually oblivious to what is going on — it's much more distressing for the uninitiated in attendance. • Read expert advice on healthy living, fitness and wellbeing I had my first seizure at 71. You read that correctly — people over 65 are the age group most likely to develop the condition for the first time. It is about time that epilepsy is properly recognised and resourced for research, diagnosis, effective treatment and public awareness of late-onset epilepsy in fit, active seniors like me. After his son Tom died from Sudep in 2015, aged 24, Sibree became a trustee on the board of Sudep Action, working with bereaved families and raising awareness about the condition. We had absolutely no idea that our son was at risk of dying. We found Tom in bed in the morning. He wasn't getting up, so his mother went up to him — and he was dead. And he went to bed the night before and all was well. It's so sudden and so heart-wrenching. There are no goodbyes. It's out of the blue and it's brutal. Through Sudep Action, we talk to lots of bereaved families. The story again and again is 'We had no idea', 'We were not told' and 'We didn't know that this was something that could happen'. Epilepsy itself is difficult to understand, and some GPs seem to have no understanding that Sudep — which clearly impacts more people than we might think — is a risk that epileptics run. When you think it's been a known condition for so long, it's staggering how little the medical profession know about it. Stone's son Dorian had his first seizure at 14. Now 37, he lives and works in Poland, where he has healthcare (both private and through work). Puberty, GCSEs and epilepsy all rolled into one catastrophic event for Dorian that has lasted years. While employers are mainly ignorant of the condition ('You don't look like you have epilepsy,' one said to him), the real everyday issues are with the medication. They make the sufferer exhausted, dopey (for want of a better word) and therefore less present and productive. I live in constant fear about him losing his job as he now has a son and a mortgage. He will never have a well-paid job but he seems to be accepting of that, while it gives me sleepless nights as we are not in a position to support him financially. • My shock epilepsy diagnosis at 50 — and what happened next From 1968 to 1969 I had about 18 jobs — out of one job, into the next really. I stopped mentioning epilepsy in 1970 … no sackings. More recently, I had a fit in the street. When I came to, cars were going around me with passengers leaning out, recording footage on their mobile phones. No one came to my aid. One lady said she thought I was one of many 'dipsos' [alcoholics] who gather nearby. I found my own way to the hospital, where I had a CT scan to see if I had a bleed — mercifully not — and an x-ray confirming a rotator cuff muscle had detached. Both of Colston's daughters are epileptic. The elder developed it later in life after her first pregnancy and has her seizures under control, while the younger has to navigate systems not well-suited to epileptics. The younger daughter, now 31, started having absence seizures at puberty, which progressed into tonic-clonic seizures first thing in the morning whenever she was ovulating or had her period. Her life changed dramatically. She was constantly put on different drugs as they tried to find something that worked. One of them led to weight gain, others changed her personality. She never learnt to drive, and she never will because her seizures are still not controlled. Her seizures all happen in the morning, and jobs that can accommodate that are so few and far between. She has found a job now which is based in the US and Canada, so the shifts start later in the day. However, she's paid minimum wage. And because she doesn't drive, and public transport is so useless and taxis so expensive, she really is stuck where she is. She couldn't possibly go on and study music as she would've done. She was a singer and a flautist, but sadly her absence seizures are exacerbated by hyperventilating.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hants take control after Worcestershire collapse
Rothesay County Championship Division One, Visit Worcestershire New Road (day three) Hampshire 293 & 139-2: Gubbins 55*; Finch 1-16 Worcestershire 249: Libby 100*; Baker 5-72 Hants (4 pts) lead Worcs (3 pts) by 183 runs Match scorecard Sonny Baker's five-wicket haul and a Nick Gubbins half-century helped drive Hampshire into the ascendency on day three of the County Championship match against Worcestershire. Baker's morning burst of three-wickets saw him to figures of 5-72, as Jake Libby's 100 not out could not see Worcestershire into the lead despite early promise, as his side were bowled out for 249. With a lead of 44, the visiting side batted through the day with relative comfort on a flattening wicket, as Joe Weatherly and Fletcha Middleton made early progress for their side. Nick Gubbins then scored an unbeaten 55 to see his side to 139-2 at the close, with the away side well in the hunt for a third County Championship victory of the season. With a lengthy delay to the start of proceedings on the third morning of the match, Hampshire enjoyed an excellent start to the day as youngster Sonny Baker produced an eye-catching three wicket burst to reduce Worcestershire to 189-5. The visitors welcomed a stroke of luck in the second over of the day when Adam Hose feathered a strangle down the legside, to depart without adding to his overnight score, before Baker picked up the wickets of Brett D'Oliveira (1) and Ethan Brookes (0) as the hosts reeled under the clouds at Visit Worcestershire New Road. Searching for their first County Championship win since mid-May, Hampshire began the afternoon session in similar vein to the morning, with Libby watching his side fall behind in the contest. Matthew Waite helped add 34 with the Worcestershire opener, before he nicked off to James Fuller for a cautious 21 as the Division One strugglers watched another promising position fall away beneath them as they limped to 223-6. Part-timer Nick Gubbins was thrown the ball in the 80th over of the innings as the visitors looked to move things on before taking the new ball but were overjoyed when Tom Taylor was pinned lbw in an innocuous over as the home side slid further behind the eight-ball. Hampshire tightened their grip on the match, as Kyle Abbott (1-27) and Baker removed Ben Allison and Adam Finch, with Libby 98 not out and his side still trailing by 46-runs. Libby added the two runs required to reach a gritty century off 235 balls, registering the first century by a Worcestershire player at Visit Worcestershire New Road this summer. Baker capped a fine individual performance as he returned in the next over to secure his five-wicket haul and ensure his side took a healthy lead of 44-runs into their second innings, with Worcestershire all-out one run short of a batting bonus-point. Hampshire lost Weatherley in the 11th over of their reply, when he was lbw to a full ball from Waite but marched on unphased to pass fifty with comfort. Middleton got in and showed signs of extending his good form from the first innings but was unable to capitalise on his positive start as he was caught behind off an Adam Finch delivery, with his side 120-runs in front. Gubbins made his way to a comfortable half-century as the evening drew to a close, as he and Tilak Varma batted through to stumps with Hampshire in total control at 139-2, with a commanding 183-run lead heading into the final day. ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport
NZ Herald
01-08-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Dr Libby on what we get wrong about iron and how we should treat it
Nutritional biochemist and author Dr Libby is on a mission to get people, particularly women, thinking about the relationship between our health and our iron levels. She has returned with a new book called Fix Iron First, which focuses on the links between iron levels and our health.
Indianapolis Star
31-07-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Richard Allen's wife proclaims her husband's innocence in new Delphi murders docuseries
A new ABC News Studios docuseries is revisiting the deaths of Delphi teens Abigail "Abby" Williams and Liberty "Libby" German, whose murders thrusted the small Indiana community and the state's criminal justice system into the international spotlight. The three-part "Capturing Their Killer: The Girls on the High Bridge," features interviews with the girls' family members, investigators and Allen's defense attorneys. It's also the first time that Allen's wife, Kathy Allen, spoke substantively about the girls' deaths and her husband's prosecution. "I want true justice for Abby and Libby," Kathy Allen said in a two-minute trailer shared with USA TODAY. "But it should not be at the expense of an innocent person." The docuseries, which premieres Aug. 5 on Hulu, also includes interviews with reporters from IndyStar and the Lafayette Journal & Courier. Abby and Libby disappeared while hiking the Monon High Bridge trail on Feb. 13, 2017. Their bloodied bodies were found the next day. The case lingered unsolved for more than five years before Allen, who worked at the local pharmacy, was arrested and charged with murder. A jury of five men and seven women found Allen guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of murder while kidnapping the girls after a contentious, weeks-long trial in 2024. Special Judge Frances Gull sentenced Allen to 130 years in prison. Allen, who's appealing his conviction and sentence, was moved to an Oklahoma prison earlier this month. The gruesome deaths of the two beloved teens shook and forever changed the small Indiana community. The case is one of the state's most high-profile and controversial murders, with Allen claiming the real killers were members of an Odinist group who murdered the girls during a sacrificial ritual in the woods. At the heart of the prosecution's case is whether Allen is the man seen in a video following the girls on the high bridge. The 43-second video, which Libby took moments before they were kidnapped, showed the man who came to be known as "Bridge Guy" walking behind Abby. Toward the end of the footage, the man told the girls to, "Go down the hill." "We know this 'Bridge Guy' took the girls," Libby's grandmother, Becky Patty, said in the docuseries, "and they proved Richard Allen was 'Bridge Guy.'"
