Tom Waterhouse is chief executive of William Hill's Australian operations. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

William Hill, the global British betting firm whose Australian operations are headed by prominent Sydney racing identity Tom Waterhouse, has struck a secretive financing deal to funnel millions in punters' losses to Gibraltar.

The group acquired the nation's largest online bookmaker, Sportingbet, and Waterhouse's eponymous online wagering business, last year. Waterhouse was later appointed chief executive.

The financial statements for his company, William Hill Holdings Pty Ltd, show a loan of 334 million ($580 million) from a company in Gibraltar called Steeplechase. The hefty 5.79 per cent interest rate on this loan means $40 million of profits will go offshore, tax free, each year.

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There is increasing concern in government and racing-industry circles over the small contribution made by corporate bookmakers in taxes and levies in Australia. News of this William Hill tax scheme is likely to bolster support for proper regulation of corporate gambling.

Already, gambling reform is back on the table in Canberra. A motion by National Party senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie, was carried at last weekend's party conference for online gambling to be regulated by the Commonwealth.

Such a move would thwart the big corporate bookmakers Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill from "jurisdiction shopping" to find the best odds on tax and licensing.

Most corporate bookies are licensed in the Northern Territory where, on the most recent figures available, the entire sector paid just $2.3 million tax on turnover of $5.7 billion and profit of $469 million.

National regulation, if judiciously implemented, would prove a boon for taxpayers, the racing industry and the punters. The only losers would be foreign shareholders of the British betting houses that have expanded their interests dramatically here over the past three years.

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Bookmaker ends losses to Gibraltar

Tom Waterhouse is chief executive of William Hill's Australian operations. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

William Hill, the global British betting firm whose Australian operations are headed by prominent Sydney racing identity Tom Waterhouse, has struck a secretive financing deal to funnel millions in punters' losses to Gibraltar.

The group acquired the nation's largest online bookmaker, Sportingbet, and Waterhouse's eponymous online wagering business, last year. Waterhouse was later appointed chief executive.

The financial statements for his company, William Hill Holdings Pty Ltd, show a loan of 334 million ($580 million) from a company in Gibraltar called Steeplechase. The hefty 5.79 per cent interest rate on this loan means $40 million of profits will go offshore, tax free, each year.

Advertisement

There is increasing concern in government and racing-industry circles over the small contribution made by corporate bookmakers in taxes and levies in Australia. News of this William Hill tax scheme is likely to bolster support for proper regulation of corporate gambling.

Already, gambling reform is back on the table in Canberra. A motion by National Party senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie, was carried at last weekend's party conference for online gambling to be regulated by the Commonwealth.

Such a move would thwart the big corporate bookmakers Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill from "jurisdiction shopping" to find the best odds on tax and licensing.

Most corporate bookies are licensed in the Northern Territory where, on the most recent figures available, the entire sector paid just $2.3 million tax on turnover of $5.7 billion and profit of $469 million.

National regulation, if judiciously implemented, would prove a boon for taxpayers, the racing industry and the punters. The only losers would be foreign shareholders of the British betting houses that have expanded their interests dramatically here over the past three years.

More:
Bookmaker sends losses to Gibraltar

William Hill, the global British betting firm whose Australian operations are headed by prominent Sydney racing identity Tom Waterhouse, has struck a secretive financing deal to funnel millions in punters' losses to Gibraltar.

The group acquired the nation's largest online bookmaker, Sportingbet, and Waterhouse's eponymous online wagering business, last year. Waterhouse was later appointed chief executive.

The financial statements for his company, William Hill Holdings Pty Ltd, show a loan of 334 million ($580 million) from a company in Gibraltar called Steeplechase. The hefty 5.79 per cent interest rate on this loan means $40 million of profits will go offshore, tax free, each year.

There is increasing concern in government and racing-industry circles over the small contribution made by corporate bookmakers in taxes and levies in Australia. News of this William Hill tax scheme is likely to bolster support for proper regulation of corporate gambling.

Advertisement

Already, gambling reform is back on the table in Canberra. A motion by National Party senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie, was carried at last weekend's party conference for online gambling to be regulated by the Commonwealth.

Such a move would thwart the big corporate bookmakers Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and William Hill from "jurisdiction shopping" to find the best odds on tax and licensing.

Most corporate bookies are licensed in the Northern Territory where, on the most recent figures available, the entire sector paid just $2.3 million tax on turnover of $5.7 billion and profit of $469 million.

National regulation, if judiciously implemented, would prove a boon for taxpayers, the racing industry and the punters. The only losers would be foreign shareholders of the British betting houses that have expanded their interests dramatically here over the past three years.

Ironically, in pursuing its deregulation agenda, the Coalition did away with the National Gaming Regulator when it got to office. Now though, there is recognition that the damaging social effects of gambling and tax avoidance by the corporate players need to be addressed.

Continued here:
Foreign bookmakers cash in as the wagering-tax landscape remains all at sea

Before his death in 1974, Dilworth served for six years as president of the newly formed Philadelphia Board of Education.

On Thursday, the city celebrated the grand opening of the revamped Dilworth Plaza - rechristened Dilworth Park - on the west side of City Hall.

It was fitting that his name was retained for the dramatically transformed civic space. Besides reforming city government, Dilworth changed the city's landscape, most notably in the rebirth of Society Hill.

As mayor, he famously built a new house on Washington Square to demonstrate his commitment to revitalizing the colonial core of the city, which had been allowed to decline drastically.

Peter Binzen, coauthor with his son Jonathan of the just-published Richardson Dilworth: Last of the Bare-Knuckled Aristocrats, wrote that city planner Edmund N. Bacon in 1947 had put forth the idea of restoring Society Hill, which at that time was a slum of "seedy boardinghouses, rat-infested warehouses and vacant lots littered with trash."

It wasn't until Dilworth was mayor that the proposal became a reality.

Bacon was "the one that came up with the idea for Society Hill, and Dilworth pulled it off," Binzen said in an interview.

The renewal of Society Hill led eventually to the renaissance of Center City.

Dilworth also was an ardent advocate for public transportation and pushed hard to have the government buy out the privately held transit company that ran the buses, trolleys, and subways in Philadelphia.

His vision became a reality with the creation of SEPTA in the 1960s.

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Dilworth: The man behind the park

ITS NOT OFTEN a landscape architect gets another shot at a garden he designed years ago. But when horticulturist Sue Nicols was hired to come up with a fresh plant palette for an aging Capitol Hill garden, she asked Brooks Kolb to collaborate with her on the project. And it turns out that Kolb, along with his partner, Bill Talley, had renovated the garden in 1997 for an earlier owner.

Present owners Don and Marty Sands bought the 1932 brick Tudor three years ago. They remodeled it inside and out, then turned their attention to updating the garden. The couple appreciated the dramatic entry gates, as well as the maturing Japanese maples, Korean dogwoods and Hinoki cypress from the earlier renovation. Marty loves how the garden wraps around the house like a little haven. And she calls the majestic copper beech that dominates the scene a Grandfather tree.

But the corner property was pretty much all lawn and rockery. There were lots of conditions and issues to deal with, says Nicols. The place was overgrown and shady. Many plants had grown leggy, others had outlived their natural life spans and were in decline. Ivy and salal so choked the rockery you couldnt even see the rocks, and plants were dying out in the dry shade beneath the rooty old copper beech.

The Sands were looking for more color, fragrance and year-round interest. The corner property is exposed to the street, and Marty hoped for more privacy for the walking meditation she practices in the garden.

First, Kolb and Nicols needed to decide which of the old plantings to keep and what needed replacing. The two ended up saving about half of the original plantings, including a towering Scots pine. It was 12 feet when we planted it in 1997 . . . I had no idea itd grow so big, says Kolb. The hardscape and features from the 1997 renovation, including terrace, fountain, gates and arbor, were well-designed the first time and suited the garden as much today as they did 17 years ago.

What was it like for Kolb to re-imagine a garden he designed long ago? Its a wonderful chance to come back in and retool a garden, he says. He planted a necklace of new daphnes around the old fountain and left alone the huge white wisteria growing on the hefty arbor at the side of the house.

Nicols added many of her own favorite plants to the Sands garden. Intensely fragrant Daphne bholua blooms by the back door from Christmas through March, when the sweetly scented flowers of Daphne odora kick in. Yaku Princess rhododendron is compact, and smothered in May with large, water-color-pink blossoms. Nicols mixed in Korean Apricot chrysanthemums for fall color. Hellebores bloom in winter, as does the evergreen shrub Sarcococca ruscifolia with tiny white flowers that smell of vanilla, even on the coldest days.

Now sword ferns and epimedium flourish in the dry shade beneath the copper beech, and sweeps of golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra Aureola) light up the darker corners of the garden. Garden beds are updated with plantings of small-scale grasses, like Miscanthus sinensis Morning Light and Carex Ice Dance, mixed with sedum, astrantia, day lilies and hardy geraniums.

And the owners hopes for a more colorful garden? Peach Blossom astilbes, hot orange and crimson Crocosmia Emily Mackenzie, chartreuse euphorbia and blue-flowering Ceanothus Julia Phelps create brilliant patches of color. Ivy and salal were rooted out of the rockery, replaced with campanula, snow-in-summer and Martys favorite gentian blue lithodora.

In the shadier areas of the old garden, beneath the original trees and those planted in 1997, maidenhair ferns, variegated hostas and black mondo grass carpet the ground. Theres not a blade of grass left, says Marty happily. She takes evident satisfaction in her time-travel garden, which is both freshly updated and respectful of its past.

Read more from the original source:
Garden redesign is the best of old and new

The Republican Party will mark the opening of its election headquarters next week with a reception featuring Neel Kashkari, the party's gubernatorial nominee, Newport Harbor Republican Women announced in a news release.

The grand opening event will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at 4940 Campus Drive, Suite B, Newport Beach. The reception will include a chance to meet GOP candidates running in the 2014 general election, including Kashkari, who lives in Laguna Beach.

Organizers plan to serve hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer and soft drinks.

The office will provide candidate materials, yard signs and information about how to volunteer by walking precincts and calling voters. The headquarters will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Extended hours will begin Oct. 1. The office will stay open through Election Day, Nov. 4.

For more information, call (949) 431-8624.

*

No on Y group plans event

Members of the Newport Votes No on Y Committee and 2014 Newport Beach Citizens of the Year Jack and Nancy Skinner are planning a fundraiser and awareness event, "No's Unite," from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Newport Beach Vineyards & Winery, 2128 Mesa Drive.

The event is co-presented by former Chamber of Commerce Citizens of the Year Evelyn Hart, a former mayor, and Jean Watt and Bob Shelton.

The group is opposed to Measure Y, a Nov. 4 ballot measure that would allow for additional development in the Newport Center area while reducing the likelihood of additional development in Newport Coast.

Excerpt from:
Political Landscape: Kashkari expected at GOP's Newport HQ

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Adam Wazny

Posted: 09/3/2014 1:01 PM | Comments:

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Kids will be frolicking at revamped beaches at Birds Hill Park next summer. The beach expansion project is part of a five-year, $22-million commitment the provincial government made to Manitobas busiest park in 2012.

The beaches at Birds Hill Park might be closed for the season but that doesnt mean there isnt any action at the popular watering hole.

Construction crews are well into their work expanding the West Beach area at the provincial park, with excavation on a new swimming lake starting to take shape.

The expansion of the beach area, which will eventually see the existing East Beach and West Beach ponds connect to a newer lake/beach further west of the original configuration, is expected to be completed by the end of October (weather permitting), with minor vegetation and landscape work completed before the start of the May 2015 long weekend.

The East Beach and West Beach closed for the season on Labour Day.

Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship Gord Mackintosh said the expansion is necessary given the increasing popularity of the park, which is just north of Winnipeg on Highway 59.

The rest is here:
Birds Hill beaches shaping up nicely

This is a glimpse of how Rochdales skyline could look if plans to build 50 more wind turbines are approved.

Proposals to double the size of Scout Moor windfarm and build a total of 24 turbines on Rooley Moor and Crook Hill are in the pipeline.

And this artists impression from windfarm developer Coronation Power, which shows the proposed Crook Hill windfarm near Watergrove Reservoir to the right and the expanded Scout Moor/Rooley Moor farm on the horizon in the centre, gives a fascinating insight into the affect the plans may have on the towns landscape.

The picture is included in a planning application from Coronation Power to build a dozen 410ft high turbines at Rooley Moor.

The London-based firm say, if approved, the windfarm will generate enough energy to power 20,000 homes in the north west, while its construction will create 20 jobs and boost the local economy by 3M. But campaigners say the turbines are unsightly and fear the move will damage the environment and destroy vital wildlife habitats.

Coronation Power say the number of turbines was reduced from 17 to 12 following extensive technical and environmental studies carried out over the past eight months and consultation with members of the local community, horse riders, runners and walkers.

Project manager Edward Romaine said: Our applications have taken account of expert opinion and the views of local people, as well as local planning policy and the governments energy objectives.

Rooley Moor is an ideal site for a wind farm and will bring considerable benefit to the area if it is permitted and built.

Rochdale and Rossendale councils will now consider our application, which will be open for further public comment before they reach a decision.

If the scheme is approved by the councils, a community fund of 2M will be made available to the local community and there is an option for one or both of the councils and the local community to invest in the project with the guarantee of a fixed income for a period of up to 25 years.

Link:
Artist's impression shows how Rochdale skyline could look if plans to build another 50 wind turbines are approved

I am a parent of a child who just finished his fifth grade year at the Beacon Hill International School. After reading The Times article, Seattle school under review for big jump in state test results [Local News, Aug. 27], I wanted to express concerns over what I feel were gaps in the story.

In 2009, Beacon Hill International School became the second language immersion program at a public elementary school in Seattle. As a parent, Ive seen this program have a direct and very positive effect on my childs learning experience.

I expect the schools commitment to help students develop fluency in a second language may have had a significant and positive impact on their test scores. (Certainly, their immersion experience has impacted students academic performance and growth in many other areas.) The 2014 fifth grade class at the school is the first class to complete the schools immersion program. It would make sense, then, that if the program was successful students test scores would be higher than the scores of the previous years class.

Southeast Seattle, and Beacon Hill in particular, is a community of mixed incomes and incredible ethnic diversity and this makes for an amazing cultural landscape. It also creates a unique set of challenges for educators who need to work across languages and cultures, and accommodate families with a range of resources.

From my perspective the school has found a pathway to success through a well-taught immersion experience, and Im not at all surprised to see the success of such a program reflected in test scores.

I would encourage The Times to dig deeper into the benefits immersion programs can create, and to take a closer look at the incredible work of the educators involved with making the school a success, especially as the district considers adding more immersion programs throughout the city.

Josh Chaitin, Seattle

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Beacon Hill International School: Immersion program made difference

SCOTTSBORO, AL (WAFF) - The removal of the 150-year-old Scottsboro maple tree is on indefinite hold at the moment.

The Jackson County Courthouse Landscape Committee met Tuesday morning and there was a motion before the committee by Judge John Graham that a certified arborist be hired at the county's expense to provide a professional assessment of the tree and a recommendation.

A petition of approximately 150 names was also presented to the committee by committee member Mike Williamson requesting that the county not cut the tree down without a full assessment of the tree's condition.

"[The residents] just feel that an effort needs to be made to save the tree," Williamson explained, adding that the tree has provided generations with color, beauty and oxygen, withstanding years and decades of nature and urban development.

Commission chairman Matthew Hodges says he is in contact with a Huntsville arborist and will pass along the committee's recommendation to the full county commission when they meet Tuesday afternoon.

The Jackson County Commission is looking to cut down the only remaining maple tree on the square that's nearly 150 years old.

Commission Chairman Matthew Hodges said a limb fell a couple of weeks ago, the tree is dying, and they see it as a safety issue to residents who come to the courthouse.

However, tree specialist Dr. Olaf Ribiero wants to lend a hand to help save it. He believes there is a good possibility the tree can be saved and willing to determine that absolutely free to the county.

Ribiero said he would analyze samples of the tree free of charge.

"I would go on record as saying in front of everybody that whatever the recommendation of the arborist is, I say we go with it," said Landscape Committee Chairman Judge John Graham. "If it's to trim the tree and try to save it... if it's to cut the tree, I would be willing to defer to the expert."

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Removal of 150-year-old tree on indefinite hold