A majority of Conservative voters at the last general election want Boris Johnson replaced as party leader and prime minister next year, a poll has found.

Sixty per cent of all voters said they backed the idea of the Tories ditching Mr Johnson 35 per cent were strongly in support.

More worryingly for the PM, strategic research firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies found a clear majority of Tory supporters have turned against him and want someone else in charge.

Fifty-three per cent of those who voted Tory in the 2019 election want him ousted from No10, according to the poll for MailOnline, 27 per cent in favour and 26 per cent strongly in favour.

Only 15 per cent of voters are opposed to the Tories getting rid of Mr Johnson and only 22 per cent of Tory voters are opposed to his removal.

Leading Conservatives have claimed that Tory MPs are now definitely having conversations on how to replace Mr Johnson in 2022 after a turbulent month on multiple fronts.

The PMs personal ratings have plummeted and the Tories have lost their poll lead to Labour following the Owen Paterson scandal, claims of parties held during last years Covid curbs and remaining questions over the funding of his flat.

The latest polls indicate that chancellor Rishi Sunakwould be the most popular replacement for Mr Johnson.

Forty-three per cent of adults surveyed said Mr Sunak would make a better prime minister.

By comparison, only 23 per cent of voters said foreign secretary Liz Truss another leading Tory touted for the job would make a better PM.

However, according to regular ConservativeHome surveys,Ms Truss remains the most popular cabinet member among Tory supporters. She maintains her commanding lead over other ministers a position she has held for over a year with a net satisfaction of +82.

Mr Johnsons opponents in the party would have to gather 55 signatures required for the powerful 1922 Committee of backbenchers to initiate a vote of no confidence in his leadership.

A majority of Tory MPs would then need to vote against Mr Johnson to spark a leadership contest decided by Tory party members.

One Conservative MP from a so-called red wall constituency toldThe Independent the polls would be the biggest factor in determining Mr Johnsons fate in 2022.

I dont think theres going to be any leadership push quickly, the backbencher said. The people who already want Boris out will let him keep finding a bit more rope. Its bad poll numbers that will rattle a wider group.

Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie hold video calls jab heroes Dr Laura Mount and carer Tom Jones on Christmas Day

(Simon Dawson / No10 Downing Street)

The latest YouGov poll found that71 per cent of voters believe Mr Johnson was doing badly in his job approval ratings are now similar to those faced by Theresa May in the week before she was forced to resign.

This week, the audience at the WorldDartsChampionship chanted: Stand up if you hate Boris, while Leeds United fans were heard singing, Boris Johnsonis a c***, at the clubs match with Arsenal last weekend.

Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie were pictured on a sofa at Chequers, the prime ministers official country residence, speaking to NHS vaccination heroes on Christmas Day.

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Majority of Tory voters want Boris Johnson replaced in 2022, poll finds - The Independent

ALBION, MI The president of Albion College, who has been the subject of controversy in recent months, has resigned.

The colleges Board of Trustees announced on Friday, Dec. 24, that it has accepted the resignation of Mathew B. Johnson, who is moving into an expanded role to lead a global initiative partnership with the Carnegie Foundation.

The board is now conducting a national search for Johnsons replacement. Meanwhile, the board has appointed trustee Joseph S. Calvaruso as interim president. Calvaruso recently retired as executive director for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation in Grand Rapids after a career that included nearly three decades in banking.

Mathew joined Albion College during one of the most tumultuous periods of the past century, Board Chair Michael J. Harrington said in a statement. Despite the overwhelming challenges of COVID-19, he was able to achieve significant academic and financial accomplishments during his tenure.

He inherited no playbook for how to navigate a global pandemic, yet his decisive actions and strong leadership enabled us to provide an exceptional residential experience at a time when many institutions were entirely remote and others were closing.

Johnson was appointed president by the board in April 2020. He officially started his presidency on July 1, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was unable to have an official inauguration until the 2021 fall semester.

Related: After long pandemic wait, Albion College finally inaugurates new president

Shortly before Johnson was inaugurated, he was the subject of an online petition seeking his removal. The petition alleged Johnson of bullying staff and students, hiring people of color only on superficial grounds, inappropriate financial activities, and more.

The petition has garnered 2,362 signatures.

The people of Albion College and the surrounding Albion community deserve better than this, the petition states. We deserve better than him. Mathew Johnson needs to face consequences for his actions and be removed from office.

Related: Petition seeks removal of Albion College president for alleged bullying, racism

On Dec. 14, Johnson allegedly had a confrontation with 76-year-old retired Albion teacher and NAACP Executive Board Officer Hazel Lias at a basketball tournament on Albions campus.

In a Dec. 17 press conference regarding the incident, Lias said she was at the basketball game when she asked Johnson for T-shirts being handed out. Johnson told her she could have one, but that she had to control a friend of hers, activist Maurice Barry.

The truth is he insulted me, he degraded me, he embarrassed me, thats the truth, Lias said. Dr. Johnson didnt speak to me he yelled at me. His finger was inches from my nose, right out, straight out, with force, with the jabbing-type finger.

Lias said Johnson later apologized.

On Dec. 20, Albion spokeswoman Susie Pentelow provided a statement regarding the incident, saying, The college is aware of the incident last week. The executive committee of our board of trustees and our cabinet are working as quickly as possible to determine our course of action.

A silent protest was planned to take place outside of Johnsons home on the evening of Jan. 4, in reaction to his interaction with Lias.

Albion College interim president trustee Joseph S. Calvaruso

Going forward, Johnson is to serve as president of the Commission for Public Purpose in Higher Education in partnership with the Carnegie Foundation, which is responsible for the stewardship and continuous development of the basic and elective classification systems of higher education institutions.

Albion Colleges Board of Trustees listed the following accomplishments of Johnson during his tenure at the college:

Though incredibly challenging, I have loved my time serving Albion and successfully leading the college through the pandemic and strengthening our financial position, Johnson said in a statement. I am proud of the change we accomplished together and the change still under way.

This new role will allow me to focus full time on the work I love of strengthening the public purpose of higher education institutions at the national and international level and to build on the lessons learned in the work we have done at Albion. I have complete confidence in the skill and commitment of the cabinet and Interim President Joe Calvaruso to lead through the presidential search process and to extend and build on our successes.

Calvaruso currently serves on the board of First National Bank of Michigan. He has also served in leadership positions with the Risk Management Association, including on its international board of directors. In addition to his role as a trustee of Albion College, he serves on the board of the Michigan Certified Development Corp.

It is an honor to serve my alma mater and the Albion community, Calvaruso said in a statement. My roots in the Albion area run deep: I am the fifth generation of my mothers side of the family to live in the area, and the third generation on my fathers side. I even got married on Albions beautiful campus, and my wife, Donna, has adopted Albion College and the Albion community as her own.

I really look forward to connecting with campus and the community. Im excited to be working with a number of people on different initiatives that will make a difference in the community I have long called home.

Read more:

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Albion College will house national program aimed at enhancing institutional diversity

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Couple gifts $1.2 million to Albion College for gym, other campus improvements

Graduates give back to Albion College with $2.25M donation

Read the original post:
Albion College president, subject of recent controversies, resigns to take Carnegie Foundation role - MLive.com

The Viking Ship play site when it was installed in 2009. It has since deteriorated significantly Image CPCL

A public protest is due to take place tomorrow (December 20) in a bid to save the Viking Ship equipment at the Ethelbert Crescent play area (Newgate Gap) in Cliftonville.

The Viking Ship play area was installed in 2009 with the major structural components being of Robinia wood rather than the galvanised/powder coated steel used for most apparatus. It was funded with 300,000 from the Stronger, Safer Communities Fund according to council agenda minutes from the year of installation.

However, a report to Thanet council Cabinet members said the condition of play equipment has been deteriorating and become a Health and Safety risk. An inspection in December 2020 reported 83 defects at the Viking Ship playground with concerns raised over the timber structural elements of the Viking ship itself.

In response Thanet council plan to use 169,517 of a 211,280 allocation from Kent County Council for Community Parks for demolition at the existing site and then installation of replacement play equipment.

Work is due to take place in February and March 2022 and will include the demolition/removal of the existing Viking ship, playhouse climbing frame, rocker seal and sprung rocker ship.

They will be replaced with:

Castles Keep large 3 storey castle with multiple slides, poles and net

Castle Gatehouse castle with slide and rope bridge

Track Ride Tower zip wire type apparatus with tower and net

Wheelchair Carousel inclusive roundabout carousel

Swings with cradle swing set and inclusive you and me swing

Jumper Square floor trampoline type jumper

Horse Seesaw

Spinner Bowl

Agility Trail

The funding must be spent by 31 March 2022.

But members of the Friends of Cliftonville Coastline group say the iconic and unique Viking Ship must be saved. They will gather at the playground tomorrow at 10am and are inviting others to join them, who:

Have children who will be heartbroken by the loss of our unique iconic Viking Ship, so integral to imaginative natural play.

Believe this money should be spent on renovation and improvements (eg improved access and a wheelchair carousel) rather than a demolition and expensive rebuild.

And that the saved money could then be spent across Margate and beyond to benefit multiple deteriorating playgrounds in need, eg Dane Park.

Think the council must be held to account for the lack of future planning and ongoing maintenance of ailing community infrastructure.

Is fed up with the lack of scrutiny over whether Section 106 funds from developers are properly collected, and why they are not being used to maintain local playgrounds, as allocated.

Believes we should safeguard our conservation areas, and adhere to planning permissions where required to protect them.

Thinks we should scrutinise large and sudden expenditures such as this, where the legal tendering process for contractors and planning permission is skipped.

And that there should be far more consultation within the community to find out what is wanted and needed locally.

A Friends of Cliftonville Coastline spokesperson said: The ROSPA consultants report recommends that the Viking Ship should have 5 supporting posts replaced, the sand pit frame should have 2 replacement posts and that these should be inspected every 2 years.

The cost of replacing the supporting posts is estimated to be 8-10K. Due to the high level of the ship mast inspection costs are estimated to be 3K every two years.

So why is demolition the only option being considered, instead of the obviously much cheaper and more environmentally sustainable option of renovation and maintenance?

Section 106 payments are meant to be used to maintain playgrounds near to new developments of a certain size. There is no trace of whether allocated money was ever gathered or spent on the Viking Ship Playground.

At a Cabinet meeting on December 16, when the park funding was approved, Green councillor Mike Garner suggested Section 106 money contributions from developers for isle infrastructure should be investigated with any outstanding amounts added to the fund for the Cliftonville park which, in turn, would release funding to replace fencing at Memorial Rec play area. An amount for this work has been provisionally allocated from the parks grant and officers have said they will investigate the section 106 funding.

Allocations have also been made for work at Crispe Park in Birchington and Northdown Park.

On The Isle of Thanet News article revealing park funding plan, a post from CEO at The Childrens Playground, Rinske Wassenaar said: Being the supplier of this bespoke playground and with over 20 years of experience working with Robinia playground equipment, this playground is in no need of replacement.

Looking thoroughly at the photos (in the article), I am convinced only minor repairs would be required, e.g. replacing of missing parts, addressing possible splits, sanding off sap wood and repaint. We have overhauled similar sized playgrounds for a cost ranging between 8-12k, where we completely sanded off the sapwood. The playground will look like new and would last at least for another 10 years.

The total annual playground revenue budget of 39,000 a year is split between the isles 31 playgrounds. In 2020/21, Thanet council says 12,647 of this was spent on essential maintenance and 1,900 on inspections at the Ethelbert Crescent play area alone.

Cllr George Kup, Cabinet Member for Community Safety & Youth Engagement said: Im delighted that the Council has been awarded 221k of Community Parks grant funding as part of the Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF).

170k of this funding will be used to replace and improve the play area equipment at Ethelbert Crescent. The cost of maintaining and repairing the existing apparatus at Ethelbert Crescent has become unsustainable, with a disproportionate amount of the maintenance budget for all play equipment across the district being spent here. Without this improvement work the play area would be closed due to its deteriorated condition.

The Community Parks funding will also fund improvements at other parks in the district to encourage the use of outdoor spaces in line with the objectives of the grant funding. The funding must be spent by the end of March 2022 and officers have had to work quickly to develop a scheme based on prioritised need and community benefit. Due to these tight timescales, it is regrettable that we have not been able to consult with the local community.

It is disappointing that a small minority of people are protesting against a decision that is providing a lifeline for the popular Viking Ship playground. The funding means that a high quality play area, with more inclusive and accessible equipment than currently, will now be available in the long term for the benefit of the local community.

Visit link:
Public protest as campaigners bid to halt demolition and replacement of Viking Ship play equipment in Cliftonville - The Isle of Thanet News

Issued on: 23/12/2021 - 15:40Modified: 23/12/2021 - 15:38

Beirut (AFP) Sixteen months since a monster blast ripped through the Lebanese capital, the judge investigating the tragedy has been beset by numerous lawsuits, mostly filed against him by officials demanding his removal.

With judge Tarek Bitar forced to suspend his probe for a fourth time on Thursday in the face of such complaints, here is a look at the increasingly complex web of court challenges obstructing investigations into Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster.

The August 4, 2020 explosion of a shipment of ammonium nitrate fertiliser stored haphazardly in a port warehouse for years killed at least 215 people and disfigured the capital.

Top political and security officials were aware of the threat posed by the stored chemicals but failed to take action.

In February, Fadi Sawan, the judge initially appointed to lead the probe, was removed from the case after chasing some of the country's top brass.

Bitar succeeded him, and has since faced similar hurdles amid a concerted political campaign to force his removal.

Officials he had summoned on charges of negligence have filed more than a dozen lawsuits against him, forcing him to suspend his probe four times.

They include several ex-ministers, two of whom were hit with arrest warrants in recent months after they failed to show up for questioning.

Attempts by officials to dodge accountability have been aided by the state.

Parliament has refused to lift immunity granted to lawmakers and top officials have turned down requests to interrogate top security officials.

The interior ministry has also failed to implement arrest warrants issued by Bitar, further undermining his investigation.

Attempts to obstruct Bitar's work have spilled onto the streets, with the powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement staging a rally in Beirut in October demanding his removal.

The protest turned Beirut into a war zone, with live fire exchanges between rival parties leaving seven dead.

Hezbollah and its Amal movement allies are spearheading efforts to replace Bitar.

Their affiliates in cabinet have said they would boycott sessions until an official stance is taken on his replacement.

As a result, Lebanon's fragile government, formed in September to stem the country's worst-ever financial crisis, has failed to meet since October.

In a country where political leaders determine judicial appointments, including in top courts, there is little room for the judiciary to work against Lebanon's ruling elite.

Bitar has been forced to suspend his probe repeatedly over lawsuits filed by officials he had called in for questioning on suspicion of negligence.

A judicial source said the number of lawsuits filed against Bitar now stands at 18.

Some of the judges who turned down requests to replace Bitar have since been hit with lawsuits themselves by the same officials, and they have in turn mobilised affiliated judges at every opportunity.

Last month, a judge backed by Hezbollah and Amal processed a lawsuit filed against Bitar that forced a third suspension in the investigation.

This created a rift within judicial circles, with many arguing that the judge in question had no authority over the Beirut blast case.

Following accusations of political "hijacking", a legal complaint filed against the Shiite judge forced him to stand down.

The lawsuits against Bitar will inevitably delay the presentation of his findings which were previously expected by the year's end, according to a judicial source.

In a country where even high-profile assassinations and bombings go unpunished, many fear a Lebanon-led blast probe will fail to hold anyone to account.

"The judicial body in Lebanon is sick," a former judge told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"Some judges are merely an echo chamber for the political leaders that appointed them," the same judge said.

In a joint letter sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council in September, rights groups and relatives of blast victims said "flagrant political interference, immunity for high-level political officials, and lack of respect for fair trial" have rendered the Beirut blast probe incapable of delivering justice.

Nizar Saghieh, who heads the local organisation Legal Agenda, said divisions over Bitar's fate expose deeper rifts within the state.

"The democratic components of the Lebanese state are supporting judges working to tighten the space for impunity, while others are backing judges that are working to preserve this system," he wrote on social media.

2021 AFP

Go here to read the rest:
Beirut blast probe: what's the snag? - RFI

The clock on congressional redistricting in New Jersey for 1972 began in 1970 when Gov. William Cahill was trying to clear the field for GOP State Chairman Nelson Gross to run for the United States Senate.

Republicans thought they could beat two-term incumbent Harrison Williams with Gross, who had served as an assemblyman from Bergen County and had close ties to President Richard Nixon. Standing in his way was State Sen. Joseph Maraziti (R-Boonton), a longtime Morris County legislator who wanted to run for the U.S. Senate.

Cahill and legislative leaders offered Maraziti a deal: in exchange for dropping his U.S. Senate bid, he would chair the committee that would redraw New Jerseys fifteen congressional districts for the 1972 election. Maraziti took the deal; Gross lost his race by twelve points.

Jersey style, Maraziti drew a district for himself.

Maraziti eliminated one of the two Hudson County congressional seats, putting Democrats Dominick Daniels (D-Jersey City) and Cornelius Gallagher (D-Bayonne) into a primary fight.

The new 13th district was hugely Republican. It started East Hanover and went through northern Morris County, picked up all of Hunterdon, Sussex and Warren counties, and ended in northern Mercer. In the 1968 presidential election, the towns in the new 13th had given Richard Nixon a 55%-36% win over Democrat Hubert Humphrey.

Not all Republicans were thrilled with the map. Assembly Speaker Thomas H. Kean (R-Livingston) and State Sen. James H. Wallwork (R-Short Hills), both potential congressional candidates in the future, saw their hometowns put into a district that went through Morris and Somerset counties into Princeton.

The map went to federal court and a three-judge panel upheld it they tinkered with the plan by moving the boundary between two Bergen-based districts so that South Hackensack wasnt split.

The new map put the entire city of Newark into the 10th, a move designed to make the 11th district seat of five-term Rep. Joseph Minish (D-West Orange) more competitive. The candidate the map was draw for was former State Sen. Milton Waldor (R-South Orange), who had lost his Senate seat in 1971 by 908 votes to Essex County Freeholder Wynona M. Lipman. (Lipman, who would later move from Montclair to Newark to survive 1973 legislative redistricting, became the first Black woman to serve in the New Jersey Senate and remained there until her death in 1999.)

Maraziti faced a primary challenge from two assemblymen, Walter Keough-Dwyer (R-Vernon) and Karl Weidel (D-Pennington), and Delmar Miller, Sr., a political newcomer from Ewing who ran under the slogan Speaking for the Silent Majority. Maraziti won big: a 7,491 vote, 50%-25% victory over Keough-Dwyer, with Weidel finishing third with 17% and Miller getting 8%.

Three Morris County candidates sought the Democratic nomination: Joseph P. ODoherty, Jerome Kessler and Norma Herzfeld. ODoherty won the nomination by 1,248 votes over Kessler, 43%-35%, with Herzfeld receiving 22%. (Kessler and Herzfeld both won Democratic legislative primaries in 1977 but lost the general election.)

During the primary, Herzfeld filed a lawsuit challenging ODohertys constitutional eligibility to run for Congress, alleging that the Irish-born Chester resident had not become a U.S. citizen until 1967.

ODoherty dropped out of the race a week after the primary.

Democratic State Chairman Salvatore Bontempo convinced former New Jersey First Lady Helen Meyner to become the replacement candidate. The wife of former Gov. Robert Meyner and the cousin of former Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, Meyner lived in Princeton but had a home in Phillipsburg, where her husband had served as a state senator.

In the general election, Maraziti defeated Meyner by 25,154 votes, 56%43%. Nixon carried the 13th by a 70%-40% margin over Democrat George McGovern.

Under a Republican-drawn map, Democrats won eight of the states 15 House seats, a net pickup of one.

Republicans held the open seat of retiring eight-term Rep. Florence Dwyer (R-Elizabeth), with State Sen. Matthew Rinaldo (R-Union) defeated former State Sen. Jerry Fitzgerald English by 27 points.

The closest an incumbent came to losing was in the Middlesex-based 15th when newcomer Fuller Brooks held five-term Rep. Edward Patten to a 52%-48% win. Nixon won the district by 22 points.

In a Camden-Gloucester district, three-term Rep. John Hunt (R-Pitman) defeated 35-year-old Assemblyman Jim Florio (D-Runnemede) by a 52.5%-47% margin. Nixon carried the 1st, 60%-40%.

Four much-heralded GOP challengers fell way short: former Nixon White House aide Bill Dowd, making his second bid to unseat four-term Rep. James Howard (D-Spring Lake Heights), received 47% of the vote. Frank Thompson, Jr. (D-Trenton) won his 9th term by a 58%-42% margin against Assemblyman Peter Garibaldi (R-Monroe); Assemblyman Alfred Schiaffo (R-Closter) lost to four-term Rep. Henry Helstoski (D-East Rutherford), 56%-44%; and Minish beat Waldor 18 points. Nixon carried all four of these districts by double-digit margins.

Daniels won the Hudson Democratic primary with 51% against West New York Mayor Anthony DeFino (32%), Gallagher (1%) and former Rep. Vincent Dellay (2%0. He received 61% in the general election.

Republican Map Flips to 12-3 Democratic

Even though Republicans drew the new congressional map, the Watergate scandal resulted in the loss of four seats in the 1974 mid-term elections that came three months after Nixon resigned the presidency.

Florio ousted Hunt by 19 points, 57.5%-38.5% in the 1st district. The GOP has never been able to win that seat back.

In the 2nd district, four-term Rep. Charles Sandman (R-Erma), the unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor in 1973, lost his seat to former Cape May County First Assistant Prosecutor William J. Hughes by 16 points.

Democrats flipped the Bergen County-based seat of 12-term Rep. William Widnall (R-Ridgewood) by five points. The winner was Democrat Andrew Maguire, who had served in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Local newspapers aimed considerable coverage at Maraziti, whose seat on the House Judiciary Committee put him on national television as Nixons defender. He voted against all three articles of impeachment.

Maraziti also became bogged down in a scandal as he faced a rematch with Meyner.

Meyner had to first win a Democratic primary. She faced ODoherty, who now met the citizenship requirement, former Hunterdon County Prosecutor Oscar Rittenhouse, and Fairleigh Dickinson University Professor Bernard Reiner.

Her 47% -26% win in the Democratic primary was unimpressive. She defeated ODoherty by just 3,801 votes, with Rittenhouse finishing third with 18% and Reiner at 9%. Meyner won everywhere but Hunterdon, where Rittenhouse defeated her, 49%-36%.

Maraziti put his 35-year-old girlfriend, Linda Collinson, on his congressional payroll in a no-show job while she continued to work at Marazitis Morris County law firm.

Collinson was outed after she applied for a loan with the House Credit Union. A staffer in Marazitis Washington office told the credit union that she had never heard of Collinson.

Reporters later discovered that Maraziti owned the house Collinson lived in.

Maraziti was also damaged by reports that a Warren County newspaper fired their managing editor, Donald Thatcher, after learning that he was also on Marazitis congressional payroll. Later, news broke that Nicholas DiRienzo, the general manager of two New Jersey radio stations, was also on the congressmans staff.

Meyner became one of the Watergate Babies, defeating Maraziti by a 57%-43% margin. She carried Mercer with 65%, Warren with 61%, Hunterdon with 58%, Morris with 56%, and Sussex with 51%.

There was one open seat in 1974: Rep. Peter Frelinghuysen (R-Harding) retired after 22 years in Congress. Republican Millicent Fenwick (R-Bernardsville) defeated Kean by 83 votes in the GOP primary a little more of Essex under the Maraziti map would have sent Kean to Congress. She won the general election by a 53%-43% margin against Fred Bohen, a former Johnson White House staffer.

GOP Gains

By the end of a map drawn by the GOP, Republicans had picked up just two of the seats they lost in Watergate, plus two more. In a decade, the map went from 9-6 Democratic to 8-7 Democratic. During the decade, six incumbents lost re-election.

In 1976, Republicans flipped the Bergen-Hudson 9th district seat after six-term incumbent Henry Helstoski became embroiled in a scandal. The winner, by a 53%-44% margin, was former State Sen. Harold Hollenbeck (R-East Rutherford).

Meyner held the 13th seat by 5,241 votes, 50%-48%, in 1976 against former State Sen. William Schluter (R-Pennington). President Gerald Ford had carried the district that year by a 50%-41% margin against Democrat Jimmy Carter.

But 1978, Carters mid-term election, Meyner lost.

After his close call, Schluter sought a rematch against Meyner in 1978. This time, Schluter faced a strong primary opponent, Assistant Warren County Prosecutor Jim Courter. Courter beat Schluter by just 134 votes in a campaign managed by Roger Bodman, who would go on to run Keans campaign for governor and later serve in his cabinet. Courter unseated Meyner that year by a 52%-48% margin.

Ford had also carried the 7th, 58%-42%, but Maguire defeated Republican James Sheehan, a Wyckoff township committeeman, by 13 points to secure a second term.

The Republican challenger against Maguire in 1978 was Marge Roukema, a former Ridgewood school board member.

Roukema won the primary, 39%-32%, against a well-known name in the Republican primary: Joseph Woodcock (R-Cliffside Park), who served 12 years as an assemblyman and state senator, four years as the Bergen County prosecutor, and was briefly a candidate for the 1977 Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Maguire won by six points but lost a 1980 rematch to Roukema

The Republicans also picked up the 4th district. Thompson, a 26-year incumbent and the chairman of the House Administration Committee, was implicated in the FBI sting operation known as Abscam, when an undercover agent pretending to be an Arab sheik offered the congressman a cash bribe to help him circumvent federal immigration laws.

Republican Christopher Smith was the 25-year-old executive director of New Jersey Right to Life when he challenged Thompson in 1978. He lost by 24 points.

But with Thompson under indictment, Smith beat Thompson by 26,967 votes, a 47%-41% margin. Hes held the seat for the last 41 years.

Hughes held the 2nd district seat in 1976 against the strongest possible Republican challenger, Assemblyman James Hurley (R-Millville). He won 62%-38% in a district where Carter beat Ford by two points.

In the 15th district, Republicans nearly unseated Patten.

details began emerging about Pattens involvement in the Koreagate scandal. Lobbyist Tongsun Park was charged with using funds provided by the government of South Korea to bribe six congressmen as part of a bid to ensure that the United States kept their military presence there.

The allegation against Patten was that he solicited an illegal campaign contribution from Park, including funds that found their way into the account of the Middlesex County Democrats. Patten allegedly took cash contributions from Park and then wrote personal checks to the county organization.

A 30-year-old Edison attorney, George Spadoro, challenged Patten in the Democratic primary and held him to 59% of the vote, a 6,323-vote plurality. (Spadoro would later become the mayor of Edison and an assemblyman.)

Summer headlines on Koreagate dominated the summer news, as well as Pattens testimony before the House Ethics Committee. Patten steadfastly proclaimed his innocence. In October, the Ethics panel voted unanimously to clear him of the charges. And the Friday before the election, state Attorney General John Degnan announced that he had cleared Patten of any wrongdoing in Koreagate, which had become a state issue since some of the contributions had come to the county party organization.

Patten also faced allegations that he failed to disclose his assets as required by House rules. Patten had filed a financial disclosure saying that he had no personal assets; he eventually announced that all his assets were in his wifes name.

The scandal took its toll on Patten. He won re-election, but just narrowly 48%46%, with a plurality of only 2,836 votes, against Republican Charles Wiley, a conservative radio commentator from Sayreville.

New Jersey lost one congressional seat after the 1980 census.

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The time NJ Republicans won the congressional map but lost the election - New Jersey Globe | New Jersey Politics

The government has launched huge projects in conjunction with the increasing global concern about environmental issues and climate change.

Egypt hosted the United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP14), which was held in 2018 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and has been chosen to host the Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27), scheduled for late 2022.

The Egyptian government has paid attention to climate issues and their impact on the environment not by just signing treaties and hosting environmental conferences, which are of course important, but also by implementing the outcomes of these events and treaties.

The government began to activate its plans to deal with climate change through several national projects and laws, which emerged through the expansion of metro networks, trains and electric cars and the preparation of the necessary infrastructure for this, as well as the establishment of smart and sustainable cities.

Egypt has also offered green bonds worth $750 million for five years at a yield of 5.25 percent, the first offering of government green bonds in the Middle East and North Africa.

Green bonds are special loans to finance projects related to climate change or the environment, as defined by the World Bank.

Egypt is also implementing projects to rationalise water use, line canals, integrate coastal zone management, and a huge project to reclaim 1.5 million feddans in the Western Desert and other governorates, which will have a significant impact in combating climate change and reducing CO2 emissions.

Converting cars to run on natural gas

Perhaps the most prominent measures regarding green transport are cooperation agreements for the manufacturing of electric cars and the completion of their associated infrastructure, as well as the national project to convert, or replace, cars to run on natural gas. This consists of two main projects, the first is replacing worn out and old cars, and the second is converting cars to run on natural gas.

Egypt is replacing cars manufactured over 20 years ago, which tend to produce high carbon emissions that increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The second part of the project involves converting gasoline-powered cars to have them run on natural gas or dual-fuel, given the high environmental and economic cost of gasoline.

This huge project targets various types of cars, including microbuses, taxis and privately owned cars. The government has said the project aims to replace 250,000 old cars with a budget of up to EGP 1.2 billion, with 3 percent interest loans to pay for the new cars in instalments over seven to 10 years.

As for converting cars to run on natural gas, the government is providing specialised centres to conduct this procedure, assuming the car in question is fit for conversion, for EGP 8,000 to EGP 12,000 ($515 to $715), which can be paid in instalments.

In 2017, the Small and Micro Enterprise Development Agency signed a contract with the Natural Gas Car Company worth EGP 7.5 million to finance the conversion project.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Ahmed Abdel-Razzaq, who is responsible for the National Program for Car Replacement and Renewal, said that the first phase of the program has registered 36,000 eligible citizens, of whom 9,500 have received the upgraded vehicles.

Abdul-Razzaq says this falls far short of the initial target of replacing 250,000 vehicles in the first three-year phase starting January 2021, at a rate of 80,000 vehicles annually.

The failure to meet this target is due to weak supply chains affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the global shortage in microchips, which are used in electronic circuits found in all modern cars, Abdul-Razzaq said.

Abdul-Razzaq pointed out that the rate of cars delivered as part of the replacement program is expected to increase over the next two years after the electronic chip crisis eases and foreign trade improves.

Abdul-Razzaq also said that despite the huge cost of replacement and conversion, these measures are expected to spare the state budget the cost of subsidising gasoline and petroleum.

The price of a cubic meter of natural gas is EGP 3.5, while the price of a litre of 80, 92 and 95 octane gasoline is EGP 7, 8.25 and 9.25 respectively.

According to Abdel-Razzaq, Egypt was one of the first countries in the region to switch to green transportation, when in 2008 it launched the project to replace its old taxis with the new white taxi that run on natural gas or dual fuel. Egypt replaced 45,000 taxis and won a grant of 2.5 million euros from the World Bank in recognition of its achievements in reducing carbon emissions.

This gigantic national project is in line with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, Abdel-Razzaq said, adding that the national sustainable development strategy Egypt Vision 2030 aims to achieve sustainable development and tackle environmental challenges, especially climate change.

The fuel conversion project aims to reduce harmful carbon emissions as well as bring about economic benefits by stimulating trade in the automobile sector and the banking sector, which financed the program. The project should also reduce the financial burden on citizens by using a safe, clean and affordable alternative like natural gas.

Abdel-Razzaq says the replacement process began in seven governorates as a first stage, which are the governorates that have the appropriate infrastructure to convert cars. This has involved the participation of many agencies and companies, including the ministries of finance, interior, environment and planning, as well as a number of car manufacturers, importers of natural gas-powered cars, and 31 banks.

Achievingcarbon neutrality

Magdi Allam, secretary-general of the Union of Arab Environmental Experts, said in an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly that carbon emissions from natural gas are much lower than from fossil fuels, while electric cars produce no carbon emissions.

Allam explained that Egypt is also working on manufacturing electric cars at the Nasr Automobile Factory as part of its relentless efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

The environmental expert pointed out that Egypts efforts to support green transport will reduce carbon emissions by 42 percent, which will be a good step towards reaching carbon neutrality.

A report issued by the cabinet of Egypt indicated that the number of cars converted to work with natural gas during the 5 years, which increased by 49.3 percent, to reach 339,000 cars by the end of 2020, and this number is increasing with the activation of the initiative to convert cars to work with natural gas and the stimulus package provided by the government to the citizens in this regard.

The report said that the government launched a mobile phone application called MOP Station, which is used to locate natural gas refuelling stations and the centres for converting vehicles to run on natural gas.

The report emphasised that the use of natural gas as a fuel is very safe, non-toxic, free from lead compounds and sulphur impurities, and is better from an environmental point of view. The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced that reliance on natural gas guarantees 90 to 97 percent lower emissions of carbon monoxide and 25 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The report also cited the UN Economic Commission for Europe as saying that natural gas reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by about 80 percent compared to gasoline and diesel. The International Gas Union has also said that the use of gas contributes to improving air quality compared to gasoline, as it reduces heat emissions by 20 percent.

The report also cited British magazine The Economist praising Egypt's ambitious plan to use natural gas in cars. Bloomberg has also said that the Egyptian project is a serious step to encourage the conversion of up to 1.3 million car owners to use natural gas.

Egypt has one of the oldest experiences in the world in using natural gas, as it was the first in the Arab world to use the fuel in the transportation sector, according to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.

Abdel-Razzaq says that Egypts conversion of 45,000 taxis to run on natural gas from 2008 to 2012 won it a special award from the World Bank in recognition of its success in reducing emissions.

The cabinet report says that the project works to reduce the cost of environmental deterioration due to air pollution, which costs EGP 47 billion annually, in addition to reducing between 46 percent to 99 percent of carbon emissions.

The total number of natural gas car refuelling stations nationwide reached 225 by the end of 2020, and there is a plan to double the number of these stations.

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Reducing carbon emissions: Egypt's project to replace and convert cars to run on natural gas - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online

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Cabinet Adhesives Market 2021 Global Industry Size, Reviews, Segments, Revenue, and Forecast to 2027 The Manomet Current - The Manomet Current

Sajid Javid's appointment as health secretary sees him returnto a cabinet he abruptly left some 16 months ago.

The Bromsgrove MP, 51, previously served as home secretary from 2018 to 2019 - and then as chancellor until February last year, when he was replaced by Rishi Sunak.

He quit after refusing to sack his aides in a row with the prime minister.

At the time, Mr Javid said he'd had "no option" but to resign - because Boris Johnson attached conditions to him staying in the role which "no self-respecting minister would accept".

His surprise departure was the culmination of weeks of reported tensions between him and Dominic Cummings, the PM's former chief adviser.

Later, Mr Javid said in the Commons: "It has always been the case that advisers advise, ministers decide and ministers decide on their advisers.

"I couldn't see why the Treasury, with the vital role that it plays, should be the exception to that."

On Saturday night, Mr Cummings suggested that Mr Johnson's wife, Carrie Symonds, played a role in the decision to hire Mr Javid as the new health secretary.

Mr Cummings tweeted: "So Carrie appoints Saj! NB If I hadn't tricked PM into firing Saj, we'd have had a HMT with useless SoS/spads, no furlough scheme, total chaos instead of JOINT 10/11 team which was a big success.

"Saj = bog standard = chasing headlines + failing = awful for NHS. Need #RegimeChange."

Now, as he enters the Department of Health, Mr Javid faces an "enormous" in-tray, Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates said.

Upcoming decisions on the pandemic response include advising the prime minister on whether the remaining restrictions should be removed next month.

There are also major concerns about a huge backlog of operations, and the funding of social care.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "Sajid Javid failed to reverse the previous eight years of social care cuts or deliver the investment our NHS needed in his time as chancellor of the Exchequer.

"He now needs to explain how he will bring down sky high waiting lists, ensure people get the cancer care they need, get young people vital mental health support and crucially fix social care, which has suffered swingeing cuts under the Conservatives."

Mr Javid was born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and is one of five sons of Pakistani immigrants.

The family moved to Bristol, where they ran a shop and lived in the two bedroom flat above it. His father also worked as a bus driver.

Mr Javid went to a state school and studied economics and politics at Exeter University.

He left behind a career in finance and became MP for Bromsgrove in 2010.

According to his website, Mr Javid was a vice president at the US bank Chase Manhattan at the age of 25 and later moved to Deutsche Bank, rising to senior managing director before he left in 2009.

He held roles in the Treasury from 2012 until he was made culture secretary in April 2014, later going on to become business secretary in May 2015 and housing secretary in July 2016.

After being made home secretary in April 2018, Mr Javid talked openly about how he experienced racism at an early age and "could have had a life of crime" after growing up on "Britain's most dangerous street".

Mr Javid made it to the final four in the race to replace Theresa May as Tory leader in 2019, but dropped out and subsequently endorsed Mr Johnson.

After leaving the leadership race, Mr Javid said: "Work hard, have faith in your abilities, and don't let anyone try and cut you down to size or say you aren't a big enough figure to aim high.

"You have as much right as anyone to a seat at the top table, to be ambitious for yourself, and to make your voice heard."

Last August, he got a new job with Wall Street giant JP Morgan.

He is married to Laura, and has four children and a dog.

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Former chancellor Sajid Javid returns to top of politics but faces an 'enormous' in-tray - Sky News

Headline was irresponsible

I realize it is still imperative to continue to follow public health guidelines even after being fully vaccinated, however featuring a headline Fully vaccinated person dies of COVID-19 is irresponsible journalism! People are not feeling invincible, they are feeling hopeful for the first time in over a year. This type of headline could easily discourage a person who may have been wary of the vaccine in the first place to now back away from this wonderful opportunity.

My 92-year-old mother, is fully vaccinated, optimistic about the future and subscribes to The Spectator was also appalled at this headline. Surely there is a better way to encourage continued safe behaviour post-vaccine without alarming the public in this way.

Canadians should be feeling proud of themselves for the high numbers of vaccinated citizens across the country, not scared to death by a depressing headline on the front page!

Sensational headline rained on our parade

Today I open my Hamilton Spectator and see the front page headline: Fully vaccinated person dies of COVID-19. Tragic yes, but so unnecessary to flaunt this news when if you read on, article states it wasnt clear if the individual died from COVID, or had underlying health concerns or contracted the infection within two weeks of the vaccination, when a person hasnt reached maximum protection. Before you showcase such news, remember there are people out there who do not believe in the vaccine and this front page headline will only reinforce their misconceptions.

We are on our way in beating this formidable enemy, so dont rain on the parade.

Headline generates fear and anxiety

How utterly irresponsible of The Hamilton Spectator to publish a front-page article headlined Fully vaccinated person dies of COVID-19 when the information within the article clearly states, Its not clear if the individual died from COVID-19 or other underlying health conditions or if the infection occurred within two weeks of the vaccination, when a person still hasnt reached maximum protection.

In a time when many people are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccination, this type of sensationalized headline does nothing more than generate unnecessary fear and anxiety and serves no one well.

Natalie Mancini, Ancaster

Headline will increase vaccine hesitancy

Many people are still fearful of getting their COVID-19 vaccinations. Misleading headlines like Mondays do not help. Fully vaccinated person dies of COVID-19 should have been Fully vaccinated person with COVID-19 dies, as the article states: Its not clear if the individual died from COVID or other underlying health conditions or if the infection occurred within two weeks of the vaccination

As a nurse vaccinator at a clinic, the subtle change in the lead headline would have been factually based on the truth.

Story didnt need to be on front page

I have to wonder about the smarts of whoever decides what goes on the front page.

To blare the headline about a fully vaccinated person dying of COVID-19 is irresponsible. A great way to encourage others to get vaccinated not! That report could easily have been put further back in the paper. It sure makes me think twice about how valuable our Spectator is.

Christine McLeod, Hamilton

(Editors Note: We sincerely regret this error and apologize. In fact, the person died with COVID-19 but it is not clear whether their death was caused by the virus.)

Three ministers need replacement

It is time for the prime minister to clean out the deadwood in his Cabinet. Three ministers, in particular, have passed their best before date: Blair, Bennett, and Sajjan. These three ministers have shown themselves incapable or unfit. Will a summer cabinet shuffle be the final move before an election call?

Blame the Liberals not Ford

Its odd to hear Ted McMeekin try to pin growth plan options on Doug Fords government, when it was his former governments Places to Grow Policy that put the Elfrida Boundary Expansion into the mix, as far back as 2010; when we all learned that a 60 per cent intensification target would still mean we would be adding population into less dense areas.

His last government was a majority, he had the ability to be as bold as needed. Who should we blame again?

Gabriel Nicholson, Hamilton

Bernardo needs advice from Rallo

So multi-murderer Paul Bernardo has again been denied parole. Perhaps he should call up Jon Rallo for advice! Bernardo was convicted of multiple murders, admits to his crimes but release stating he is no longer a threat. Jon Rallo was convicted of murdering his wife and children, denies his guilt and still refuses to reveal what he did with his little boys body. Rallo pleaded to the Parole Board that After 35 years, Im just tired of banging my head against the wall. No confession, no closure for the Family, but the Parole Board released him anyway. Well, good to know Bernardo is staying put, but it is sick that Rallo walks free while the body of his murdered child rots in some hidden location.

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Opinion | June 30: Headline was irresponsible, Trudeau cabinet needs cleaning, Bernardo should call Rallo and other letters to the editor -...

Thepaintings of Jackson Pollock are like the idea of having an idea, instead of having an idea, says an art-loving character in Keith Ridgways novel Hawthorn & Child. Its surprisingly popular, that idea of being seen to have an idea, without considering whether its actually a good one worth pursuing.

nd so to the bizarre notion of how to implement jabbed and unjabbed dining arrangements so indoor hospitality can reopen at a time when the Delta variant is ramping up.

Lets just spell it out, shall we? Delta is 2.4 times more transmissible than the previous variant, and now accounts for seven cases in 10, with infections rising sharply.

Consequently, the idea of anyone in the Cabinet giving thought to devising ways for people to congregate and socialise inside buildings is extraordinary.

Covid-19 is a Frankenvirus. Every time we think it has been locked off, it mutates to form a new threat. Professor Philip Nolan said yesterday we are now entering a fourth wave.

To recap (a necessary step in view of the clamour for indoor drinking and dining) to date there have been 5,000 deaths in the Republic from Covid-19.

Forty-five per cent of adults are fully vaccinated, which means more than half are not. Also, vaccines are not an absolute prevention against infection. In other words, caution is essential.

Tearing up the hospitality plan was painful but necessary. Replacing it with a let in some, exclude others admission policy for indoor drinking and dining is not at all necessary and will lead to more problems than solutions.

The decision to delay reopening was hardly much of a surprise: no need to read the runes or offer sacrifices to the gods, because the Delta statistics were only headed one way.

However, the Cabinet made its decision to pause reopening quite rapidly, with no replacement blueprint drawn up, and this is giving rise to misery and uncertainty for the hospitality sector.

That said, we appear to have invented a new vice: complaining about the way Covid-19 is ripping up our reopening plans, without acknowledging that the coronavirus has a knack for shredding any plan.

No doubt some people are intending to go abroad as soon as the vaccine passports, rolled out in the EU from yesterday, become available later this month.

What impact will that have on transmission rates already worrying our public health experts? The Government should strongly urge people to stay in Ireland, citing the danger of leaving the country.

It has been suggested unpredictability over indoor dining is among the reasons people will travel overseas rather than holiday at home, but that seems doubtful. Sunshine and a change of scene are the incentives.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate is recognised in all 27 EU member states, plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. But overseas travel is a calculated risk.

Travellers pack a double disadvantage into their suitcases: quarantine requirements may become more onerous at short notice, and a holidaymaker may face greater exposure to the contagious Delta variant. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

A glance at the spiralling infection numbers in Scotland and England should make all of us cautious about non-essential overseas travel, and the Government needs to warn people of the dangers. If the Delta variant, which is already present, is able to run as free here as in Britain, our hospitals will be under pressure. It would be an error to let down our guard too soon.

Besides, Irish hospitality outlets and holiday resorts need our spending money to get the economy motoring again. Spain and Portugal are wonderful countries, I look forward to visiting them again in future years, but is now really the time to export Irish disposable income?

Outdoor dining is working surprisingly well without moving people indoors causing risk to staff as well as customers.

Granted, the weather has been fine, in general, and its clearly a different scenario when its wet or windy, but compared with last summer the outdoor dining vista is a success.

Local authorities have created space on pavements for seating, and restaurants and cafes have invested in awnings, heaters and other accoutrements and are efficient at serving outdoors. The litter is a problem, but not an insurmountable one.

Is indoor dining so desirable in summer, when an alternative is viable? On the occasions when I tried eating in restaurants last year, I found it stressful. Outdoors felt safer, it still does and a sense of security enhances any social occasion.

I wandered around Dublin city centre earlier this week, and it seemed closer to normal than at any stage since March last year. Not the same as before, but not too far off.

Sunshine wasnt the only reason it was working. The restaurants, cafes, museums and shops have adapted well to service on the street.

Of course, its not ideal, but living with Covid is far from ideal. I also scurried through heavy showers one evening and noticed to my surprise the high numbers of outdoor diners and drinkers, although their pints were diluted by rainwater and their meals were turning soggy.

The answer is to accelerate the vaccination programme rather than find ways for the jabbed to eat and drink indoors with the unjabbed left looking on. Thats an idea that shouldnt fly.

Meanwhile, we can also learn from best practice elsewhere. For example, surge testing is happening in various areas where outbreaks of the Delta variant are suspected, but its a case of people turning up voluntarily.

In the North, a more proactive stance is being taken to encourage testing, with the Public Health Agency sending letters to people in particular postcodes, inviting them to attend their local test centre.

This approach was taken in an area of my hometown of Omagh, for example, as well as in other parts of the North such as Antrim and Down.

Its being characterised as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of infection.

Last week, more than 400 people were tested in one Omagh neighbourhood after receiving one such letter. Of those, 31 had the Delta variant. Other test centres are now being opened in the town as a result, with testing stepped up.

There is no doubt it would be reassuring if there was clarity at government level about plans for reopening in the near future.

However, instead of giving dates, it might be more useful if people were told a full reopening would only happen after a certain number of weeks with infections below a specified figure and no hotspots.

Crowds, such as those witnessed in Dublins Temple Bar and Grafton Street areas, need to be prevented rather than broken up after they have gathered. Publicans have a responsibility here.

Inevitably, mistakes have been made by the coalition. Even Homer nods, as Horace tells us.

But not everything is within the Governments control and the Delta surge tells us they called it right by pausing indoor drinking and dining.

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Letting our guard down must not be on the menu when it comes to hospitality - Independent.ie