Essex firefighters have set five periods of strike action in a dispute over frontline cuts.
The Fire Brigades Union says that Essex will have lost one in five frontline firefighters since 2008 if the current round of planned cuts go ahead.
The strike dates set:
June 28: 10am to 6pm
July 7: 4am to 5am
July 18: 9am to 9am on July 19
August 18: 5pm to 7pm
October 18: 11am to 4pm
Alan Chinn-Shaw, Essex FBU Chair, said: “This is about cuts to frontline firefighters and changes imposed on firefighters. We’ve had enough and the cuts are now directly impacting on public and firefighter safety.
“The cuts and impositions continue while the fire authority says it wants talks. That simply undermines the talks before they start.
“The recent highly provocative removal of key fire engines and vital rescue equipment contradicts the fire authority claim that it is being reasonable. This two-faced approach has gone on for three years and enough is enough.
“The issues are about cuts and imposed and unjustified changes and these need to be addressed. The fire authority must either address the concerns or there will be strike action."
Essex Fire chiefs have responded by saying they remain confident that the need for strike action can be averted.
Chief Fire Officer David Johnson said that talks with the FBU will go ahead on Monday and he hopes that union officials will accept the offer from senior managers.
Source: www.itv.com
Kent State must wait another day - Boston Herald
OMAHA, Neb. — Opposing coaches in the College World Series have had nothing but positive things to say about Kent State.
But the Golden Flashes refuse to let go of the chip on their shoulders that has carried them through an unprecedented run in the NCAA Tournament.
Even on Tuesday, senior shortstop Jimmy Rider hoped South Carolina would still be upset about its 2-1 loss Monday to Arkansas and overlook KSU.
"I hope they’re looking to get that Arkansas rematch," Rider said after practice at Bellevue East High School.
Kent State (47-19) was scheduled to take on two-time defending champion (46-18) South Carolina in a College World Series elimination game Wednesday night at TD Ameritrade Park. Due to heavy rain, the game was postponed and rescheduled for noon on Thursday. If Kent State wins, the Flashes will play again at 9 p.m. against Arkansas.
Kent State coach Scott Stricklin probably doesn’t want to correct the Golden Flashes’ perceived slight by college baseball’s superpowers. Of the teams KSU has faced in Omaha, Arkansas was making its seventh trip to the CWS, Florida its eighth and South Carolina its 11th.
"It’s tough for that team to play against us," Kent State center fielder Evan Campbell said Tuesday, referring to South Carolina. "They’re used to playing the Floridas and the Arkansases, they’re not used to playing Kent State. We get really pumped up to play teams like that and they’re kinda like, ’Kent State?"’
A Mid-American Conference team hadn’t reached the College World Series since Eastern Michigan in 1976.
Since the NCAA Tournament began, Kent State has eliminated Kentucky (Southeastern Conference), Purdue (Big Ten) and Oregon (Pac-12), lost to Arkansas (SEC) and ousted Florida (SEC).
Kent State’s next game will mark the Golden Flashes’ second consecutive game against an SEC foe and fifth in nine NCAA games, including two against Kentucky in the Gary, Ind., regional. KSU will have faced four of the top six seeds in the SEC Tournament รข€" the No. 2 Gamecocks, No. 3 Gators, No. 4 Wildcats and No. 6 Razorbacks. (LSU was No. 1.)
"They’re a powerhouse conference," Campbell said Tuesday of the SEC. "People underestimate the MAC a little bit, we get overshadowed by the Big Ten and schools like that. It shows the caliber of players we have."
Before Stricklin’s team left for a best-of-three super regional series in Eugene, Ore., he was playing up the "Nobody believes in us" angle. The Golden Flashes were coming off a 7-6, 21-inning victory over Kentucky, a 7-3 triumph over Purdue and a 3-2 victory over UK in the Gary regional.
"Kentucky showed us nothing but respect, but they still kind of felt like big brother looking down at little brother," Stricklin said after a practice at Kent State earlier this month. "Even if it wasn’t there, our kids felt like that and wanted to make sure we’re not going to get pushed around.
"Anyone who saw our games with Kentucky would tell you talent-wise it was the same. Both of those games could have gone either way. They played good; we played good."
Stricklin got the same vibe against Purdue.
"Purdue won the Big Ten by a large margin," Stricklin said that day at Kent State. "Everyone that saw that game, and it was on the Big Ten Network, saw that we were the better team. That was very satisfying, not only as a coaching staff, but for our players. We felt we were, but to go out there and do it and prove it, it felt really good."
Source: www.bostonherald.com
Pia: Men afraid of divorce bill - ABS-CBN
MANILA, Philippines – Who’s afraid of the divorce bill? Certainly not Sen. Pia Cayetano, who chided fellow Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero for saying that the Philippines is not ready for a divorce law.
“Eh ang problema naman sa kalalakihan, lagi naman sila takot humarap sa mga bills that seem to affect [their] personal relationships eh. That is the tendency of men. On the one extent, men are very strong but on the other, they seem to be very hesitant to explore these issues which are very important,” she told reporters.
Cayetano, head of the Senate committee on youth, women, and family relations, is one of 4 senators who have split from their spouses. The other 3 are Escudero, Loren Legarda and Koko Pimentel.
'PH needs divorce law'
Cayetano earlier said it is high time that the country pass its own divorce law. She said her own annulment to former husband, Ari Ben Sebastian, has yet to be completed after being separated for the past 8 years.
“The divorce bill is long overdue because we prefer not to touch issues that we regard sensitive and personal. But the time has come for us to realize that many things that go on in a family’s home require legislation and where the rights of every individual are respected. This would also involve looking into the Family Code which for now recognizes annulments and voidable marriages but no divorce,” she said.
The senator said the Philippines is now the only country in the world without a divorce law because of the refusal of lawmakers to face the issues.
She said there are many women who want to end their marriages to abusive husbands but cannot.
Only PH families willing to suffer?
“We are the only country in the world [without divorce], other Catholic countries in the world have divorce. So what is our point? We want to say we're the only country with families willing to suffer? Is that something we are proud of? What does it mean? Does it mean na mas mapag-tiis tayo? Does it mean na mas ignorant tayo? It just means that the policy makers refuse to look at these issues,” she said.
She said that while there is no pending divorce bill in the Senate, she can easily file one.
“Wala pa tayong pending bill. I took it up by way of analyzing what are the various issues in the Family Code [which need to be amended]. So walang divorce bill na nakafile pa sa atin. I can easily file one. There’s no issue about it,” she said.
Source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
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