Hello, and welcome to today’s Olympics live blog. There are eight days to go until the Games begin, and the sun is shining.
Here’s what’s coming up today:
• The Olympic torch roams the Kent coastline, travelling from Dover to Deal, Sandwich and Margate, before heading inland to Canterbury, and then hitting Faversham and Maidstone. In Margate artist Tracey Emin will carry the flame. Send your pictures to paul.owen@guardian.co.uk or tweet me @paultowen.
• Britain’s men’s basketball team will play a friendly against the USA in Manchester tonight.
• Ed Miliband wants G4S to be barred from taking on any more government contracts until its competence has been reviewed in the wake of the Olympic security scandal. The Labour leader will make a speech on the subject this morning. Meanwhile G4S came under further pressure after MPs questioned the "astonishing" rise in the price of the contract to provide Olympic venue guards and insisted the recent humiliating debacle over numbers was predictable.
And here’s today’s news so far:
• Thousands of rail commuters heading for London Bridge station faced delays today due to signalling problems, the London Evening Standard reported. This is the third day running of problems and delays on the London transport system. London Bridge is expected to be a particular pinch point for commuters during the Games, and Transport for London is advising them to avoid the station altogether for the duration of the Olympics.
• Gary Neville says he understands Team GB manager Stuart Pearce’s decision to leave David Beckham out of his Olympic squad. Neville, a close friend of Beckham’s, said the former England captain would not have wanted to have been chosen for anything other than football reasons. "There will be people who argue that he does deserve a position in the GB team for helping to bring the Games here. But I think David wanted to be selected on his own merits, for his talent, skill and ability. I spoke to him and he's disappointed. He wanted to be part of it … This would have been a great occasion for him. So I'm disappointed for him as a friend, but professionally I can understand that there are difficult decisions to be made."
• David Cameron has condemned a planned strike by border staff. The prime minister said he hoped the strike would not go ahead but insisted the Olympics would be safe and secure regardless. Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, he said: "I do not believe it will be right, I do not believe it will be justified." Thousands of staff at the Home Office, including airport immigration workers, have voted to go on strike over jobs, pay and other issues, raising the threat of industrial action hitting the Games.
• Japan's world champion women's football team has taken exception to flying economy while their male counterparts sat in business class on a flight to Europe for the Olympics. The women's team was assigned seats in premium economy for the 13-hour flight to Paris while the nation's under-23 men's team was up front on the same flight. Homare Sawa, the 2011 FIFA women's world player of the year said, "it should have been the other way around”. The Japan Football Association said the men fly business class to the Olympics in consideration of their status as professionals. The association upgraded the women's team from standard to premium economy in recognition of their status as gold medal contenders, it said. Tactful.
• Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova is aiming for an Olympic medal in London but insists she will not be devastated if she failed to win one. Russia has a successful Olympic history, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva won the gold, silver and bronze medal in singles respectively at the 2008 Beijing Games. "The Russian mentality is if you are going to the Olympics you have got to be winning medals and failure is not acceptable," Petrova told Reuters.
• The health and life chances of children in the six London boroughs hosting the Olympics deteriorate significantly by the time they reach their teens, according to an NHS assessment setting a baseline for whether there is a lasting legacy for those living on the Games' doorstep.
• Some Olympic and Paralympic teams are not bringing any doctors to treat their athletes should anything go wrong during the Games. Doctors from 141 nations out of a possible 203 have registered to practice in the UK during the competition, figures from the General Medical Council suggest. The GMC, which oversees all doctor registrations, said that 849 foreign doctors had applied for temporary registrations, and it was processing a further 29 applications. The French team has registered 58 doctors, the highest number for any country, to support their 333 athletes. Eighteen doctors will be supporting Team GB's 542 sports men and women.
• The Associated Press has a slightly bizarre story seemingly designed to panic tourists arriving in London. “The Olympics crush has begun in London and so has the scramble for cold, hard cash in the pricey British capital. Lines are getting longer at ATMs, visitors are in sticker shock over British prices and some befuddled tourists are wondering what currency to use. Stores in the Olympic Park only accept certain credit cards and a top British financial authority is even recommending that tourists make sure to bring British pounds with them.” For the avoidance of doubt, the currency to use is pounds sterling, and, yes, it's a good idea to bring some with you. But as regular readers of this blog will know, Visa is indeed the only card you can use at the Olympic venues, something which may well lead to problems for many spectators.
All this and more right here throughout the day.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Essex County wants tax mandates better explained - Press Republican
ELIZABETHTOWN — After one misfire last year, Essex County lawmakers are trying again to inform residents about how much of their county tax bill goes to state mandates.
The last county tax bills broke up the amounts and percentages of increase for mandates, such as the county share of Medicaid and Social Services.
But that only confused most taxpayers, Supervisor Daniel Connell (D-Westport) said.
“What we did last year was a good idea, but it didn’t work. People thought it was a total increase in their taxes.”
County Manager Daniel Palmer agreed the bills were confusing.
“What essentially happened was by breaking that out to state Medicaid costs, the individuals thought it was a state tax and it only went up 2 percent and our tax went up more, so therefore (they thought) we were raising the tax more than the state was, when, in fact, they were both county taxes. They just didn’t recognize that.”
County taxes rose 10.5 percent, including state mandates.
Palmer said Warren County gave a much better explanation of the various amounts.
“I really think that we just need to remove that Medicaid line entirely from the bill and just insert the flier.”
FLIER FORMAT
County Attorney Daniel Manning III said the board passed a local law in 2011 to list mandates on tax bills.
“There’s been discussion that it is not comprehensive enough,” he said. “In its place, a tax-bill flier will be enclosed with every tax bill, which will delineate the standard statement of all state mandates, a narrative summary of key financial impact of the state mandates and a graphic illustrating the mandated portions of the county budget.”
The information could also be posted on the county website, he said.
Manning said he’d recommend they repeal the local law that put the mandates on tax bills.
“You can also keep the old law, if you wish,” he said.
Most supervisors expressed a desire to go to the flier format, however.
Manning said he will ready everything for the Ways and Means session set for July 30. Then, if it passes, the county must hold a public hearing on the flier inclusion.
“Numerous counties went to the flier format,” Board of Supervisors Chair Randy Douglas (D-Jay) said. “I think many people will be shocked when they see what the mandates are. It’s most impressive.”
ASSESSMENT ROLLS
On an upbeat note, Dawn Belden of County Real Property Tax Services told supervisors the state hasn’t penalized any town for having a less-than-full-value equalization rate this year.
“Assessment rolls are filed, and equalization rates are in and are all at 100 percent. Congratulations to our (local) assessors.”
Email Lohr McKinstry:
lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
Source: pressrepublican.com
Essex Golf & Country Club moves up national rankings - Calgary Herald
Essex Golf & Country Club moved up 12 spots to 54th place in ScoreGolf Magazine's biennial list of top 100 golf courses in Canada.
Essex, designed by Scottish architect Donald Ross in 1929, was ranked 66th on the 2010 list.
"Essex is best known for having 18 of the best greens in Canada," said author Robert Thompson, a panelist with ScoreGolf Magazine.
"There are few putting surfaces as interesting or as intriguing as Essex. It's a relatively flat golf course but when you get to those putting surfaces, it's really where the challenge is and it's where you can five-putt or even putt the way off it.
"In that regard, it's really held its own even though its been there for nearly a hundred years."
Essex superintendent Chris Andrejicka said they've never had to reconstruct the greens.
"Each green is different, just the way Donald Ross designed them," Andrejicka said.
"With 18 different greens, each one with its own gentle breaks and contours, there's no trend and it keeps things interesting when you're putting."
Essex director of golf Alex McIntyre was pleased with the 54th-place ranking.
It was the only local course rated in the top 100.
"We're hoping to get back in the top 50 again," McIntyre said.
The National Golf Club of Canada, St. George's, Hamilton, Jasper Park Lodge and Capilano were the top five courses in the country.
CANADIAN OPEN
Kingsville golfer Richard Scott's exemption for the RBC Canadian Open won't go to waste.
Sarnia's Matt Hill, the grandson of former Windsor mayor and provincial judge John Wheelton, was awarded Scott's exemption by Golf Canada Wednesday.
Hill is coming off his first Canadian Tour victory at the 2012 Dakota Dunes Casino Open where he beat Will Strickler in a four-hole playoff.
After taking home the $24,000 first prize, Hill moved to the top of the developmental circuit's money list.
After being awarded an exemption for next weekend's Canadian Open in Hamilton, Scott decided to pass on the invitation in order to focus on earning a PGA Tour card for next season.
Scott sits 28th on the Web. com Tour's money list with US$97,393.
The top 25 at the end of the season earn a PGA Tour card.
SENIOR GOLF
Windsor's Bob Panasik opened with a six-over 78 in the first round of the PGA of Canada Seniors Championship at the Emerald Hills Golf Club in Stouffville.
Panasik is a three-time winner of the senior national championship (1997, 1998, 2001).
Dave Bell of Tecumseh Golf had a four-over 76 and Mark Kappes of the Texas Road Golf Range shot a 79.
Victoria's Jim Rutledge is in first place after setting a course record seven-under 65.
Round two of the three-day event continues today.
JUNIOR TOURNEY
Tyler Pope-Ferguson is the top local golfer after the second round Wednesday at the Ontario Junior Golf Championships at the Maddarin Golf Club in Markham.
Pope-Ferguson is tied for 19th after carding a two-over 73 for a 147 total, six strokes behind Ryan Borg of Brampton and Kody Fry of Shelburne.
Bryce Evon shot a 74 and sits three strokes behind Pope-Ferguson in a tie for 33rd place.
Also, Zach Gervais shot 78 and had a 152 total heading into the third round today.
Failing to make the cut were Crawford McKinlay after a second-round 78, Alexander Zappio with a 79, Paul Seward with an 81 and Connor Teno with an 83.
Source: www.canada.com
Flyers to open camp Aug. 13 - Calgary Herald
The Leamington Flyers will open their junior B training camp Aug. 13 at the Kinsmen Recreation Complex.
The team also announced it will hold its annual Red and White game Aug. 17 at 7: 30 p.m.
The Flyers will also play two exhibition games in a homeand-home series against the LaSalle Vipers Aug. 22 and 23.
Both games are at 7 p.m. Leamington finished second in the Western Conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League with a 30-17-4 record, but was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs against the Strathroy Rockets.
The Kingsville Comets will open their junior C season on the road against the Belle River Canadiens.
The Comets, who unveiled their regular-season schedule this week, will play their home opener Sept. 7 against the defending junior C champion Essex 73's.
PUEMPEL NUMBER
Essex native Matt Puempel will honour his hometown by wearing No. 73 next season with the Kitchener Rangers.
Puempel said he picked the number to represent the town's junior C team Essex 73's.
"Adding a little hometown touch in Kitchener this year when I wear No. 73," Puempel posted on his Twitter page.
The Ottawa Senators' draft pick is entering his first season in Kitchener, after being traded by the Peterborough Petes in the off-season.
Puempel, a six-foot, 190-pound winger, wore No. 18 for three seasons with the Petes.
O'REILLY DEAL
Former Spitfires forward Cal O'Reilly signed a two-year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League Wednesday.
The six-foot, 180-pound centre was traded from the Nashville Predators to the Phoenix Coyotes.
The 26-year-old O'Reilly finished the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins after being picked up off waivers.
In 33 games last season, he had two goals and six points.
BOURKE HURT
Montreal Alouettes offensive tackle Josh Bourke of Tecumseh missed practice with an ankle injury this week and is questionable for Saturday's game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7 p.m., TSN).
Bourke sustained an ankle injury during Montreal's 33-32 victory over the Calgary Stampeders last weekend.
"There's no pressure to play," Bourke said.
"If I can't perform to my normal ability, I won't play.
With this injury, if I'm not at 100 per cent, I've got to be close."
After Bourke left the game with the injury, Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo was sacked once.
The Canadian Football League's outstanding lineman in 2011 said there were other communication breakdowns along the offensive line against Calgary.
"There were a couple of bad plays, and they resulted in sacks," he said.
"But guys get beat, the quarterback gets rid of the ball, and nobody notices.
"Obviously, we can't allow four sacks.
"Anthony took too many shots."
BISHOP SENDOFF
The University of Windsor athletics will host a public reception Friday for former Lancer Melissa Bishop, who will leave the next day to compete in the 800 metres at the London Olympics.
The reception will be held in the multi-purpose room at the St. Denis Centre at 11: 45 a.m.
Fellow grad Andrea Steen, a hurdler at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games, is scheduled to speak at Friday's reception.
Source: www.canada.com
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