California Nonprofit Advocates for Homeowners Facing Challenges in Home Improvement Projects
California Nonprofit Advocates for Homeowners Facing Challenges in Home Improvement Projects – Business News Today – EIN Presswire
Business Expert Warns US Now A ‘Kleptocracy’ After Meta Abandons Fact Checkers: ‘We Are Becoming More Like Russia Every Day’
An NYU business professor claims President-elect Donald Trump of leveraging his power to shape the U.S. government in a manner resembling Russia’s kleptocracy.Scott Galloway of New York University’s Stern School of Business made his stunning accusation on a segment of MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday.”We are becoming more like Russia every day, that’s where we are,” Galloway said.He made the accusation in light of Mark Zuckerberg’s 180-degree turn to abandoning fact-checking on Meta’s Facebook social media platform.A kleptocracy occurs when a government with corrupt leaders use political power to usurp the wealth of the people and land that they govern through embezzlement or misappropriation of government money.
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As Galloway sees it, Trump influenced Zuckerberg to change Facebook’s moderation guidelines for financial gain.”With this decision, the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg gets kind of a two-fer,” Galloway said. “He gets to placate, at least temporarily, the president who threatened to put him in jail the rest of his life, and he gets to save maybe upwards of $5 billion, which is how much they spend on their [Facebook’s] safety and security department –– and a price-earnings ratio of 30, that’s potentially $150 billion increase in market capitalization.””Mark Zuckerberg owns 15 percent of the company, so you have what is effectively a get-out-of jail-card potentially from someone who appears to be an oligarch threatening to put people in jail and add $15 to $20 billion to his net worth,” he added.This move, Galloway said, is kleptocratic behavior, supposedly stemming from Trump’s close relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.”This is –– Russia is the role model. We are becoming more like Russia every day, that’s where we are,” Galloway said.Galloway also said Trump is being influenced by other billionaire friends like Elon Musk, and it should raise a red flag to Americans.”The greatest trade of 2024 –– it wasn’t Bitcoin, it wasn’t Nvidia — it was Elon Musk investing a quarter of a billion dollars directly into the Trump campaign,” he said. “And when Trump won, since the election, Elon Musk’s worth has gone up $140 billion. So that’s effectively, I believe, about a 56,000 percent return on investment.”Galloway doubled down on his kleptocracy statement.”So we’ve gone full kleptocracy,” stated. ‘We can never, in my opinion, wave our finger at Russia again when the president, the elected president is taking public trust and public authority and weaponizing government.”
5 New Self-Help Books To Try Out This Month
From life-changing advice, and honest accounts of anxiety and alcoholism, to the stories behind celebrity scrutiny, these books might help change your new year mindset …
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The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions Of People Can’t Stop Talking About, Mel Robbins, Hay House
The premise behind public speaker and podcaster Mel Robbins’ new book is simple. It’s a guide to stop letting other people’s opinions, drama and judgement impact your life. These two simple words – “Let Them” – will set you free from the exhausting cycle of trying to manage everything and everyone around you. Using her renowned no-nonsense, science-backed approach, Robbins explains how you can apply this theory to eight areas of your life. In the process, readers learn how to stop comparing yourself to other people, break free from fear and self-doubt, release the grip of other people’s expectations, pursue what truly matters, and build resilience against everyday stressors and distractions.
Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity and Finding Your Life’s Purpose, Martha Beck, Piatkus
In Beyond Anxiety, self-help superstar (and Oprah Winfrey’s life coach) Dr Martha Beck explains why anxiety is skyrocketing. Her premise is that we should harness the anxiety within us to propel us into a life of creativity. Using a combination of neuroscience, as well as her background in sociology and coaching, Beck explains how our brains tend to get stuck in an “anxiety spiral,” a feedback system that can increase anxiety indefinitely. To climb out, we must engage different parts of our nervous system – those parts involved in creativity. Beck provides instructions for engaging the “creativity spiral” that not only shuts down anxiety, but leads to problem-solving, a sense of meaning and purpose, and joyful connection with others. Fortunately, Beck reassures us that “creative expression” doesn’t have to be high art, it could be a working out how to fix the car, creating a dinner party, doodling or setting up a fort with your child.
Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey, Crown Publishing
“Ever since I learned to write, I’ve been keeping a journal. Writing down anything that turned me on, turned me off, made me laugh, made me cry, and made me question what kept me up at night. Two years ago, I worked up the courage to take all those journals off into solitary confinement just to see what I had and I returned with a book,” so explains actor Matthew McConaughey. He describes the finished work as a “collection of stories, prayers, poems, people and places, and a whole bunch of bumper stickers.” One of these bumper stickers being, “Don’t walk into a place like you wanna buy it, walk in like you own it.”
As for the title, he chose to name it Greenlights because, “We don’t like red and yellow lights because they take up our time. When we realise that they all eventually turn green, that’s when they reveal their rhyme. That’s when life’s a poem and we start getting what we want, and what we need at the same time”.
Brooke Shields is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on ageing as a woman, Brooke Shields, Piatkus
Out January 14, in Brooke Shields new book she describes growing up as a child actor and model, when her every feature and movement were judged. Now, she faces a different kind of scrutiny: that of being a “woman of a certain age”. And yet, at 59, Brooke feels more comfortable, more empowered and confident than she did decades ago in her famous Calvin Klein jeans.
In Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, she hopes to change the narrative about women and ageing. This is an era, she insists, when women are reclaiming agency and power, not receding into the shadows. Brooke paints a vibrant and optimistic picture of being a woman in the prime of her life. Not only does she share her own experiences with humour and humility, she also weaves together research and takes aim at the systemic factors that contribute to age-related bias. Her honesty and vulnerability is sure to resonate with women everywhere, and spark a new conversation about the power and promise of midlife.
Bad Drunk: How I found my freedom from alcohol – and you can too, Millie Mackintosh with Dr Ellie Cannon, Piatkus
Set to be released on January 16, this is a practical guide to going alcohol-free from lifestyle influencer and Made in Chelsea alumna Millie Mackintosh, writing with NHS GP Dr Ellie Cannon. Millie took the decision to give up alcohol after observing the impact drinking had on her health and wellbeing. More than two years into her sober curious journey, Millie shares her experience with honesty and warmth from the events that led to her decision to stop drinking, through to the positive effects of the alcohol-free lifestyle she enjoys today. Writing with NHS GP Dr Ellie Cannon, Bad Drunk combines practical, scientific advice with Millie’s personal experience – what has worked for her, what hasn’t, what she has struggled with, as well as tips on how to navigate the road ahead. Whether you’re struggling with Dry January, looking to cut back your alcohol consumption, you’re ready to quit drinking altogether or you want to understand how to help a loved one, this book could help you make decisions for your future health and happiness.
READ MORE: Interview With A Man – Award-Winning Author Donal Ryan
Q&A Zoe Whittall explains why heartbreak is a valid form of grief The Ontario author discussed No Credit River on Bookends with Mattea Roach. Books -Bookends |1 hour ago
Bookends with Mattea Roach28:03Zoe Whittall: Why heartbreak is a valid form of griefCanadian writer Zoe Whittall wrote a poetic memoir that examines a type of grief that isn’t always awarded the same weight as when a loved one dies — heartbreak.”It feels like there’s a culture of not admitting how profound that loss is. That romantic loss can be life-changing and altering and it can really impact the next few years of your life,” said Whittall in an interview on Bookends with Mattea Roach.In No Credit River, Whittall brings readers along through six years of her life which include the loss of a pregnancy, a global pandemic and abandoned love. Honest, emotional and painful, the collection of prose poems examines anxiety and creativity in the modern world as well as the intersection of motherhood and queerness.Whittall, based in Prince Edward County, Ont., is an author, poet and screenwriter. Her past works include the short story collection Wild Failure and the novels The Fake, The Best Kind of People and Bottle Rocket Hearts.Her previous poetry collections include The Emily Valentine Poems and The Best Ten Minutes of Your Life. She has received the Writers’ Trust Dayne Ogilvie Award, a Lambda Literary Award and been shortlisted for the Giller Prize.Whittall is also a juror for the 2025 CBC Nonfiction Prize alongside Danny Ramadan and Helen Knott.She joined Mattea Roach to discuss her memoir in prose poems, No Credit River, and what it was like to write from an autobiographical perspective for the first time.Mattea Roach: No Credit River tells the story of a failed relationship and its aftermath. You describe the book in its opening pages as an unreliable memoir in prose poetry. I was interested in you describing it yourself as unreliable right at the opening. What appealed to you about blurring the line in that way? Zoe Whittall: The Ars Poetica (the text that introduces the collection) that starts the book is one of the last things that I wrote, and it felt like I needed to establish some things before the poetry, because it can be so slippery. I felt like anybody who is writing about a romantic relationship is not going to be telling you facts.They’re going to be telling you feelings and they’re going to be going through their experience.I felt like just laying out that fact at the beginning because, if people didn’t write about heartbreak, we wouldn’t have the Fleetwood Mac Rumours album, you know? It’s a really universal experience, but it can feel so particular and it can be so humiliating and embarrassing to write about it and talk about it.But there’s this long literary history, and as a reader, I’m obsessed with reading about heartbreak. As a reader, I’m obsessed with reading about heartbreak.- Zoe WhittallElizabeth Smart’s By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept … I’ve always wanted to write a queer version of that book and this is what comes close. But this wasn’t the kind of book that’s like talking badly or trying to expose anything about a relationship.It’s really about my own wounds and my own vulnerability and wanting to get to the bottom of mistakes that I’ve made in the relationship. MR: What are some of the specific challenges or negotiations that you were wrestling with when crafting this new book, given that it is this confessional type of work where you’re talking about your own experiences in a relationship? ZW: While I was writing it, I was very conscious about how there’s very few literary works about femme-butch relationships and very few about femme and transmasculine relationships. I feel like there’s something about queer audiences and queer readerships that when we read work by people in our own communities, like our claws are out, we’re ready to fight in a way. It’s kind of dispiriting and terrifying as a writer. There’s something scary about it in particular because the world, especially the world now, really distrusts trans people and on purpose misunderstands and hates trans people.Also, the partners of trans people who are cis or who might be cis are considered also untrustworthy and somehow suspect. It was important to me while writing that I acknowledge that, and also free myself from that sort of self-censorship that can happen. I had to let go of any kind of ideas of representation and think only about the artful quality or the real sort of vulnerability that I wanted to get at through language. I had to let go of any kind of ideas of representation and think only about the artful quality or the real sort of vulnerability that I wanted to get at through language.- Zoe WhittallAt some point I felt like I shouldn’t publish this. I was too scared. And my editor said, “Heartache is a universal experience.”He gave me the freedom to actually go a level deeper than I had because of those fears.MR: Do you feel at all that there is a tension or a collision between being queer, but then also having this longing for motherhood and, specifically, wanting to have a kid yourself? ZW: Yes. I feel like there’s always a joke we used to make about queers being permitted an extended adolescence. A lot of my friends and I did not have the experiences most teenagers have until they came out. Then in your 20s, you were allowed to still be a teenager.And then a lot of queer women my age have babies late because it’s taken us longer to settle into our chosen families and to figure out our lives. Now, I think it’s easier to come out and it’s maybe easier to form family structures that are more traditional-looking earlier. But I do think that what surprised me about growing older — I’m 48 — was just how much I started to think about this timeline that I think queers were sort of permitted to not have to think about, like we didn’t have to conform and stay on these relationship escalators that were leading towards a certain kind of long-term monogamy that might be dysfunctional or heteronormative. Then, when I reached 35, I was like, “I should start making these decisions. I should start thinking about my life in a different way.”That was surprising to me. There’s a line in No Credit River about how illegible a woman’s body can be if you don’t have a child and how even amongst other queers, it starts to feel that way sometimes when everyone around you has kids. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. It was produced by Katy Swailes.
The channel stands corrected: Hardware is a refresh cycle business now
Opinion The tech hardware industry may be facing something of an existential crisis if one veteran analyst is correct – the days of shifting boxes are going to be limited to mere replacement cycles.
This was the message delivered by Steve Brazier, formerly CEO at Canalys until it was bought by Informa, where he is now a Fellow.
“I come on stage with a smile, but you may not be smiling by the end of this presentation,” he told an audience of resellers and distributors at the Canalys Channels Forum in Berlin last October.
“For 30 years or more, the channel has actually been easy to run. You thought you were all business leaders and geniuses for the success you had. But if we boil it down, you sat there, you waited for new hardware products to launch in all sorts of different categories, and you followed that growth as those different categories grew year after year after year.
“Unfortunately, we’re calling a turning point today in that 30 years, which is essentially across the board the hardware industry is no longer growing, whether that’s printers or PCs or servers or storage or Wi-Fi or routing or all our major categories.”
Most of the major hardware vendors sell via third-party suppliers that then take their PCs, servers, and other tech kit to customers, provide installation, integration, and other services.
The travails of the channel are reflected by the traditional big brands whose legacy operations faltered. Cisco, for example, has struggled to lift its switching and router business out of the doldrums, reporting declines of 15 percent in its FY 2024.
HPE – which used to transact around 80 percent of its global revenue via distributors and resellers – only grew in its fiscal 2024 due to AI server sales in its Compute division. These sales weren’t very profitable, despite taking place outside of the channel, so no middlemen were involved to take a cut.
The channel used to account for $4 in every $5 that HPE generated in sales, but that figure has fallen to 65 percent over the years, due to direct selling of HPC kit in addition to AI servers and more.
Brazier said emerging technologies including the metaverse, 3D printing, and IoT have failed to become “material businesses,” telling the 1,000-strong tech exec audience, “don’t get too depressed” as the traditional growth drivers are “not declining” but they aren’t growing either.
“Running flat business is OK, but they’re all essentially flat, a replacement business. The outlier is cybersecurity,” he said, which remains a double-digit growth market as the cyber baddies are relentlessly still causing harm.
The picture is “more bleak” in Europe as “economies are developing more slowly,” unlike the US. Why?
“Actually, one of the biggest differences between the US economy and the European economy is the US has more immigration. But politically, it’s so hard for politicians to stand up and say, ‘If you want more growth, we need more immigration’.”
Companies headquartered on Europe’s side of the pond, including Computacenter, that have also established operations in the US were able to offset slowing trade in the UK last year.
Others are building ever bigger cloud services businesses: Insight purchased SADA, which has Google Cloud skills; CDW bought AWS partner Mission Cloud; and WWT bought cloud migration specialist Softchoice.
So is the Canalys founder correct?
Simon Ewington, HPE worldwide channel and partner ecosystem leader, told The Register that Brazier is “always” provocative, a point echoed by Steinar Sønsteby, CEO of Atea – one of Europe’s largest services-based resellers.
“As a long-time friend of Steve, I can truly recognize his provocative style,” Sønsteby told us.
Data collected by Canalys does back up Brazier’s points, so his speech wasn’t baseless by any means. The bigger resellers and distributors are getting bigger but via acquisition.
Sønsteby continued: “I feel comfortable that the IT industry will keep on growing as digitalization has never been more critical. The channel in Europe will consolidate to fewer and bigger players as the OEMs downsize and need the channel more than ever – but need players that can add value for the OEM and the customers.”
Added value is in the eye of the beholder.
James Rigby, CEO at SCC, told us he attended the event – as did The Reg – saying: “I think the general feeling was that he [Brazier] was being overly pessimistic. And to be honest, I think the discourse is probably 12 months too late.”
Rigby describes the past 12 months as “hard yards for everybody” and tough in terms of “cost pressures” and sliding “demand.” He points toward the Windows 11 refresh and AI as beacons of hope and cause for “optimism about demand going forward.” Some of our readers may disagree.
Canalys reckons that tech buyers are nervous about uncertain geopolitics, which are constraining budgets. Customers are extending sales cycles, making it harder for the channel to find growth. And following a sustained refresh cycle, fueled by the pandemic, there is a saturation in terms of computers, networking kit, and other areas.
Brazier told The Register today that the challenges faced by the channel are reflected in the market capitalizations of the biggest players (as demonstrated by the graph below).
“To put this into words, had you invested $100 in the S&P500 on Jan 1 2024 you would have had $126 as of Jan 6. Had you invested $100 in the publicly quoted channel partners over the same period you would have had $82. So, I know the partner CEOs try to sound positive but can you imagine the conversations in their boardrooms this year?”
Brazier’s last point at the Channel Forum in Berlin was about the wider tech industry on this side of the pond, and it’s perhaps a prescient one. He reckons the industry in Europe has missed the tech boat and every office worker in the region is paying a €100-a-month “tax” to American companies for a right to work.
“And with the arrival of AI, that €100 a month is simply going to go further up.”
At this stage in the evolution of GenAI, “virtually nothing of it benefits the channel. The channel has been excluded,” he said. And he is entirely correct.
The AI industry is dominated by hyperscalers investing in AI infrastructure, and AI startups which then use their expanding datacenters and so on to run their services. Tech is eating itself. Customer spending on AI is currently a fraction of the amount big tech is lavishing on big bets that the technology will take off.
So if the AI bubble bursts, will the channel care? The knock-on effects will be felt far and wide, just as happened in the dotcom bust. ®
Biz Talk: AED partners with Data Community DC to support data science professionals in Arlington
Photo courtesy Data Community DC
This article is sponsored by Arlington Economic Development.
Data Community DC (DC2), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is dedicated to connecting and supporting data professionals in the National Capital Region.
The organization fosters education, opportunities, and professional development through high-quality, community-driven events, resources, products, and services. Founded in 2012, DC2 was established to serve the growing data science community in Arlington and Washington, D.C.
The organization is led by Board Chair Janet Dobbins, a long-time Arlington resident, with daily operations managed by Executive Director William Angel, an Arlington native.
Arlington Economic Development (AED) is proud to partner with DC2 to host at least 18 data-focused meetup events across Arlington and the region over the next six months. These events are funded through AED’s Arlington Innovation Fund Ecosystem Support Fund, which was created to enhance Arlington’s tech ecosystem and support the growth of local technology startups.
DC2’s 2025 programming will spotlight the work of local data practitioners, with a focus on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and large language models. The events will also provide learning opportunities for Arlington residents.
The Data Viz DC Meetup group, a DC2 initiative, will host a free event on Building Data Visualization Portfolios on Wednesday, January 22, at 5:30 p.m. The event, held at Excella in Courthouse, will include food and networking opportunities. Learn more and register to attend.
Learn more about upcoming events and subscribe to DC2’s newsletter at DC2.org or follow on LinkedIn.
Subscribe to AED’s Innovation Ecosystem emails to learn about upcoming DC2 events as well as other sponsored events and exclusive innovation ecosystem opportunities.
$100,000 gift to be used to help renovate, remodel PBL High’s science lab
PAXTON — The Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district has received a $100,000 anonymous donation to help fund the renovation and remodeling of PBL High School’s science lab.
The donation will go toward upgrading equipment, improving safety features and creating a more modern, collaborative environment for students and teachers, Superintendent Travis Duley said, expressing gratitude for the contribution and the positive impact it will have on students.
“We are incredibly thankful for this anonymous donor’s support,” Duley said in a news release. “Although it will not fund the entire project, this generous donation is a big step toward allowing us to provide our students with a state-of-the-art science lab, enhancing their learning experience and preparing them for success in the sciences. It’s truly an investment in our future.”
The PBL school district had planned to renovate the lab space in the near future, but the large donation should allow the district to complete that project in a more timely manner, Duley said. The district will begin initial planning for the project this spring, Duley said, with the hope of completing the project in summer 2026 or 2027.
“This is a game-changer for our students,” Duley said. “The ability to work in a fully modernized space will hopefully spark excitement for science and help us continue to provide the best possible education.”
Duley said the sizeable donation — possibly the largest single donation in local school district history — came unexpectedly from someone who asked to remain anonymous.
“As a district, we emphasize the value of relationships, and this is a perfect example of that,” Duley said. “Our ultimate goal is to offer the best opportunities for our students, but achieving that often comes with financial challenges. Donations like this one play a crucial role in making it possible.”
Scientist discovers toxins to kill world’s deadliest animal
How do you defeat the
Linda Haas Ayer upholds family business in a male-dominated industry
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This certainly wasn’t a position Linda Haas Ayer ever envisioned herself holding, that of owner and CEO of an electrical contracting company.
Sure, while growing up she had watched her father, William Haas, and his business partner Donald Connors, build Connors-Haas, Inc. into a respected firm on the Rochester contracting landscape.
But upon completion of her business degree from LeMoyne College, she opted to pursue a master’s degree in psychology and relocated to Boston for work.
Linda Haas Ayer
“I was interested in the psychology of people and of organizations, so I have worked in that field,” Haas Ayer said.
Life sometimes alters plans, however. Her brother, Brian, died in 2019 after a battle with multiple myeloma. He had succeeded their father as owner of the company in 2002.
To fill the void and maintain family ownership of a firm founded in 1966, Haas Ayer and her husband, David, returned to Rochester so she could take the reins in April of 2021.
“It’s interesting how things do come full circle and you gain experience and insight in different ways,” she said. “Everybody’s path is different. What I’ve learned is that it’s never too late to follow your dreams or be open to a new one.”
In taking on this new venture, she has gone back to her roots while carrying on the legacy of her father and brother.
“I grew up in the business and my dad had me doing color coding blueprints from a young age, and I worked there during summers in high school and college,” she said. “So it’s wonderful because I now work alongside the people that helped build the company but at the same time am adding my own value, insight and team members to what was already there.”
Haas Ayer said she places an emphasis on company culture, believing the 75 or so employees all play an important role in growth. Connors-Haas, headquartered in the town of Ontario, ranks seventh on the Rochester Business Journal’s 2025 Book of Lists.
The late Brian Haas with Linda. (Photo provided by Connors-Haas)
“My brother put his whole life into the company and I think people were really dedicated and loyal and felt taken care of, and that’s what I’m trying to continue,” she said. “We put a lot into soliciting employee feedback and into their own personal growth.”
At the same time, she was transitioning into her new role. For the first 53 years, Connors-Haas was run by men that were IBEW Local 86 electricians. While Haas Ayer had very strong knowledge of the business — it was founded the year she was born — she had never been working on the jobsite.
Brian poses with their father, William Haas, co-founder when the firm launched in 1966. (Photo provided by Connors-Haas)
“I stepped into this role in a non-traditional way,” she said. “I had to really work hard to prove myself as a female leader and worthy of being the CEO.
“There has been a big learning curve and I thank my team for support, and for giving me valuable ideas and insights.”
She immersed herself in the business, both in the office and in the field. She took estimating and foreman’s classes and sat in on union training courses, “all to just help me understand better what my people are doing, what it’s like for them to work here, and to have a better understanding of their goals and their piece of fitting into the company.”
She doesn’t pretend to know it all, either. She takes part in a CEO consulting group on a monthly basis and works with a consultant on strategy and business development. She knows she’s not like most CEOs in the commercial electrical contracting industry.
“Because it’s a male-dominated industry and a lot of relationships are traditionally solidified by golf and hunting and fishing, I’ve had to focus on my connections through business meetings and seminars and networking,” she said. “I don’t think you need to be an electrician per se, and there are male CEOs that are not electricians.”
Some of the Connors-Haas fleet. (Photo provided by Connors Haas)
Still, she said that has been an obstacle with New York State. Haas Ayer said she has had difficulty gaining MWBE certification, even though the firm is clearly woman-owned and has federal and county certification.
Certification is important because many state projects include women-hiring requirements. Clients and general contractors need to adhere to those workforce percentages when issuing project contracts.
“The state system has been an obstacle for people like me and women in the field trying to get their state certification,” she said. “Instead of promoting women to be in male-dominated industries, it’s become an obstacle.
“I came in non-traditionally and I have not proved being an electrician, even though that’s allowed for men it doesn’t seem to be the same for women. That’s been the biggest hurdle.”
That said, Haas Ayer said the company has maintained strong relationships with long-time clients, such as the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology, L3Harris, the city of Rochester, The Dolomite Group and Genesee Brewery. She said Connors-Haas also frequently does subcontracting work for LeChase Construction Services and DGA Builders.
“My dad used to drive me around the city and show me where Connors-Haas did the lighting and I love seeing where we’ve made a difference,” she said.
Their work also is on display nightly in Syracuse. Connors-Haas recently completed an extensive electrical project on the National Grid building, working 12-hour days, six days a week for more than three months to install an intricate exterior lighting system.
The National Grid building in Syracuse, N.Y. (Photo provided by National Grid)
The lighting color schemes can be synchronized for events — such as Independence Day or the Christmas holiday season — or for institutions such as Syracuse University and LeMoyne.
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“Our downtown Syracuse building is more than an office,” Alberto Bianchetti, regional director of customer and external affairs, said in a National Grid news release. “It’s a point of civic pride for people in this community, and part of our region’s history and character, as one of our nation’s finest representations of art deco design.”
Connors-Haas completed the project on time and it’s an example of the quality work the firm produces for clients.
“We’re not the biggest,” Haas Ayer said, “but we’re about quality and having our customers be very satisfied. That’s what’s worked for us.”
She intends to carry that M.O. well into the future.
“I am committed to keeping the essence of the company what it has always been,” Haas Ayer said. “We have an excellent workforce that believes in quality and relationships with our customers. My goal has always been to keep it sustainable and profitable, which we are doing, and that’s the long-term goal as well.”
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Two men accused of importing drugs into Ireland served with books of evidence
Books of evidence were served on Wednesday on two of the 10 men accused of conspiring to import drugs into Ireland arising out of a major international investigation.Detective Garda David Barrett served the book of evidence on Pedro Padio Ojeda Ortega, 35, of Cadiz, Spain, who was represented by defence solicitor Eddie Burke.On the application of Sergeant Dave Delea at Cork District Court, Judge Mary Dorgan sent the case forward for trial at the Special Criminal Court on a date to be fixed by that court.Free legal aid was extended for a senior counsel, junior counsel and documentary junior counsel and for translation of the book of evidence into Spanish.Detective Garda Robert Kennedy confirmed service of a book of evidence on Anuar Rahui of Calle Jaen, Marbella, Malaga, Spain, who was represented in court by Frank Buttimer. Similar orders were made in his case in terms of free legal aid.Each of the accused — and eight other men also before the courts — is accused of conspiring with nine others to import drugs. The charge in each case states: “That you [defendant’s name] on dates between February 27 and March 14, both dates inclusive, within the State, did conspire with one or more persons, namely (nine other names) to do an act in the State that constitutes a serious offence, namely the importation of controlled drugs in excess of €13,000, an offence contrary of Section 15B (1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 as amended and contrary to Section 71 (1) (a) (4) of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 as amended by Section 4 (b) of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions ) Act 2023.” A slightly amended version of this charge was served on each of the accused as the older charge was withdrawn before the books of evidence were served.