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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

Why Service Matters When Purchasing an NDT Inspection System | Quality Magazine This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.

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Why Service Matters When Purchasing an NDT Inspection System - Quality Magazine

Earlier this year, McCain and Joy Behar lost it over the state of the Republican Party, igniting a feud over what the party stands for.

I think you can call it whatever you want because your influence in the Republican Party is almost zero, McCain said when Behar began tearing into the party. Again, as Ive said on this show, it is for us to figure out amongst ourselves.

After Behar questioned her remark, McCain spiraled into a fit of rage.

What Republican is like, Oh, Joy Behar doesnt like my party? Oh God, I better stop voting for them now,' she asked. I mean really, the same way I have no influence on the left, McCain said as Behar began to talk over her.

The pair continued to yell at each other, and the fight only concluded when Goldberg cut to commercial.

You saying that the Republican party is trash, I dont care. Its not revelatory, McCain said in her final statement. Who cares, you say it every single day. Every single day, you hate Republicans. Oh my God, how revelatory!

See the article here:
Meghan McCains Most Heated Moments on 'The View' - Decider

By ANTHONY KITIMO

The Kenyan government on Thursday appointed a diplomat to head the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) on an acting capacity as the process of appointing the new Managing Director stalls for more than 13 months.

KPA board of directors announced the appointment of Amb John Mwangemi as the new acting MD to replace Eng. Rashid Salim who has been acting for more than a year and is now proceeding on leave ahead of his retirement in September.

The KPA board wishes to announce the appointment of the new MD takes effect from 1stJuly 2021 as Eng Rashid Salim proceeds on retirement. The new acting MD will hold the position until a substantive managing director is appointed, a statement from the KPA board states.

Amb Mwangemi is Kenyas immediate former ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad). He exited the office last month.

He previously served as Kenyas High Commissioner to Rwanda and he has also held executive leadership positions in the corporate world locally and internationally.

The position of the KPA managing director fell vacant in March last year after then MD Daniel Manduku, who had held the post for less than two years, resigned after battling graft allegations for months. Mr Salim was appointed on an interim basis.

Amb Mwangemi will be key in the managementas the term of KPA chairman, General (Rtd) Joseph Kibwana, and three other board members alsolapsed on June 5 andMr Salim proceeds on three-month terminal leave ahead of his retirement in three months.

Since then, the government has conducted three interview to get a replacement but they have been unsuccessful with the failure of the first two attempts blamed on political interference. Ukur Yatani, Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning, said the third attempt was delayed due to the ongoing restructuring of port management.

In May, Mr Yatani said the ongoing restructuring will ensure that the three main ports in the country are each headed by a managing director to make them autonomous.

The CS said the restructuring has affected the appointment of the MD after hiring deadline expired about a month ago but the government was at the final stage in making a decision.

We are at the final stage and soon we shall announce how each port will have independent management, he said then.

If the new structure is adopted, Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports will each have its own MD.

According to sources, the push by senior government officials to have their own appointed to head the authority has delayed the exercise whereas CS Yatanihad earlier ordered the hiring process to end within 45 days.

On March 2, CS Yatanirejected three names the board had forwarded to him, saying the candidates did not attain the mandatory 70 marks and above in the interviews.

Late April, Mr Yatani reneged on his earlier statement, saying he did not set any fixed timeliness for the hiring process and on Thursday he raised the new issue of restructuring as the reason for the delay.

According to sources privy to the hiring process, already three names have been submitted to the CS but there has been political interference which is delaying the whole process.

The names we submitted on by April 13, the last day which was set by the CS when he revoked the whole process forcing the board to do it for the third time. We understand there is push and pull from senior government officials who want their own to head KPA, said the source.

The board was expected to forward three names to the CS to appoint the MD.

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Kenya appoints Amb Mwangemi as acting head of the ports authority - The East African

The Diet may be out of session but a new battle is already underway at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters.

The power struggle has Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Finance Minister Taro Aso and former trade minister Akira Amari standing in one corner and LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai in the other. Each side has eyes on the partys leadership contest before a Lower House election in the fall.

The fight is manifesting itself in a number of recently formed parliamentary groups, with the two sides vying to install as many of their faction members as possible to LDP executive posts, and the position of secretary-general is the top prize.

At least on the surface, the party is united in backing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga ahead of the partys leadership election in September. Approval ratings for his Cabinet and the LDP still hover around the mid-30% range, whereas support for opposition parties is in the single digits. No rival candidates are exploring runs to replace Suga in the leadership contest. But the intraparty fight could leave Suga, who lacks a solid support base despite being the partys president, in a shaky position and that could destabilize the LDP and affect the general election.

The LDP is starting to think its leadership contest is more important than the general election, said Jun Iio, a professor of Japanese politics at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.

The trio of Abe, Aso and Amari, along with Suga, then-chief Cabinet secretary, were a key platoon during the early stages of the second Abe administration. When Abe resigned last September, Nikai keen to stay on as secretary-general filled the void and became the first major faction leader to endorse Suga as Abes successor.

Nikais swift, calculated move made Suga a front-runner and demonstrated his appetite to further expand his factions authority and influence within the party.

That has left Nikais 47-member group with an outsized influence in the party and has the two largest factions Hiroyuki Hosodas 96-member faction, of which Abe is a de facto leader, and Asos 53-member faction irritated.

LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai speaks at a parliamentary group on advancing the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, next to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on June 15. | KYODO

The influence held by factions was suppressed when Abe was in charge, with LDP lawmakers almost universally backing him and satisfied that party unity was Abes top priority. After his departure, they have been revived to play their role in deciding key party posts and even Cabinet ministers.

Nikais camp emerged as the fourth largest within the party, as it actively accepted newcomers to the LDP from opposition parties.

He is also flexible in throwing support behind a wide variety of lawmakers, even those considered dark horses. At one point, he praised former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a vocal critic of Abe, as being well-versed in policies and expressed his support for Seiko Noda, who does not belong to a faction, running for the LDP leadership. Nikai appointed her to be a party executive.

The opening bell of the LDP fight was struck on May 21 at a meeting of a parliamentary group focused on semiconductors. The group was set up to advise the Suga administration as it looked to beef up its strategy on economic security.

But the caucuss lineup Abe and Aso as senior advisers and Amari as president promptly raised speculation that they were reuniting in a potential bid to seize leadership of the party. Aso and Amari were close Abe allies during his administration, along with Suga. The tight-knit group was given a nickname stemming from the initials of their family names: 3A + S.

Roughly 60 LDP lawmakers from the factions of Hosoda, Aso, Wataru Takeshita and Fumio Kishida participated in the meeting, but notably absent was a significant contingent from the Nikai faction.

Legislators often form a coalition on specific issues as part of policymaking and submit a proposal to the Prime Ministers Office. But a caucus is also an important ingredient in party politics that helps members build a relationship with lawmakers in other factions. It can also test their loyalty to specific executives.

Aso rattled off a joke about the lineup.

The three of us gathering here signals something is up in terms of a power struggle, so there are lots of newspaper reporters here who seem to have no connection with semiconductors at all, Aso noted, eliciting laughter from lawmakers in the room. You will be disappointed.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso attend a meeting of a parliamentary group on semiconductors at the Diet on May 28. | KYODO

This was not the only time the three heavyweights have gathered in the same place in recent months. They all became advisers to the Japan-Australia Parliamentary Association to facilitate cooperation between the two nations on national security and economic issues amid Chinas rise.

Since the Diet session ended, LDP members interests have turned to a potential shake-up in the partys executive lineup, which is expected sometime after the LDP leadership contest or the general election, depending on whichever comes first.

For many, their greatest concern is whether the 82-year-old Nikai who has been secretary-general since August 2016, the longest run in the post in the partys history will keep his title beyond the fall. The secretary-generals term is one year, but there are no limits on reappointment. The person in the powerful role can decide which candidate to officially endorse in an election and has discretion on party finances and personnel, including the partys division heads and deputy heads.

When Abe decided to step down for health reasons in September last year, Suga, who was considering a run to be the partys next leader, first turned to Nikai for support.

Suga and Nikai, who both started as local assembly members, developed a close bond during the Abe administration. In return for his support, Suga kept Nikai on as secretary-general.

Under the Suga administration, Nikais faction members secured the crucial posts of internal affairs minister as well as another Cabinet position, a satisfactory result for Nikai.

Former trade minister Akira Amari (left) attends a meeting of a parliamentary group on semiconductors, with Motoo Hayashi, an executive acting secretary-general, at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on June 15. | KYODO

Aso, who delayed throwing his support behind Suga last September, is seeking to rally his troops. The finance minister is rumored to be seeking to push Amari, a member of his faction, as Nikais replacement in the next reshuffle.

Wary of being driven into a corner, Nikai has attempted to drive a wedge into the 3A alliance. The secretary-general asked Abe to be a senior adviser of a parliamentary group that he had established aimed at advancing the countrys Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy. Because the strategy was originally pushed by Abe, the former prime minister had no choice but to accept the offer.

In response, Amari openly criticized Nikai for founding the parliamentary group, especially because the secretary-general is known for his close ties to China.

I wonder whether itd be OK for Mr. Nikai to preside over the group on the strategy that touches the sorest spot for China, Amari said during a TBS program aired on June 11.

Nikai and Amari had clashed openly before over a vote-buying scandal involving former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife, former Upper House lawmaker Anri Kawai. While Nikai denied knowledge of or participation in the distribution of 150 million in party funds to Anri Kawai in 2019, Motoo Hayashi, an executive acting secretary-general and Nikais top aide, implied during a news conference on May 17 that Amari was in charge.

Amari, who was an election strategy committee chairman, shot back by saying, I was not involved even a micrometer.

In response, Nikai modified his response and said the partys president and the secretary-general at that time were responsible for party decisions, dragging Abe into the controversy once again.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during a news conference in May in Tokyo | POOL / VIA REUTERS

What is concerning for the LDP is that powerful skirmishes could damage the party as a whole. When Abe was prime minister, he was particularly mindful of party unity, wrote Koji Nakakita, a Japanese politics professor at Hitotsubashi University, in his book on the LDP.

Abe was not hesitant to pick rivals such as Ishiba and former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki to fill the secretary-general role and tap leading figures of individual factions to Cabinet posts, thereby maintaining solidarity and high intraparty support. Election victories and high approval ratings also spurred him on.

The rationale for boosting rivals, Nakakita explained in the book, was rooted in a conviction that disarray within the party in 2009, in which LDP lawmakers had pressed Aso to step down as prime minister, caused the party to lose power.

Learning from that mistake, the LDP is united in backing Suga ahead of the general election. However, unlike Abe, Suga has neither a track record of winning national elections the LDP has lost three by-elections so far this year nor a strong faction that serves as a reliable support base, a crucial component to surviving an uphill battle in party politics.

Ishiba, who ran against Suga last year, cast doubt on whether the power struggle was worth it for anyone but the contestants.

I dont reject the power struggle itself, Ishiba said during a TV Asahi program appearance on Wednesday. What matters is for what purpose does one seek to acquire power? If people are competing for job posts while that objective is not clear, I wonder whether that serves the countrys best interest.

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LDP's infighting tests Suga and party unity ahead of election season - The Japan Times

It "may well be approaching the time" to scrap the problematic Isle of Wight floating bridge and replace it with a new one, the councillor responsible for the vessel has told Isle of Wight Radio.

Cllr Phil Jordan says"there comes a time when the mend and make do approachcomes to an end", and has hinted that the council may be nearing that.

Having been elected to the role of Cabinet member for Infrastructure and Transport around eight weeks ago, Cllr Jordansaysit is too early to say for definite how the local authority will fixthe chain ferry.

However, speaking to Isle of Wight Radio, he said it's clear there are only two viable options. He said:

"I'm looking forward. Every time we look back, this is what preventsus from looking forward.

"What we've got is what we've got. We have to either make that work and I would have to be convinced that we can make that work bymodifications or whatever ittakes or we would have to replaceit. One of the other.

"If we are being confronted with sums of money that are extensive we have to weigh that up against the possibility of putting that expenditure into a new replacement vessel."

WhenFloating Bridge 6 was commissioned, the council paid out around 3.2 million for its design and construction.

It came into service in May 2017, but has beenplagued with problems ever since. Just last year,Isle of Wight Radio reportedhow the chain ferry recorded a loss of more than 400,000.

Asked how the council would fund another multi-million pound vessel, if the current one is scrapped, Cllr Jordan said:

"There are operational revenues from it, if it works efficiently. Secondly, there may be income from an agreement with the designers and builders of the bridge, that may be an income for us.

"And then we would borrow the money over 25 years or maybe even longer over 25, 30 yearsand we would pay for that loan out of the income and revenue that we don't appear to be getting at the moment."

County Hall's previous Conservative administration had started legal action against the manufacturers of the vessel, but Cllr Jordan would not confirm whether that has reached a conclusion.

Going forward, he says the current vessel has a number of issues that need to be addressed, including the prow and rams.

He said:

"The issues that we see of the chain depth is problematic. The shape of the prow is problematicand I think because of the shape of the prow we have failing rams, because of the angle they have to push up and down.

"So I think essentially, operationally, as far as I'm aware that's where the issues are."

View original post here:
Isle Of Wight Floating Bridge: "If We Have To Scrap It, We Will" Says Councillor - Isle of Wight Radio

Farmworker housing advocates are facing some hard lessons from a pilot project that fell drastically short of its goal. Starting in 2012, a collaborative between the Marin Community Foundation and Marin County used a combination of public and private funds to build and renovate agricultural worker housing on ranches in West Marin. The group initially planned to fund 200 units within five years, but later sharply reduced the goal to 20 units.

In the end, only a dozen units were built, while the need for more affordable housing never went away.

There were a number of lessons learned, including that using public funding on private land is really challenging, said Leelee Thomas, the planning manager with the Marin County Community Development Agency who led the project.

Agricultural jobs are sometimes more desirable than other jobs in West Marin because they usually come with housing. On dairy farms in particular, its essential that workers live onsite or very nearby.

They need to work two shifts, said Socorro Romo, executive director of West Marin Community Services. What they do is basically eat, sleep and work. A commute simply does not fit into the schedule.

But having ones housing tied to ones work also presents a challenge. When they lose their job, they lose their house, Ms. Romo said.

By 2012, a number of ranches in West Marin had shuttered, including Drakes Bay Oyster Farm, which displaced 32 workers. At the same time, the Marin Community Foundation had been preparing to spur a project to remedy the ongoing need for farmworker housing.

A collaborative led by M.C.F. and the county involved a host of organizations, including West Marin Community Services, the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin, the Marin County Farm Bureau, the West Marin Fund and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust.

Through the pilot project, the group tried to secure long-term, low-interest loans from the United States Department of Agriculture for ranchers to build housing. M.C.F. contributed $1 million, and property owners had to match the funding for each unit with either cash, land or utilities costs. Current workers would be prioritized, and no worker would pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent.

But in most cases, restrictions on the federal funds proved prohibitive. With that model, it wasnt feasible, Ms. Thomas said.

Johnathan Logan, the vice president of community engagement at M.C.F., said a 2015 post-mortem report on the project found that a lack of funds available for private land was the biggest obstacle. Public financing was simply too restrictive.

The project did result in the construction or renovation of some units. One unit was replaced on the historic J Ranch, two were rehabilitated at Toluma Farms in Tomales, three were built at the Giacomini dairy, two at Bivalve Dairy, one at Stubbs Vineyard, and two at the Straus dairy. Theyre nearly all still occupied, and all but two are rent-free for the workers who live there.

Tim Kehoe, whose family has been ranching at the J Ranch for 100 years, said the project allowed him to replace an aging trailer with a new manufactured home built by Little House on the Trailer, a Petaluma-based business. He secured funding from the county and M.C.F., and provided $10,000 to $15,000 in kind. Although he leases public land, he wasnt eligible for a U.S.D.A. loan since his five-year lease was much shorter than the 30-year term of the loan.

Mr. Kehoe doesnt charge rent for the unit, and he pays all the utilities himself.

At Toluma Farms, dairy farmers Tamara Hicks and David Jablons didnt qualify for a U.S.D.A. loan because of their income, which is boosted by Mr. Jablonss job as chief of thoracic surgery at U.C.S.F. They began rehabilitating two housing units on their farm but, Ms. Hicks said, it has been too expensive to finish. In the meantime, theyve housed some workers rent-free in units they own in Tomales and Dillon Beach.

John Taylor, who runs Bivalve Dairy with his wife, Karen, replaced two older manufactured homes with a duplex manufactured by Karsten in 2015. The county put up the funding for the permit cycle, and initially told Mr. Taylor that the units would be funded by a U.S.D.A. loan. The Taylors paid for the unit themselves, but the restrictions of the loan turned out to be too burdensome, requiring them to work with the lands other owners, Ms. Taylors family, to put a lien on the property.

We were left holding the bag, going, Okay, we just built this house, he said.

Mr. Taylor charges rent on the two units, docking it from workers wages.

Straus Family Creamery founder Albert Straus was part of the farmworker housing collaborative and had two three-bedroom manufactured houses built on his dairy in Marshall as a result. A turnover in the projects management interrupted the process of getting a U.S.D.A. loan, and although the county waived certain fees and expedited the process, he had to take out a loan from his own bank. Mr. Straus doesnt charge rent.

He said the project was not a long-term solution for the needs of workers and farmers. It went through three managers while he was involved, and faced various obstacles to funding in the form of federal, county and state requirements.

The management wasnt ideal, and the execution wasnt ideal either, Mr. Straus said.

This spring, Mr. Straus moved the creamery operation to Petaluma, closer to where he said many employees already live. His attention is still trained on affordable housing projects in West Marin, and he is working with the county on a potential development in Tomales. Its not only ag worker housing, its affordable housing, he said of the problem. The whole communitys housing needs have become extreme.

One dairy did meet the conditions for a low-interest U.S.D.A. loan: Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Co-owner Lynn Giacomini Stray was able to replace three modular homes for workers on the property. We were happy that we qualified, and we really would like to see more of that, she said.

The dairy doesnt charge rent or utilities, and Ms. Stray said shed like to see more affordable housing options close to or on ranches and farms in West Marin. Our employees have to be close to work, because animals are a 24-hour operation, she said.

Ms. Thomas said there were some things we could learn from that project that would still be feasible, but the county and M.C.F. are now primarily focused on off-ranch affordable housing in West Marin. Of the units that CLAM will develop on the former Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station, a certain number may be set aside specifically for agricultural workers.

Mr. Logan, who arrived at M.C.F. in 2016, said the foundations report acknowledged that the 2012 project had not come close to meeting the need for farmworker housing.

Before the pandemic hit, the collaborative had reopened the conversation and was planning a needs assessment study. Mr. Logan said the group will likely meet again within the next month. They plan to survey the number of farmworkers and housing units in Marin and to identify more opportunities for housing on private land. Funding is still an obstacle, however, with regulations on public monies often onerous for private farmers.

Ms. Thomas said she doesnt know of a source of public housing funding meant for private landowners.

One group may be able to exert particular influence on farmworker housing through financial incentives: the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, which has control over the development rights for 54,000 acres of Marin farmland.

MALT needs to play a role in this, Mr. Logan said.

Jennifer Carlin, MALTs director of advancement, wrote in an email that the trust believes that everyone engaged in the agricultural value chain deserves a dignified living, including a safe and healthy place to live. MALTs easements allow any agricultural infrastructure thats necessary to support the farming operation, including housing for workers.

Ms. Carlin said MALT is continuing to meet with M.C.F. and other groups as part of the collaborative, but the trust doesnt have its own committee to address housing needs.

See original here:
Farmworker housing initiative fell short of ambitious goal - Point Reyes Light

At least 63 people throughout Oregon died from health issues related to the hot weather over the past few days, with 45 of those deaths in Multnomah County, authorities say.

Portland broke heat records on three consecutive days, hitting a high temperature of 116 on Monday. Other parts of the state got even hotter, with many recording all-time high temperatures.

Salem hit 117 on Monday, for example, and The Dalles reached 118. Pendleton was 118 degrees on Tuesday. Other Oregon cities, including Redmond and Bend, hit 108 over the weekend.

Capt. Tim Fox, an Oregon State Police spokesperson, said the death toll as of Wednesday was based on reports from each countys medical examiner office, but that number could go up as agencies conduct more investigations and determine causes of death.

The 63 fatalities were reported by six counties. Marion County, home to the state capital, reported nine deaths. Washington County reported five.

The state medical examiner said Clackamas County had two heat-related deaths. Clackamas County, however, has only reported one death. Spokeswoman Kimberly Dinwiddie said an elderly woman died from probable heat-related causes and was found in a manufactured home without air-conditioning.

The state examiner in an email said their offices count reflects what is currently documented in our system and classified as such. As these are active death investigations, the number likely will change over the next few days as more information is being gathered in each case.

Columbia and Umatilla counties reported one fatality apiece.

The death in Columbia County, which happened Tuesday, was of an 83-year-old woman living by herself in the unincorporated part of Scappoose, said county Sheriff Brian Pixley.

MULTNOMAH COUNTY

The Multnomah County Medical Examiner said those who died in Oregons most populous county ranged in age from 44 to 97. Many of them had underlying health conditions.

The Multnomah County victims include 17 women and 27 men. Many of those who died were found alone with no air conditioning or fans, officials said.

The county medical examiner said the preliminary cause of death for the countys victims was hyperthermia, or an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the body to deal with heat coming from the environment.

Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, a county spokesperson, said the number of urgent care and emergency department visits in the county over the weekend surpassed the usual number for an entire summer.

Sullivan-Springhetti said the county on Monday had an all-time high of 491 calls for emergency medical assistance a 63% increase from the normal rate.

She said the county health department is still analyzing data, but early estimates show hospitals were reporting between two and five times more cardiac arrests than usual.

Death information was shared as soon as the information was gathered, Sullivan-Springhetti said.

We were sounding the alarm every day and warning the community that this heat wave was deadly, she said.

County staff and officials worked as quickly as possible to tally numbers, Sullivan-Springhetti said. Very few calls came in to the Multnomah County Medical Examiners office until late Monday night when county investigators took 55 calls in 24 hours.

This is four times the level of calls ever experienced, Sullivan-Springhetti said.

More than half the calls required an in-person investigation.

There were three Multnomah County death investigators and there were so many calls, Sullivan-Springhetti said. The chief medical examiner herself was going out on calls until midnight (on Tuesday) and again (Wednesday) morning.

As the clock struck 10 a.m. Wednesday, Multnomah County Chief Medical Examiner Kimberly Dileo started the arduous process of reading through 100 reports of natural and other deaths to determine which deaths were from excessive heat, Sullivan-Springhetti said. Dileo finished the full investigation by 1:30 p.m.

While most individuals died in their homes, it is not yet known how many individuals were experiencing homelessness at their time of death, Sullivan-Springhetti said. Determining that statistic will take additional investigation.

ACROSS OREGON AND ELSEWHERE

A farmworker, who has not been identified, died in St. Paul on Saturday, when temperatures reached 104 degrees. He was found unresponsive in the field at the end of his shift at Ernst Nursery and Farms, according to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health division. He had been working on a crew moving irrigation lines, the agency said.

Two people, who also have not been identified, died at a homeless camp in Bend over the weekend, and homeless outreach workers are attributing the deaths to heat-related causes, as reported by The Bulletin. Temperatures reached 104 degrees in Bend on Sunday, the day the deaths were reported.

The figures provided by the state listed no deaths in Deschutes County. It wasnt immediately clear whether the farmworker was included in the Marion County tally.

Meanwhile in Washington, the King County medical examiners office, which covers an area including Seattle, said a total of 13 people had died from heat-related causes. In neighboring Snohomish County, three men ages 51, 75 and 77 died after experiencing heatstroke in their homes, the medical examiners office told the Daily Herald in Everett on Tuesday. Four deaths have also been linked to heat in Kitsap County, west of Seattle.

Elsewhere in Washington, the Spokane Fire Department found two people who had been suffering symptoms of heat-related stress dead in an apartment building Wednesday, TV station KREM reported.

British Columbias chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said her office received reports of at least 486 sudden and unexpected deaths between Friday and Wednesday. Normally, she said about 165 people would die in the Canadian province over a five-day period.

While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather, LaPointe said in a statement.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME HEAT

Extreme heat has been on the rise in Oregon over the last 80 years. In Portland and Pendleton, the number of days that reach 90 or higher per year has increased by eight since 1940, according to a statewide climate assessment released earlier this year. Medford has seen that number increase by 21 days, an extra three weeks per year.

No single type of weather event kills more Americans than extreme heat. It kills more than hurricanes and floods combined. Heat has twice the death toll of tornadoes and four times the death toll of extreme cold, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Climate scientists have long said that events like the one that hit the Pacific Northwest this weekend are likely to be more intense, last for longer and happen more frequently as the climate continues to warm because of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

Noelle Crombie, Jayati Ramakrishnan, Nicole Hayden, Maxine Bernstein, Savannah Eadens, Kale Williams and Rob Davis of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed.

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At least 63 people have died in Oregon heatwave - PennLive