hazard

Thursday August 6, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 6, 2020

Audit Finds Most American Public Schools Need Major Repairs

July 25, 2020

The majority of public school districts in the U.S. are focusing their budgets on security to prevent shootings instead of widely needed building repairs, a federal watchdog found in a new report.

The Government Accountability Office, an independent federal agency that monitors how tax dollars are spent, said in a report released Thursday that school districts’ highest priorities for their facilities were improving security, expanding technology and addressing health hazards.

The report, based on a survey of hundreds of districts, shows that about half of the school districts in the U.S. need to update or replace multiple systems like heating, ventilation, air conditioning or plumbing.

April 30, 2020

One-third of schools need HVAC system upgrades, which could result in air quality or mold problems if not addressed, according to the watchdog. Additionally, one-quarter of districts reported a need to repair or replace lighting fixtures in at least half of their schools. A similar number of districts need repairs to roofing, security, plumbing or windows in most of their schools.

The GAO report shows images of crumbling schools around the country, including some that hold standing water, are full of asbestos or require bottled drinking water.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, outdated and hazardous school buildings were undermining the quality of public education and putting students and educators at risk,” House Education Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement responding to the report. “Now, the pandemic is exacerbating the consequences of our failure to make necessary investments in school infrastructure.”

Life in a Pandemic

Schools that serve low-income communities are especially affected. Local government funding in more affluent areas made up 72% of overall funding for building costs, while in schools in low-income areas only received about 35% of their facilities funding from the local government. (Courthousenews) 

 

Thursday November 8, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 8, 2018

Clement quits Conservative shadow cabinet after sharing explicit photos, video

Longtime MP Tony Clement has resigned from the Conservative shadow cabinet after he shared explicit sexual images and a video of himself electronically.

Tony Clement Cartoon Gallery

Clement says the images were sent in the last three weeks and he believed they were going to a “consenting female.”

However he now says the person was trying to extort him and he has asked the RCMP to investigate.

“I recognize now that I have gone down a wrong path and have exercised very poor judgment,” Clement said in a statement Tuesday.

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer said he has appointed Lisa Raitt to take over for Clement as the justice critic for now.

“While I’m greatly disappointed with Mr. Clement’s actions, I am encouraged that he has decided to seek help and I wish him all the best in doing so,” Scheer said.

The RCMP confirmed it had received information from Clement and was currently investigating the matter, but did not comment further.

Clement is resigning his committee roles as well, but will stay in the Conservative caucus.

Clement, 57, has been one of the pillars of the Conservative caucus for more than a decade, and before that was a senior member of the provincial party in Ontario.

He was a cabinet minister for the entirety of Stephen Harper’s near-decade long tenure as prime minister, and was a cabinet minister at the provincial level before that. 

He says he is sorry to his family, his party and his constituents for his behaviour.

“I am committed to seeking the help and treatment I need in my personal life to make sure this will not happen again while also continuing to discharge my duties as a Member of Parliament,” he wrote.

Clement was twice a candidate for the federal party leadership and also ran for the provincial Tory leadership in Ontario once. He dropped out of the most recent leadership contest early on and endorsed Maxime Bernier.

Clement is one of the most recognizable MPs as well as one of the heaviest users of social media. He is a frequent poster on Twitter. It has occasionally landed him in trouble before, including when he had to apologize after cursing at a 15-year-old on the platform.

He is married to lawyer and author Lynne Golding. (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday February 28, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 28, 2018

Vic Fedeli says it’s ‘time to move on’ from Patrick Brown debacle

Eager to leave behind the Patrick Brown debacle, interim Progressive Conservative leader Vic Fedeli says “it’s time to move on.”

February 21, 2018

“The last 10 days have been unprecedented in Ontario’s politics,” Fedeli told reporters Tuesday at Queen’s Park, noting the controversies surrounding Brown have made for “a difficult time for our party.”

“But we are now ready to turn the page,” he said.

“Today, it’s morning in the PC Party.”

Indeed, his comments came the morning after Brown ended his comeback bid to return as Tory leader a month after resigning in scandal.

On Monday, the ex-chief announced his withdrawal from the leadership contest against former MPP Christine Elliott, one-time Toronto councillor Doug Ford, rookie PC candidate Caroline Mulroney and social conservative activist Tanya Granic Allen.

February 6, 2015

“I simply cannot run a provincial party leadership campaign . . . , while, at the same time, continuing my fight to prove that the allegations are lies,” Brown wrote in a four-page letter to the party, referring to a CTV News report about two women alleging sexual impropriety against him.

Since Brown stepped down as leader on Jan. 25, hours after CTV News’s story aired, the Tories have been in turmoil.

Fedeli has been the steady hand at the tiller, dispatching allies of the discredited former leader, clamping down on spending, and generally cleaning up what he called “rot.”

On Tuesday, he emphasized he had no second thoughts about removing Brown from the PC caucus; if and when the ex-leader returns to Legislature, he will sit as an Independent MPP in a remote corner of the chamber.

“Our party is bigger than any one person,” Fedeli said firmly.

“We are now ready to move on from focusing on any one individual, and to focus on the task at hand.

“And that task is defeating Kathleen Wynne,” he said. (Source: Toronto Star)