Friday, November 3, 2006
On November 13, Torontonians will be heading to the polls to vote for their ward’s councillor and for mayor. Among Toronto’s ridings is Don Valley West (Ward 25). Three candidates responded to Wikinews’ requests for an interview. This ward’s candidates include John Blair, Robertson Boyle, Tony Dickins, Cliff Jenkins (incumbent), and Peter Kapsalis.
For more information on the election, read Toronto municipal election, 2006.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Recent cyber attacks in Estonia that have paralyzed the high tech country’s Web sites are a threat to national security, according to the country’s Minister of Defense. This has concerned NATO, seeing that Estonia is a member state of the organization. The attacks have subsided this week.
The Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo also mentioned that Russia may have been behind the attacks. He stated that the IP numbers in the initial attack belong to Russian government offices, but says that it’s insufficient evidence that the government is behind it. The Kremlin is dismissing the accusations, saying that its caused by hackers producing fake Kremlin IP addresses.
The cyber attacks came after Estonia removed a Soviet-era statue of a Bronze Soldier in Tallinn, which angered many Russians. Riots have left 160 injured, and 1 dead.
Both NATO and the European Union views this as an attack on one of their member states. Three hundred Estonian IT specialist worked day and night to fix the problem.
The Estonian government plans to analyze server logs and data to find out who is behind the attacks.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The San Diego, California suburb of Chula Vista has responded to the recent housing crisis with an aggressive blight control ordinance that compels lenders to maintain the appearance of vacant homes. As foreclosures increase both locally and throughout the United States, the one year old ordinance has become a model for other cities overwhelmed by the problem of abandoned homes that decay into neighborhood eyesores.
Chula Vista city code enforcement manager Doug Leeper told the San Diego Union Tribune that over 300 jurisdictions have contacted his office during the past year with inquiries about the city’s tough local ordinance. Coral Springs, Florida, and California towns Stockton, Santee, Riverside County, and Murietta have all modeled recently enacted anti-blight measures after Chula Vista’s. On Wednesday, 8 October, the Escondido City Council also voted to tighten local measures making lenders more accountable for maintenance of empty homes.
| Lenders will respond when it costs them less to maintain the property than to ignore local agency requirements. | ||
Under the Chula Vista ordinance lenders become legally responsible for upkeep as soon as a notice of mortgage default gets filed on a vacant dwelling, before actual ownership of the dwelling returns to the lender. Leeper regards that as “the cutting-edge part of our ordinance”. Chula Vista also requires prompt registration of vacant homes and applies stiff fines as high as US$1000 per day for failure to maintain a property. Since foreclosed properties are subject to frequent resale between mortgage brokers, city officials enforce the fines by sending notices to every name on title documents and placing a lien on the property, which prevents further resale until outstanding fines have been paid. In the year since the ordinance went into effect the city has applied $850,000 in fines and penalties, of which it has collected $200,000 to date. The city has collected an additional $77,000 in registration fees on vacant homes.
Jolie Houston, an attorney in San Jose, believes “Lenders will respond when it costs them less to maintain the property than to ignore local agency requirements.” Traditionally, local governments have resorted to addressing blight problems on abandoned properties with public funds, mowing overgrown lawns and performing other vital functions, then seeking repayment afterward. Chula Vista has moved that responsibility to an upfront obligation upon lenders.
| That kind of measure will add additional costs to banks that have been hit really hard already and ultimately the cost will be transferred down to consumers and investors. | ||
As one of the fastest growing cities in the United States during recent years, Chula Vista saw 22.6% growth between 2000 and 2006, which brought the city’s population from 173,556 in the 2000 census to an estimated 212,756, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Chula Vista placed among the nation’s 20 fastest growing cities in 2004. A large proportion of local homes were purchased during the recent housing boom using creative financing options that purchasers did not understand were beyond their means. Average home prices in San Diego County declined by 25% in the last year, which is the steepest drop on record. Many homeowners in the region currently owe more than their homes are worth and confront rising balloon payment mortgages that they had expected to afford by refinancing new equity that either vanished or never materialized. In August 2008, Chula Vista’s eastern 91913 zip code had the highest home mortgage default rate in the county with 154 filings and 94 foreclosures, an increase of 154% over one year previously. Regionally, the county saw 1,979 foreclosures in August.
Professionals from the real estate and mortgage industries object to Chula Vista’s response to the crisis for the additional burdens it places on their struggling finances. Said San Diego real estate agent Marc Carpenter, “that kind of measure will add additional costs to banks that have been hit really hard already and ultimately the cost will be transferred down to consumers and investors.” Yet city councils in many communities have been under pressure to do something about increasing numbers of vacant properties. Concentrations of abandoned and neglected homes can attract vandals who hasten the decline of struggling neighborhoods. Jolie Houston explained that city officials “can’t fix the lending problem, but they can try to prevent neighborhoods from becoming blighted.”
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CEO Robert Klein of Safeguard, a property management firm, told the Union Tribune that his industry is having difficulty adapting to the rapidly changing local ordinances. “Every day we discover a new ordinance coming out of somewhere”, he complained. Dustin Hobbs, a spokesman from the California Association of Mortgage Bankers agreed that uneven local ordinances are likely to increase the costs of lending. Hobbs advised that local legislation is unnecessary due to California State Senate Bill 1137, which was recently approved to address blight. Yet according to Houston, the statewide measure falls short because it fails to address upkeep needs during the months between the time when foreclosure begins and when the lender takes title.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
It was an awkward birthday gathering; as the family and supporters of Omar Khadr gathered in Toronto to try and explain why the Canadian youth was still being held at Guantanamo Bay.
Khadr, who turned 21 on Wednesday, has become a rallying point for groups who say the Canadian government isn’t doing enough to ensure he receives a fair trial. “Neither Liberals nor Conservatives have done anything,” railed Khadr’s defence attorney Dennis Edney, who is flying down to meet with his client on Monday.
“Comparatively, Canada is behind the curve,” chastised Human Rights Watch spokesmen Nehal Bhuta, pointing out that Khadr has received “almost no support from his government” and therefore remains the only Western citizen still held in the detainment camp after nearly six years. HRW colleague and attorney Jennifer Daskal repeated the condemnation, calling on Canada to “step up, put pressure on the United States government.”
“He is a victim of circumstance, not ‘the worst of the worst'” explained Daskal, who was echoed by U.S. military counsel Lt. Cmdr. Bill Kuebler “in other circumstances, we would have called him a child soldier.”
Alleged to have thrown a grenade that killed an American soldier, Khadr was only 15 years old at the time of the firefight that left him with three bulletholes in his chest. His sister Zaynab pressed Kuebler for answers, demanding to know if “the right to defend onself [is] exclusive to the US Army, because by all reports, that what Omar was doing”.
Perhaps International Law professor Darryl Robinson phrased the conundrum most succinctly; “When we shoot at you, that’s just war. When you shoot at us, it’s a crime.”
Quoting Richard Baxter of the Harvard Law School, Robinson challenged the Bush administration‘s claims of operating outside of international law, stating that “the first step in sidestepping humanitarian law, is denying its applicability.” He further amused listeners by expanding on the catch-22 “you don’t fall under the Third Geneva Convention because you’re not a combatant, you’re a criminal – and you don’t fall under the Fourth Geneva Convention because you’re not a criminal, you’re a combatant…so I guess there are no rules”.
Referencing the fact that even a legal acquittal could still leave Khadr in Guantanamo indefinitely, Bhuta summarised his continued detention as “sadly, something of an icon of everything that’s gone wrong in the U.S. War on Terror.”
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Viktor Schreckengost, the father of industrial design and creator of the Jazz Bowl, an iconic piece of Jazz Age art designed for Eleanor Roosevelt during his association with Cowan Pottery died yesterday. He was 101.
Schreckengost was born on June 26, 1906 in Sebring, Ohio, United States.
Schreckengost’s peers included the far more famous designers Raymond Loewy and Norman Bel Geddes.
In 2000, the Cleveland Museum of Art curated the first ever retrospective of Schreckengost’s work. Stunning in scope, the exhibition included sculpture, pottery, dinnerware, drawings, and paintings.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
A 62-year-old man was murdered in Ronanstown, Clondalkin, South Dublin on Thursday night. The victim has been named as Noel Kirwan.
The killing took place outside Kirwan’s girlfriend’s home as he sat in his Ford Mondeo car and was shot several times in the head. Kirwan was with his partner, who was unhurt at the time of the killing. A white burned out van believed to be involved in the murder was found at the nearby Neilstown Shopping Centre. A firearm was also found at the scene.
Kirwan, originally from North Inner City Dublin and later Kilbarrack, was a friend of Gerry Hutch and it is believed the killing is part of the ongoing Hutch/Kinahan fued, due to Kirwan’s association with the Hutch family. Gardaí (Irish police) had warned Kirwan of a threat to his life and as a result Kirwan had installed CCTV at his home.
Gardaí investigating the crime will be visiting houses near where the murder took place. Lucan Garda station Superintendent Dermot Mann said, “We can’t make any assumptions at this stage, but let me reassure the public and the community we will be putting a lot of resources into this to try and investigate it and move it forward.”
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Rick Morelli is running for the NDP in the Ontario provincial election, in the Vaughan riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.
Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Local caterers get ready for big business, as almost three thousand fans converge on the David L. Lawrence Convention Center over the Independence Day weekend for the world’s largest ever furry convention, Anthrocon 2007.
Many hope to renew acquaintances, or meet new friends. Others look to buy from dealers and artists, or show off new artwork or costumes. Some attend to make money, or even learn a thing or two. But one thing unites them: They’re all there to have fun.
Friday, May 5, 2006
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and federal industry minister Ian MacDonald today announced that the federal government would be providing Ford Australia with a AU$52.5 million (US$40.4 million) “financial assistance package”. Additional assistance will also be provided by the Victorian state government.
According to Mr Howard, the injection will secure Ford’s manufacturing operations in Australia “for the long term”.
From the package, AU$40 million will be used for the design and manufacture of Ford’s next model Falcon and Territory vehicles, which will be built in Australia.
Despite being given a major facelift in 2002 and another in 2005, the Falcon’s bodyshell dates back to 1998. The current Falcon will need to serve the company until at least 2007 when the new model is anticipated. In the meantime, it will face stiff competition from the completely new Holden Commodore (the Falcon’s major competitor) which will be released in the second half of this year.
The additional AU$12.5 million will be spent on the development of a light commercial vehicle platform, which will be built overseas and marketed to around 80 countries. Mr Howard said that the light commercial project would involve construction of a research and development centre, which will become the base for R&D projects in the region.
Mr MacFarlane said that the research facility was exciting for Australia and that it would put the Australian automotive in the spotlight.
“The funding has helped Ford Australia secure the largest automotive R&D project ever undertaken in Australia which is equally exciting news for local Ford employees and Australian component producers” he said.
“The project will see Ford Australia become a centre for automotive design and engineering excellence in the Asia Pacific region which will bring spin-off benefits for the broader industry,”
“This opportunity will put both Ford Australia, and the Australian automotive and components sectors on the world map as far as our automotive design and engineering capabilities are concerned.” Mr MacFarlane said.
Mr Howard claims that the projects will create 273 jobs and secure the future of the “iconic” Ford Falcon, which has been built in Australia since 1960.
The financial package is conditional upon Ford Australia giving the Australian automotive component industry an opportunity to supply components for the vehicles produced by the two projects.