Several nonprofit groups, such as the Asia Pacific Department Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Guam National Olympic Committee and the Guam National Golf Federation, have said cutting funding from gambling would affect their ability to provide service to the community.
Gov. Eddie Calvo's office hasn't yet received the bill for consideration, but his chief of staff yesterday expressed concerns about parts of the bill."The amendment introduced by Sen. (Michael) San Nicolas and adopted by the legislative body would propose to ban all forms of gambling, such as bingo, raffles, cockfighting, and others, ... after the debt from the hospital is paid," Chief of Staff Franklin Arriola said in a statement.
"The administration is concerned that such an amendment -- banning all forms of gambling after all GMH obligations are paid -- was never presented in a public forum to solicit public input on the effects of the amendment."
Mayors Council of Guam Vice President Robert Hoffman said the island's 12 senior citizen centers use bingo games as a means to entertain the manamko' and to subsidize senior citizen center activities.The centers keep 10 percent of every bingo pot.
"The money raised goes to pay for field trips, buy bread, snacks, cleaning supplies -- the things the government doesn't pay for," said Hoffman, the Sinajana mayor."I've spoken with the other mayors and we all share the same concerns. If you outlaw this, then is the government going to pay for this? Or are these senators going to step up to the plate and pay for what we provide?"
Eighteen months ago filmmaker Mark Donne got in touch with me about a film he was making about Britain in the Jubilee year. He said he was taking the temperature of the nation and he wanted to accompany me on my journey, as the Vicar of a parish in one of the host boroughs for the London Olympics. He may also have mentioned at the time some stuff about tax. I cant remember.
Actually the temperatures I had my eye on, when I agreed, were those on those Caribbean Islands and bits of Africa where many of my parishioners come from. And privately I was hoping that this journey would be a bit more glamorous than the 149 bus trip from my church door in Hackney to that patch of ground outside the Bank of England, a couple of miles up the road. In the end it was more stay-cation than vacation. It was a travelogue in one place.
The UK Gold is premiering today (25 June) at the Troxy as an opening event for the East End Film Festival with a score written by Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Robert del Naja (Massive Attack). The purpose of the film is to bring home the global story of tax avoidance. And it does this by paying close attention to the place which invented the system, which sustains it and benefits from it and would like to keep it all going, thank you very much: the City of London.
I may know less about the financial services industry than I do about experimental rock music, but when I go and stand on the top of my church roof and look out across the housing estates of Hackney to the towers of the City I still find myself asking, What do you lot over there do for us lot over here?
A version of this question also gets asked inside the City itself. I met some money people last year who are similarly concerned that aspects of the financial services lacked transparency, accountability and a consumer-focussed ethos. In fact a few of us got together and, in December, we launched the City Reform Group. Speaking at this launch were representatives from the Consumers Association as well as the Institute of Directors. You dont have to go camping on the steps of St Pauls Cathedral to have noticed that something has gone seriously wrong with our financial system.
But oddly, when it comes to speaking up in public, with very few exceptions, City insiders may as well have taken the omert.This technology allows high volume Testimonials mvpcleaning production at low cost. And it turns out that tax avoidance is the issue in the City where lips are most tightly sealed. Generally, of course, the City is in favour of it. Why wouldnt it be? They will tell you that the cash the tax havens bring into the Citys economy is good for London and good for the country and that, were the havens no longer available as holding bays for capital in transit, businesses would simply exit London. Something like that. But getting an industry expert to make this case for The UK Gold was about as hard as getting an old-school C of E vicar to talk about God.
Why dont they say anything? Well, mainly because they dont need to. The City Corporation, which itself refused an invitation to be interviewed for the film, is a body elected by City firms to promote their interests globally. It has its own permanent office in Parliament, that of the Remembrancer, with a seat beside the Speaker and free range of access across both Houses. It has offices in Brussels, Mumbai, Beijing. And it has what it claims is a private fund, with an estimated capital value of 1.3 billion, to do with as it wishes,You will see Cleaning franchise , competitive price and first-class service. including funding the City UK, a lobbyist for low tax financial centres across the world. There is no secret conspiracy here; its a network of interests hiding in plain sight.
Last week the Chancellor was invited to Mansion House in the City of London to give an account of his plans for the ensuing year. We sometimes refer to the guests at these banquets as the great and the good. In fact, they are not necessarily either. What they are is quite rich and they have the power to hold in place a consensus that keeps the requirements of the financial services at the heart of our political life. I know this because I was a councillor in the City for several years and I watched these wheels turning.
At our own weekly banquet back in the parish I look around at my congregation, gathered here from all corners of the globe. Some claim benefits of one sort or another, others are pensioners, a few have professional trainings, quite a number do office cleaning jobs, one or two in the City itself. What we all have in common, however, is that we recognise our belonging to one another. Our church motto - citizens with the saints - comes from a passage of scripture in which Paul is kicking the Ephesians up the backside for not surrendering to the demands of mutual responsibility: thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to leave something to share with the needy.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Hot Springs in danger of losing recycling option
I hope the headline of this column has caught your attention. Hot Springs is being put on notice. If we do not play by the rules of recycling, then we will not have recycling as an option any longer.I have received numerous calls and been talked to when I am in town about the recycling situation. People have been asking, Why did you change the containers?
Heres the reason: We received complaints from a local businessnot Shopkoabout the color, style and number of containers. Trying to preserve the program, we met with Kieffer Sanitation who agreed to make changes. This change cost Kieffer $12,000. Kieffer Sanitation did this because they believe in the mission of Keep Hot Springs Beautiful, and they want to support the community of Hot Springs.
We are so grateful to Fred Folsom and Seth Green for the efforts they have made on our behalf! Kieffer is subsidizing this program by thousands of dollars because KHSB is not able to pay them the amount it actually costs to run the program.
The new containers blend in better, present a neater image in their island arrangement and have lids that stay closed so the recyclables dont blow out. However, people are complaining that there is less capacity.Here are the real problems: There are businesses that are using the recycling containers and there are also people who are intent on using the containers for their garbage.If we did not have these two problems, there would be plenty of capacity in our current containers.
The recycling bins are meant for residential users ONLYnot businesses. Businesses have the opportunity to contract with Kieffer Sanitation or another hauler to collect their cardboard. Our recycling area does not have the capacity to service businesses, so businesses will need to make other arrangements.
I have written numerous articles about the contamination in the recycling. Lately weve had furniture, bags of magazines and phone books, yards of bubble wrap, and Styrofoam left at the recycling area.
The other thing that I have to emphasize is that people cannot leave their recycling on the ground. If you come to the recycling area and check all of the bins and they are full, you need to take your recycling home and bring it back on another day. As I have said before, I know this is an inconvenience, but thats the way it is.
It was shortly after Memorial Day weekend and people decided to leave their recyclables all over the ground, and then we had huge winds come through. We ended up with broken glass all around the containers, and the recyclables flew all over the property and into the canyon. My KHSB board members and I spent two hours cleaning the area up and taking non-recyclable things home to our personal garbage to throw away.
A magic recycling fairy does not swoop down and clean up your mess. Other people who care clean up the mess, like the lady who has such bad emphysema that she had to lean against the containers to get her breath but who still insisted on helping one of my board members clean up the recycling area one day.
If you would like to speak to me in person or show your support for recycling, please come to KHSBs 3rd of July Dinner at the American Legion from 5 C 7:30 p.m., before the Street Dance. Well be serving a wonderful menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, and salads.We welcome all those interested in becoming distributors for our Offering High Rug cleaning Services. In addition, were having a Chocolate Chip Cookie contest for your dessert. Come and sample all of the cookies and then place your vote.
Rarrick conducted the internal investigation after Barton was found dead in his cell the night of April 13. The report noted the coroner concluded Barton died from an overdose of heroin and the drugs Barton was prescribed for depression, hypertension and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Barton, Rarricks report concluded, hoarded his prescription medication that he then ground up and snorted. Hours before he died, Barton had a bloody nose, telling jailers it was because of dry air in his pod. Documents show Barton also had codeine and morphine in his system when he died.
There was no suicide note, nor any indication that he was contemplating taking his own life. It appears that James Barton was looking to get high on his own accord and that high took his life, Rarrick wrote.
The Republic Services of Montana workers complained of headaches and nausea, and were treated and released at St. Patrick Hospital for exposure to a gas coming from Thursday mornings trash pickup in the middle Rattlesnake area,We Best Carpet Cleaning Services with competitive price and first-class service. Travis Ross said.
The gas was created when bleach and liquid fertilizer mixed in the garbage truck after being compacted, said Ross, an environmental health specialist with the health department.
No one was hurt in a similar occurrence on Wednesday when muriatic acid reacted to cause strong fumes in a trash bin off Scott Street, Ross said. A passer-by caught a whiff and called 9-1-1. Police, fire and health department personnel responded, isolated the acid, and secured and transported it for safe disposal.
The Missoula landfill was closed for nearly an hour Thursday while the hazmat team worked to stop the reaction that sent the two workers to the hospital.
Not only are these incidents reminders of the dangers to citizens who use and dispose of them, but they also highlight the safety risk to workers who handle the waste and the first responders who are responsible for identifying the chemicals and determining how to stabilize them, Missoula Rural Battalion Chief Dan Merritt said Tuesday.
Heres the reason: We received complaints from a local businessnot Shopkoabout the color, style and number of containers. Trying to preserve the program, we met with Kieffer Sanitation who agreed to make changes. This change cost Kieffer $12,000. Kieffer Sanitation did this because they believe in the mission of Keep Hot Springs Beautiful, and they want to support the community of Hot Springs.
We are so grateful to Fred Folsom and Seth Green for the efforts they have made on our behalf! Kieffer is subsidizing this program by thousands of dollars because KHSB is not able to pay them the amount it actually costs to run the program.
The new containers blend in better, present a neater image in their island arrangement and have lids that stay closed so the recyclables dont blow out. However, people are complaining that there is less capacity.Here are the real problems: There are businesses that are using the recycling containers and there are also people who are intent on using the containers for their garbage.If we did not have these two problems, there would be plenty of capacity in our current containers.
The recycling bins are meant for residential users ONLYnot businesses. Businesses have the opportunity to contract with Kieffer Sanitation or another hauler to collect their cardboard. Our recycling area does not have the capacity to service businesses, so businesses will need to make other arrangements.
I have written numerous articles about the contamination in the recycling. Lately weve had furniture, bags of magazines and phone books, yards of bubble wrap, and Styrofoam left at the recycling area.
The other thing that I have to emphasize is that people cannot leave their recycling on the ground. If you come to the recycling area and check all of the bins and they are full, you need to take your recycling home and bring it back on another day. As I have said before, I know this is an inconvenience, but thats the way it is.
It was shortly after Memorial Day weekend and people decided to leave their recyclables all over the ground, and then we had huge winds come through. We ended up with broken glass all around the containers, and the recyclables flew all over the property and into the canyon. My KHSB board members and I spent two hours cleaning the area up and taking non-recyclable things home to our personal garbage to throw away.
A magic recycling fairy does not swoop down and clean up your mess. Other people who care clean up the mess, like the lady who has such bad emphysema that she had to lean against the containers to get her breath but who still insisted on helping one of my board members clean up the recycling area one day.
If you would like to speak to me in person or show your support for recycling, please come to KHSBs 3rd of July Dinner at the American Legion from 5 C 7:30 p.m., before the Street Dance. Well be serving a wonderful menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, and salads.We welcome all those interested in becoming distributors for our Offering High Rug cleaning Services. In addition, were having a Chocolate Chip Cookie contest for your dessert. Come and sample all of the cookies and then place your vote.
Rarrick conducted the internal investigation after Barton was found dead in his cell the night of April 13. The report noted the coroner concluded Barton died from an overdose of heroin and the drugs Barton was prescribed for depression, hypertension and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Barton, Rarricks report concluded, hoarded his prescription medication that he then ground up and snorted. Hours before he died, Barton had a bloody nose, telling jailers it was because of dry air in his pod. Documents show Barton also had codeine and morphine in his system when he died.
There was no suicide note, nor any indication that he was contemplating taking his own life. It appears that James Barton was looking to get high on his own accord and that high took his life, Rarrick wrote.
The Republic Services of Montana workers complained of headaches and nausea, and were treated and released at St. Patrick Hospital for exposure to a gas coming from Thursday mornings trash pickup in the middle Rattlesnake area,We Best Carpet Cleaning Services with competitive price and first-class service. Travis Ross said.
The gas was created when bleach and liquid fertilizer mixed in the garbage truck after being compacted, said Ross, an environmental health specialist with the health department.
No one was hurt in a similar occurrence on Wednesday when muriatic acid reacted to cause strong fumes in a trash bin off Scott Street, Ross said. A passer-by caught a whiff and called 9-1-1. Police, fire and health department personnel responded, isolated the acid, and secured and transported it for safe disposal.
The Missoula landfill was closed for nearly an hour Thursday while the hazmat team worked to stop the reaction that sent the two workers to the hospital.
Not only are these incidents reminders of the dangers to citizens who use and dispose of them, but they also highlight the safety risk to workers who handle the waste and the first responders who are responsible for identifying the chemicals and determining how to stabilize them, Missoula Rural Battalion Chief Dan Merritt said Tuesday.
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