Steinberg is one of many California Democrats who have long focused their efforts to curb homelessness on services and shelter, but now find themselves backing more punitive measures as the problem encroaches on public feelings of peace and safety. Its a striking shift for a state where 113,000 people sleep outdoors on any given night, per the latest statewide analysis released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2020. Californias relatively mild climate makes it possible to live outdoors year-round, and more than half of the nations unsheltered homeless people live here.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced the state had cleared 1,200 encampments in the past year, attempting to soften the message with a series of visits to social service programs. But without enough beds to shelter unhoused people, advocates say efforts to clear encampments are nothing more than cosmetic political stunts that essentially shuffle the problem from street corner to another.

Steinberg, a liberal Democrat who resisted forcibly removing people until more shelters can come online, has for more than 20 years championed mental health and substance abuse programs as ways to get people off the street. But such programs have been largely unable to keep up with the rising number of homeless people in cities like Sacramento, where local leaders are now besieged by angry citizens demanding a change.

He and many of his fellow Democratic mayors around the state are not unsympathetic to their cause. San Diego has penalized people refusing shelter. Oakland upped its rate of camp closures as the pandemic receded. San Jose is scrambling to clear scores of people from an area near the airport or risk losing federal funding.

No ones happy to have to do this. ... Were doing everything we can to provide people with better choices than the street.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria

No ones happy to have to do this, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said earlier this summer as he discussed ticketing people who refuse shelter. Were doing everything we can to provide people with better choices than the street.

Other Democratic leaders around the country, facing similar pressure, have also moved to clear out encampments and push homeless people out of public spaces. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain who won his office on a pledge to fight crime, came under fire this year for his removal of homeless people from subways and transit hubs. The citys shelter system is now bursting at the seams.

In California, where the percentage of people living day-to-day on the streets is far higher than New York, the shortage of shelter beds has caused friction and embroiled local and state officials in court challenges.

A recent court decision requires local governments to provide enough beds before clearing encampments a mandate that does not apply to state property. But thats easier said than done in a state where there are three to four times as many homeless people as shelter beds.

Californias homelessness problem has deep, gnarled roots dating back decades, but has become increasingly pronounced in recent years. Tents and tarps on sidewalks, in parks and under freeways have become a near-ubiquitous symbol of the states enduring crisis. A pandemic-spurred project to move people from encampments to motels has lapsed, and eviction moratoriums have dissolved. Homelessness is a top concern for voters in the liberal state, and as Democrats prepare for the midterm elections, Newsom and other leaders have been eager to show voters theyre taking action.

But the practice of clearing out camps can be a futile exercise, particularly when the people being forced to pack up their tents have nowhere else to go or simply end up doing the same thing just a few blocks away.

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Rising homelessness is tearing California cities apart - POLITICO

In bid to win trust of project proponents, Maharashtra govt to lift stay on 183 industrial plots allotted after June 1 | File

Amid the ongoing Vedanta Foxconn saga, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday asked the industry department to vacate stay on 183 land allotments to various industrial projects that were earlier cleared after June 1. Of the 191 industrial land allotments, 183 were allotted after June 1 and the Shinde Fadnavis government had asked the industry department to hold a review in order to check that the stipulated norms were followed while clearing those land allotments by the land clearance committee of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

As reported by the Free Press Journal, those 183 plots were cleared up to August 25 and thereafter MIDC received proposals through e-bidding for another 343 plots. With CMs directives, these plots are expected to be cleared to avoid a trust deficit between the state government and the project proponents, especially in the wake of the Vedanta Foxconn fiasco.

A total of 526 plots were spread over 2,402.5 acres (961 hectares) with a proposed investment of Rs 27,000 crore and 61,000 jobs.

Shinde has reiterated the state governments commitment to facilitate investments and project developments in a hassle-free manner. He has made it clear that major investment proposals are in the pipeline and they will be cleared on a priority basis.

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In bid to win trust of project proponents, Maharashtra govt to lift stay on 183 industrial plots allotted - Free Press Journal

An absolutely dreadful rubbish tip in Bromborough is finally being cleared after rats were spotted in the area.

Jeremy Poupard, the Deputy Quality Manager for Marine Specialised Technology Group (MST), said it has had a massive impact on his business.

He said: To start with, it was absolutely dreadful, adding People would go out to their cars and see rats coming through the fence in quite large numbers.

READ MORE: Abuse and intimidation of councillors 'increasing' as police called over anonymous email

The rubbish sits on land just off Magazine Lane on Riverbank Road. It was previously managed by a waste management company, which went into voluntary liquidation in 2021.

The Environment Agency said they were working with the current landowners to clear the waste and working with Wirral Council officers to ensure this is done.

In April 2022, MST moved next door where the company built ships and boats, including for the Navy meaning Government officials often visit the site.

He said: The biggest issue is that we have lots of customers on the site. We have people from the Ministry of Defence. I used to say to them that you cant miss us as we are right next to the rubbish tip.

Mr Poupard said that once his wife refused to get out of the car when picking him up because there were about five or six rats running around the car park. It isnt what you would expect at work.

When MST first moved next door, Mr Poupard said he started to make enquiries. He said: I couldnt understand how long it has been there. We got rid of close to 300 tonnes of rubbish from our site but we definitely had some bits coming across from next door.

He said fly tipping was a big issue with people leaving waste outside their gate and was worried about antisocial behaviour both on the site and in the area.

Mr Poupard began contacting both the Environmental Agency and Wirral Council. He was concerned about the environmental impacts and whether any assessments were done on the site.

He said they see a lot of wildlife on their land: Birds nest at the end of our wall, green plover, shell ducks nest on our land and plenty of wading birds. We even have foxes too.

Mr Poupard told The Echo he had been assured the waste would be cleared by February 2023 but believes this is ambitious. However he said that since work has begun to clear the site, it is now a lot better.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: We are working with the landowners of a site in Bromborough to offer advice and guidance around their legal duty to clear their land of waste.

Waste operators are responsible for keeping their sites within permitted levels and clearing the land if necessary. If the waste operator ceases operations, then the landowner becomes responsible for removing waste.

Members of the public can report waste crime to our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers.

A Wirral Council spokesperson said: "The site is private land and not a council tip or authorised in any way by Wirral Council.

"We understand it is currently subject to enforcement action by the Environment Agency with whom council officers are working closely.

We are aware of the understandable concerns the community, local businesses and local elected members have raised. We would urge anyone noticing any further issues there to contact the Environment Agency.

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'Dreadful' tip being cleared after business complains of rats and flytipping - Liverpool Echo

In Genshin Impact, A Prayer for Rain on the Fecund Land is the final quest of the Varuna Gatha World Quest series, and is unlocked when youve completed Memory of Stone, Irate Iron Chunk, and Slumbering Roots. A Prayer for Rain on the Fecund Land takes place in and around the Apam Woods in the Ashavan Realm, Sumeru.

Related: How to find and complete the Spire of Solitary Enlightenment Domain in Genshin Impact

If you headed to the Rest Stop at the end of the last quest, then youll already be right in front of the four Aranara you need to talk to at the start of the quest. Otherwise, follow the marker to the Rest Stop and talk to the Aranara. After speaking to them, there is no map marker for the next objective, but the Varunastra is the big tree-stump thing with a glowing orb inside it on the island in the middle of Apam Woods, and it should be right in front of you when the conversation finishes so just head straight for it.

If you follow the Seelie across the water and up the slope, youll get near the Varunastra and get a chest into the bargain. Its possible to get all the way into the center of the Varunastra without completing this objective. If that happens, just go back out again and wander around the island until another conversation is triggered.

After the conversation, the hole in the middle of the Varunastra will open up, so head up the slope and glide down into the hole. Follow the tunnel southwest until you find a Teleport Waypoint and another conversation starts. Go up to the white ball of sluff with blue fungi poking out of it, and interact with it to clear the spores. This will release a fungi boss, the Disturbed Fungus.

Fight the Disturbed Fungus until it runs away. Follow it northeast into the tunnel, fighting it and other fungi. In the cavern with lots of Electro crystals, try to stay away from the crystals, and out of the water generally, as they inflict constant Electro damage. Continue up the tunnel, dashing past the exploding fungi, then in the next chamber, its best to try to stay on the high ledge on the left, away from the exploding fungi.

Continue west along the path to the next cavern, and defeat the Disturbed Fungus once and for all in the clearing at the far end. This will complete the A Prayer for Rain on the Fecund Land quest, and youll get the Rhythm of the Source Water song, which gives you the power to control the weather.

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Genshin Impact A Prayer for Rain on the Fecund Land quest guide - Gamepur

Green Island Bush Farms owner Ross Smaill will be clearing out his shed in Dunedin on Friday. The self-proclaimed workaholic talks to Shawn McAvinue about how his body has been telling him to take it easy since he was involved in a tragic accident.

A Dunedin farmer is slower since a horror crash, but his hard-working mentality remains fighting fit.

Green Island Bush Farms owner Ross Smaill is having a clearing sale on Friday, on the farm where he was born and raised.

The 62-year-old is clearing out his shed in Blackhead due to health reasons.

I should have let go after the accident but Im a stubborn old sod.

The accident happened in 2017. He was driving a 12-tonne truck loaded with bobby calves. He moved left to let a milk tanker pass and went off the sealed State Highway 1, near Edendale.

His truck rolled down a small bank and through a fence before coming to rest on its side in a paddock.

Passengers in his truck were his neighbours 4-year-old boy and the boys 6-year-old twin siblings.

The 4-year-old died in the ambulance, his cause of death ruled to be a cardiac arrest.

The death of the boy affected him and he often reflected on it, especially when he saw young children, he said.

It knocks you back but youve got to get up and get going.

He still displays a picture of the boy at his home.

Hes a wee angel, hes still in your life, hes still there.

Mr Smaills range of injures from the accident included a broken pelvis. His feet were badly injured because they got jammed under the pedals in the crash.

I ripped them out because I had three kids in the truck.

After being discharged from hospital, he remained in a wheelchair for about eight months.

He is still on crutches, has nerve damage and issues with his kidneys.

The physical strength he had before the accident never returned.

You think youll come right but youre not, so youve just got to slow down and work with it but keep doing something to get you out of bed in the morning.

He was a self-proclaimed workaholic.

One of six children, he left school aged 15 and took over the family dairy farm. About two years later he was milking about 50 cows.

The teenagers working day would start at 3am to milk the herd, before he started his full-time job as a boner at Burnside Freezing Works - some weeks he worked up to 90 hours, until the plant closed in 2008.

During his time at the works, he bought more land and quadrupled the number of cows he was milking, a mix of Friesians and Ayrshires.

The farm produced part of the town milk supply.

It was milking twice a day, seven-days-a-week, for nearly 40 years.

That was my bread and butter.

After the meat works closed, he diversified his business interests, including fencing and completing three residential subdivisions in Dunedin.

It was all go.

The success of the subdivisions prompted him to stop milking cows about a decade ago. He wanted to stay in farming, so he brought in beef calves to rear.

Farming is ingrained in you.

He was selling all his heavy machinery on Friday to stop him being tempted to do work, which his body was not up for.

After the sale, he would continue to rear calves on about 12ha, he said.

Ive got to have something to do, otherwise Ill go nuts.

The plan was to stay living on his farm where life was good, spending time with friends and family.

Both men played Green Island Rugby Football Club, Mr Smaill as a prop. A photo on the wall shows Mr Smaill pouring a beer for All Blacks great Colin Meads, at a function in 2006.

He used to be a boxer and competed at tournaments.

A promotional poster for one of the tournaments - The South Island Golden Gloves at Mayfair Theatre in South Dunedin - hangs on the wall in the function room.

After the accident, there were days he doubted he could continue to fight for his life, so he got someone to make him a plywood coffin, he said.

His wife Kathryn had made him move the coffin from the living room to a shed outside.

Im organised - Im ready to go - but if any cheeky bugger wants it, Ill offer it to them.

SHAWN.MCAVINUE@alliedpress.co.nz

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Clearing sale to stop temptation to work - Otago Daily Times

The Honourable Bernard Davis, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, has announced the following relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

UNDERTAKING REGISTERED:

Springdale Glove Manufacturing Facility (Reg. 2218)Proponent: Superior Gloves

The proponent proposes the construction and operation of a glove manufacturing facility on a 16,250 square metre site in the Town of Springdale Industrial Park, located off Route 390. The manufacturing building would be a 2,400 square metre structure made of pre-engineered steel on a reinforced concrete foundation. A description of the project can be found on the departments webpage at: http://www.gov.nl.ca/eccm/env-assessment/projects-list/.

The undertaking was registered on September 16, 2022; the deadline for public comments is October 26, 2022; and the ministers decision is due by October 31, 2022.

Environmental Preview Report Required:Deer Lake Dairy Secondary Processing Facility (Reg. 2203)Proponent: The Real Dairy Company of Newfoundland Inc.

The minister has advised the proponent that an environmental preview report (EPR) is required for this project. Additional information is needed to inform the minister of the following, including, but not limited to: a Wastewater Management Plan which demonstrates how industrial wastewater effluent will comply withthe Environmental Control Water and Sewer Regulations; a Waste Management Plan that identifies the management of all potential waste streams generated at the facility; a Contingency Plan that identifies disposal options in the event that these waste streams cannot be fully utilized, and a plan for the quick and effective response to a spill event.

An Environmental Assessment Committee (EAC) has been appointed to provide scientific and technical advice to the minister and to draft guidelines for the proponent for preparation of the EPR. The EAC includes representatives from the following provincial government departments and agencies:

UNDERTAKINGS RELEASED:

Holyrood Pond RV & Day Park (Reg. 2205)Proponent: Frank Tobin and Rennie Tobin

Carmanville New Pond Cabins ATV Trail (Reg. 2186)Proponent: Wayne Hicks

The project was released subject to the following conditions:

Learn moreEnvironmental Assessment DivisionDepartment of Environment and Climate ChangeWest Block, Confederation BuildingP.O. Box 8700, St. Johns, NL A1B 4J6

Public comments may be forwarded to: EAprojectcomments@gov.nl.ca

Environmental assessment information is available at:

http://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/env-assessment/

http://www.gov.nl.ca/ecc/files/GUIDE-TO-THE-PROCESS_Dec2021

Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL and @ECC_GovNL

If you submit comments on a project that is under environmental assessment, please advise the Department if you DO NOT wish to share your comments with the project proponent.

Media contactLynn RobinsonEnvironment and Climate Change709-729-5449, 691-9466lynnrobinson@gov.nl.ca

2022 09 213:45 pm

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Environmental Assessment Bulletin - News Releases - Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

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Preserve the island | Letters to the Editor | stateportpilot.com - State Port Pilot

The old monkey puzzle tree is easily recognized with characteristic spiny leaves and complicated scaly branches. Scientists think its peculiar characteristics developed as a protection against tall, long-necked dinosaurs. The endangered evergreen tree that survived the extinction of the dinosaurs

(Photo : Image from DavydhT )

The evergreen tree, which can grow to a height of 160 feet (48.8 meters) and has a millennia-long lifespan, is a fossil from the Jurassic period, more than 145 million years ago.

Although Araucaria araucanaoutlived the dinosaurs, scientists now classify the tree as endangered. Monkey puzzle trees are cultivated and may be found in gardens and parks worldwide, but in the wild, they are only found in Chile and Argentina on the slopes of Patagonia's volcanoes.

The temperate forest where the monkey puzzle tree thrives has been reduced due to fires, land clearing, overgrazing, and logging. The austral parakeet, a coveted food source for an endangered bird species, is its big seeds. The green-hued parrots move between trees in flocks of approximately 15 birds in search of an ideal location to put on weight before the winter. The birds' numbers may increase to more than 100 when they strike it rich, and they gorge on monkey puzzle pine nuts.

A recent study has discovered that the ravaging parakeets may be helping the monkey puzzle trees in Patagonia thrive despite their insatiable desire for the nuts. According to scientists, the birds serve as a buffer against the danger posed by humans' overharvesting of the nuts.

Also Read: Orchid Believed to be Extinct for a Century, Found by Community Scientists

(Photo : Image from Mokkie under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.)

Researchers at Argentina's Biodiversity and Environment Research Institute at the National University of Comahue, Gabriela Gleiser and Karina Speziale, two of the study's authors, said that parakeets "play an important role in the regeneration of the araucaria forests" because the partially eaten seeds they drop to the ground are not picked up by seed collectors and still have the potential to germinate. Additionally, the parakeets distribute the seeds, they said through email, which causes the trees to regrow farther from the original plant.

Gleiser and Speziale also examine if the parakeets fertilize the female cones as they fly from branch to spiny.

Mapuche people in Chile and Argentina scale enormous trees to collect nuts. They grind the seeds into flour that may be used to make bread. The local authorities limit the number of nuts taken for private and commercial use.

Despite this, the researchers noted that several illicit collectors violate collecting restrictions. In populations that are reachable by humans, human seed harvesting poses a danger to the monkey puzzle tree's ability to reproduce since it nearly completely depletes the tree's seed banks.

The half chewed nuts can still germinate since collectors discard the parakeet-damaged nuts.

The monkey puzzle tree is entwined with the Mapuche way of life. Although, throughout colonial times and up until the 1990s, when industrial loggers ravaged the land, including the Araucaria trees, it was a relationship that was almost shattered. In Patagonia, the monkey puzzle trees are now legally protected. The Mapuche engaged in conflict with loggers and the Chilean government. The Araucaria trees have a 1,000-year lifespan and may reach 160 feet.

In the CNN documentary "Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World," Mapuche Indigenous person Petrona Pellao remarked, "The Araucaria is just like the Mapuche people... even if they have been abused, beaten up, we all keep strong."

Replanting Araucaria trees and learning about their ancestors' traditional ways are current activities among the Mapuche. The objectives include helping the Mapuche grow pine nuts responsibly and enabling the Araucaria trees to flourish once more.

Related Article: Weird Nature: 5 of the Most Bizarre Bug Eating Plants on the Planet

For more news about trees, don't forget to follow Nature World News!

2022 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Tree That Outlasted the Dinosaurs 145 Million Years Now Endangered - Nature World News

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has commenced an investigation into N18.6 billion allegedly spent on land preparation by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Chairman of the Committee, Oluwole Oke (PDP, Osun), said during a public hearing on Tuesday, that the money was spent between 2013 and 2021 on bush clearing, land preparation, and rehabilitation of soil and plant laboratories.

He stated that the money was withdrawn from service wide vote of the ministry.

Mr Oke said the representative of the Ministry had appeared before the committee but that members of the committee were not satisfied with the explanation provided by the ministry.

We invited the Ministry of Agriculture and they have made submission. But some of our members whose constituencies these projects were supposed to be domiciled doubted the existence of these projects.

For fair hearing, we have invited the companies that got the contract for them to come and tell this committee where and when the jobs were executed, Mr Oke said.

He noted that if the companies fail to appear before the committee, the lawmakers will use all available means to compel them to do so.

Mr Oke did not disclose the affected firms and the date they are to appear before the panel.

The Public Account Committee, which is a constitutional committee, is saddled with the responsibility of oversighting the Auditor Generals report.

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Reps panel probes Ministry of Agriculture over N18.6bn allegedly spent on bush clearing, land preparation, others - Premium Times

Published 3:37 pm Friday, August 19, 2022

The city of Vicksburg has filed liens totaling $10,619 to recover the cost of cleaning and clearing 17 properties in the city.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the liens at its meeting Monday. Nine of those properties are owned by the state of Mississippi.

Under city ordinances, property owners are required to take care of and maintain their property. If they fail to do so the city, under its ordinances and state law can go on the property and cut and clean it or hire a contractor to do so and then charge the property owner to recover its expenses.

If the property owner does not reimburse the city within a certain period of time, the board goes to the county tax rolls and places liens on the properties to recover the costs, which means the city has to wait until the property owner pays their taxes or sells the property to recover the costs.

The state of Mississippi, which picks up the properties that are not claimed at tax sales, is exempt under state law from paying taxes and the liens on the land. The state can make limited reimbursements to a city for property cleaning and maintenance costs, but the costs cannot exceed the amount of the propertys selling price.

Ward 1 Alderman Michael Mayfield, who is over the citys public works and community development departments, said property owners refusing to clean their property is an ongoing problem.

Ive never seen a week in 17 years of being with the city where we didnt have somebody in violation of the property code, Mayfield said. Its non-stop and the problem were having now is that on most of the lists (of derelict properties) brought to the board a minimum of half (property owners) have not complied.

The compliance rate is actually going down instead of up, he added. Being a citizen of this city and especially being elected its something thats hard to swallow.

With some properties, Mayfield said, the total amount of multiple liens placed by the city for cleaning is more than the propertys value.

And always remember, you cant forgive a fine, he said.

The vacant and neglected buildings, he added, Are destroying this city. Some people wont even bring it up to code. I wish some of these people would hear what their neighbors are saying; they would do better. Were in a sad situation the way these people are keeping their property up in the city of Vicksburg.

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City of Vicksburg places liens on 17 properties - The Vicksburg Post - Vicksburg Post