FAYETTEVILLE -- A new Mexican restaurant is open on the downtown square Tula opened at 1 E Center St at the University of Arkansas Pryor Center on Jan This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing 2019 from his injuries while attempting to assist a family in need on Interstate 495 in Raynham 1982 the son of Rosa Ma Rodriguez-Chagollan and Jose Luis Contreras-Barba of Union de Tula Luis was the co-owner of the El Mariachi Restaurant located on Main Street in Wareham he is survived by his brothers Diego Arturo of MA Aldo David Contreras-Diaz and his sisters Anna Rosa Contreras-Rodriguez and Alondra Magdalena Contreras-Diaz all of Mexico He was also survived by many loving relatives and friends in the Wareham Village Funeral Home 5 Center St Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend Interment will be in Union De Tula, Jalisco, Mexico. To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.warehamvillagefuneralhome.com EASTON — In Mexican culture, food is a way of life, and four brothers from Unión de Tula, Mexico, brought their family recipes from thousands of miles away to Easton El Mariachi a brightly decorated restaurant with traditional Mexican music The family business opened in 2010 and has expanded and now has five locations Yarmouth and Wareham — with Easton being the first location that started it all learned to cook from his parents in Mexico Their family ran a small business that sells finger foods appetizers and birria tacos to locals in the area so the family resorted to making their dishes at home The restaurant located at 620 Washington St Easton serves up classic dishes of burritos carne asada and plenty of chicken dishes grilled to perfection “We are known by locals for our amazing drinks made from fresh lime and fruits and how late the bar closes daily,” Arechiga said Breakfast, burritos and flanFood truck turns into thriving Bridgewater restaurant serving breakfast, burritos and flan There are dozens of flavors of margaritas to try and the customers enjoy that as many places in the area are closed A popular snack on the menu the owner suggests trying is the pressed guacamole made right in front of you 'My soul was shaken'Stoughton's Plain Street residents urge town to fix intersection A busser or waitress will come with a cart and smash together limes onions and other vegetables to create the freshest guacamole you’ve ever tasted from corporate to baby showers and birthday parties To inquire about catering, call (508) 230-5900 or visit elmariachimr.com Enterprise staff reporter Alisha Saint-Ciel can be reached by email at stciela@gannett.com You can follow her on Twitter at @alishaspeakss and Instagram at Alishaatv Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today a retired North Whatcom Fire Department ambulance began helping save lives in an unexpected place — the town of Unión de Tula was when that same ambulance served Lynnwood Fire Captain Moi Castellon’s father during a life-threatening asthma attack three years later in the Mexican town When it’s time for an ambulance to be retired it’s most often taken to the auction chopping block and sold for a few grand That’s exactly what North Whatcom Fire Commissioner John Crawford did in 2020 when he realized he had an ambulance on his hands that had reached its shelf life — with almost 300,000 miles on its odometer He called Castellon of South County Fire in Lynnwood Castellon has worked with the Washington-based nonprofit Firefighters Crossing Borders for more than 15 years to transport supplies and provide training to jurisdictions throughout Mexico Jurisdictions other than those in the largest cities in the southern country often don’t have adequate funding to provide the same level of firefighting resources as in the states “They’re unfortunately very understaffed and under-resourced,” he said “It’s sad because Mexico has the potential to be the greatest country in the world but unfortunately the government doesn’t prioritize the fire service in Mexico.”   He’s worked with Firefighters Crossing Borders to help close that gap Bomberos Unidos — which translates to “firefighters united” — to expand his impact even more When Crawford asked Castellon if his nonprofit had a use for the ambulance Castellon knew exactly where he planned to transport it: his parent’s hometown The ambulance arrived in the town in August 2020 with a donated fire engine following it just a few months later and the ambulance has made an impact beyond what Castellon could have anticipated the donated ambulance responded to a call from Castellon’s own father who experienced an asthma attack while visiting his hometown from San Diego The ambulance transported him to the nearest hospital Castellon and Crawford also donated a retired fire engine to the city of Autlán and when Castellon returned to the city in late April to visit his father in the hospital he received an unexpectedly warm welcome from the city’s firefighters.  After hearing of Castellon’s father’s condition through social media the firefighters of Autlán rose to the occasion — visiting Castellon and his family at the hospital offering him a place to stay while he visited and going “above and beyond” to aid them in their time of need “Both jurisdictions [in Autlán and Unión de Tula] were overwhelmed with joy that that they could show me the fire engine and ambulances that are in service because of us,” Castellon said.  Castellon has orchestrated the donation of multiple other fire engines and ambulances all throughout Mexico — although his mission was forced to slow slightly during the pandemic To have his own father be on the receiving end of one of the many ambulances he helped donate has been an experience he could never have expected when he began doing this work years ago “I’m just blown away that good deeds basically do a full circle and it’s pretty cool to be a part of that,” Castellon said Email newstips@cascadiadaily.com or Call/Text 360-922-3092 Health care workers working in the public sector throughout the Maldives will now receive overtime pay in full for all public holidays resulting from a robust campaign spurred by the Maldives Health Professionals Union (MHPU) A health care worker holds a sign stating: “Wage theft is a crime–Pay overtime wages.” Credit: MHPU covers all 9,000 government health care workers and removes a 10 percent cap on salary for public holidays Paid overtime includes all public holidays which are part of the official weekend in the Maldives Solidarity Center has provided advocacy and organizing support achieved through the relentless efforts of many dedicated individuals marks a significant step toward ensuring health care workers receive the compensation they rightfully deserve for their tireless commitment,” says Ramsha Staffing shortages have meant nurses and many health care employees regularly work between 40 and 60 hours of overtime each month—all with no pay workers will be compensated if they are assigned extra hours of work during public holidays The health care workers often work extra hours beyond their regular schedule sacrificing their personal and family life The recent amendment protects wages—- especially during public holidays—and provides additional income protections in the struggling economy “They were compelled to work because of shortages,” says Fathimath Zamnia “Many are kept on call 24/7 and some work 12 hours with no adequate rest between the next shift.” Hours standing to care for patients resulted in young workers using pain-relief patches undergoing spinal surgeries and often suffering from chronic illness “Health care workers are highly service-oriented and often make significant sacrifices,” Zimna says Health care workers say that while the amendment does not address all issues related to overtime “we want to ensure that all workers are safeguarded against unpaid forced labor as it directly impacts both patient care and life beyond work of the individual.”  Solidarity Center has played a vital role in providing training and technical assistance to partner unions The successful overtime campaign reflects the new strategies Zimna and the union gained in both the Solidarity Center’s Global Labor Leadership Institute and Global Organizing Institute Their new focus facilitated unions to build a grassroots structured organizing campaigns focused on strategies that educate and mobilize workers to build collective power “We want to ensure that all workers are safeguarded against unpaid forced labor”–Fathimath Zimna Credit: Solidarity Center / Mollie Relihan The public campaign included media coverage in newspapers involving agitating workers through social media to highlight their struggles As more workers became involved on Facebook and X (Twitter) more workers reached out using the union hashtag The healthcare workforce continues to face multiple issues in their working environments “We are dedicated to strengthening workers’ collective power and continuously striving to achieve better working conditions and improved quality of care,” Zimna says Bolstering fundamental democratic principles such as decent wages and safe working conditions the Maldives Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and MPHU began a years-long struggle for passage of the Industrial Relations Act in 2024 with its emphasis on the protection of worker rights unions say paves the way for economic and social progress “The Solidarity Center was a huge partner in the campaign in passing two very crucial [pieces of] legislation,” says Zimna “The legal proceedings of the campaign were handled by the Public Interest Law Centre which also was supported by the Solidarity Center By providing technical and strategic support Solidarity Center also assisted in conducting training sessions and running educational programs for workers.” As the union builds the campaign around critical issues facing workers the Industrial Relations Act provides provisions that “create an enabling environment to form unions organize workers and achieve collective agreements across all sectors in the Maldives,” Zimna says.In addition unions succeeded in passage of a Occupational Safety and Health bill that underscores stringent obligations for employers compensation frameworks and penalties for non-compliance “I feel this is a great win for the union workers Our rights have been neglected for so long but we have come so far through our work within the union,” says Shifana Ali a medical laboratory assistant and active participant in the campaign has received essential support in advocacy and organizing efforts “Workers in the Maldives often are challenged with low wages and poor working conditions,” Zimna says “A majority of workers in Maldives are migrants and the growing workforce often is exploited and exposed to unsafe conditions “The experiences that we share are similar—as with many workers around the world the solution lies in organizing workers and building our collective power to resist We are strongly committed to organizing workers in the Maldives.” where the only major employment is palm production Iván is one of thousands of Hondurans who depend on his job to subsist But until Solidarity Center training strengthened the workers’ ability to form a union and gain the strength to negotiate with their employer for decent work they endured long hours and little pay to care for themselves and their families we won’t need to leave the country,” Iván says noting his goal is for all workers to have decent living conditions and contribute to the country’s economic development to have better benefits than those offered by the law.” Without continued Department of Labor (DOL) funding palm workers in Honduras will lose access to essential training for achieving decent working conditions making it easier for them to stay in the country This week’s termination of program funding for the DOL’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) eliminates how the United States enforces labor standards in trade agreements protects American workers from unfair competition and combats child labor forced labor and exploitation around the world the Solidarity Center has implemented more than a dozen ILAB-funded projects across Latin America weakens trade enforcement and abandons the global fight for decent work and human dignity The Solidarity Center received $78.3 million in DOL funding for projects over the years They have helped hundreds of thousands of workers build a better life for themselves and their families Here are some of the workers’ stories in those programs jeans and many household items—is so common most of us do not give it a second thought were forcibly mobilized by the Uzbekistan government to harvest cotton for state-owned enterprises Uzbekistan is the world’s sixth largest producer of cotton producing over 1 million tons annually and employing around 2 million workers The project, now cut with the termination of DOL funding, sought to build on a 15-year effort that successfully eradicated systemic government-imposed forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton supply chain Through a multi-year global advocacy campaign led by the Cotton Campaign of which Solidarity Center was a founding member brought an end to state-mandated forced labor To ensure workers who pick cotton continue working in safe conditions the Solidarity Center signed a groundbreaking cooperative agreement last year with the government of Uzbekistan and other implementing partners to improve working conditions and prevent forced labor Ensuring fair labor standards protects U.S consumers from unknowingly purchasing cotton picked as the result of forced labor workers from competing with cotton made cheaper by exploitation and benefits workers in Uzbekistan A core priority of the new program would have been ensuring that all cotton sector workers have a written employment contract with enforceable work conditions Employment contracts ensuring workers receive decent wages in safe conditions are vital yet absent in many agricultural supply chains This project aimed to both ensure the reforms to end forced labor in Uzbekistan are durable and help establish Uzbekistan as an alternative sourcing option to forced-labor-produced cotton from other countries Maria Alejandra Morales Reynoso painted auto parts for years alongside other auto plant workers forced to work double shifts with few breaks Through Solidarity Center training and support Morales and thousands of workers in Mexico formed an independent union voting out a corporate-supported union that did not operate in their interest hope that it was possible to represent workers freely,” she says “We proved it’s possible to get organized and to fight for our rights and to leave behind the fear that we’re going to lose our jobs.” The ability to improve their employment sparked momentum among other workers and bolstered the ability of women to take a role in their jobs A reduction in the wage gap between Mexico and the United States through authentic and transparent collective bargaining benefits workers in both countries—by improving the wages of Mexico’s workers and disincentivizing companies from relocating from the U.S.to Mexico to exploit artificially low wages especially since the enactment of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and its mechanisms for labor rights enforcement the Solidarity Center’s efforts have benefited more than 42,000 Mexican workers through USMCA resolutions upholding their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining and obtained over $6 million in back pay and benefits workers at an auto plant in San Luis Potosí won a 30 percent wage increase through a USMCA ruling and effective agreement across North America is crucial to counter efforts to undermine the promise of shared prosperity for workers in North America The termination of DOL funding will negatively impact workers in Mexico and the United States all founders of the “Mineras de Acero” (Women Miners of Steel) training program participate in a tour of a gold mine during a training in February 2015 on gender equality and women’s leadership where Los Mineros represents more than three million mine workers the Solidarity Center assisted the union in successfully utilizing the USMCA’s labor instrument (Rapid Response Labor Mechanism) in 2022 to achieve union representation and successfully negotiate a strong bargaining agreement with a 15 percent wage increase “Thanks to technical assistance provided by the Solidarity Center funded by DOL/ILAB we were able to use the Rapid Response Mechanism—a tool that helped us achieve justice,” says Imelda Guadalupe Jiménez Méndez “Today our contract is 60 percent more beneficial to the workers thanks to authentic collective bargaining.” Although the Mexican Supreme Court ruled in favor of the mine workers in 2019 it was only through the assistance of the Solidarity Center engaging in the USMCA that Los Mineros successfully negotiated a groundbreaking salary increase and significantly improved working conditions Mine workers in Mexico benefited from key Solidarity Center support Shutting down Solidarity Center funding for the programs jeopardizes life-changing gains in workers’ wages benefits and conditions and increases pressure on U.S workers who must compete with low wages in Mexico a first-aid box is mandatory at our workplace as well as women should be paid like as male co-workers,” says one woman who works at a construction site in Bangladesh medical supplies—and wages to support her family are now accessible through Solidarity Center training that enabled her union leaders to develop a list that included crucial workplace safety and health protections and successfully negotiate to achieve those goals where employers can treat workers as dispensable such lists are essential tools that workers at a grassroots level can use to raise key concerns DOL’s termination of grant funding means thousands of construction workers in Bangladesh will not have the impact of basic workplace safety and health protections and will have little ability to receive decent wages These are only a few examples of Solidarity Center has benefited workers and their communities through DOL funding Its termination will silence these efforts and undermine U.S commitments to American workers and workers worldwide the seventh largest exporter of electrical and electronics products in the world workers producing the semiconductors used to power a range of consumer products endure hazardous conditions and lack job safety and health protections which can cause detrimental health effects including fertility problems and hazards for pregnant women sought to improve occupational safety and health standards and address workers’ access to social benefits such as social security Many of the workers travel from other countries such as Bangladesh Myanmar and the Philippines and face additional challenges in the workplace sought to strengthen workers’ ability to take part in their workplace and their union and hold leadership positions to promote safe and healthy work environments by building strong and inclusive unions to effectively address OSH in the workplace Solidarity Center sought to increase engagement by workers and worker organizations with government officials and employers to negotiate resolve and prevent OSH abuses in the workplace through collective bargaining The programs also aim to level the playing field for workers in the United States by ensuring workers around the world are not exploited and abused in the frequent attempts by employers and governments to skirt the law in countries such as those in Asia But the funding for the Solidarity Center program to address dangerous conditions for workers producing electronics in Malaysia as with all DOL-funded programs in countries throughout the world App-based delivery drivers and drivers paid the minimum wage in Mexico celebrated the holidays with new legislative reform that recognizes them as workers and ensures their access to social security company profits and a Christmas (holiday) bonus App-based delivery drivers and drivers paid the minimum wage in Mexico are now recognized as workers and have access to social security entitled to worker benefits and protections under Mexican law will now have access to important social protections and benefits Mexico app-based drivers took part in a media conference as part of the campaign to pass a landmark law covering platform workers In a media conference with its partner UNTA members expressed support for the regulation and also highlighted areas for improvement such as recognizing connection time as part of total work hours UNTA is an affiliate  of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and part of its Latin American Platform Workers’ Network “This reform reaffirms what we have been saying for years: We are workers,” says the General Secretary of UNTA this historic achievement contributes to the dignity of digital workers in Mexico workers worldwide are turning to the platform-based economy to support themselves and their families While the rapid increase in app-based jobs offers millions of workers additional avenues to earn money it also creates new opportunities for employer exploitation through low wages lack of health care and an absence of job safety According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), digital platforms have created new opportunities and blurred the labor relationship between employers and workers the digital platform work model does not adhere to standards of decent work or fundamental ILO treaties (“conventions”) especially those on freedom of association collective bargaining and discrimination in employment and occupation Digital platform workers often earn low wages and lack access to social protections employment benefits such as paid vacation and opportunities for collective bargaining App-based drivers in Mexico waged multiple rallies in support of decent work bicycles and cars to deliver food and transport passengers receive no paid sick leave or vacation They work long hours and rush between deliveries risking their safety because if they do not the app—via the company—punishes them by lowering pay they receive no compensation from their employers ensuring that workers have the flexibility to define their own working hours and requiring the employer—such as Didi Rappi and Uber—to register workers in the nation’s social security program covering occupational risks and providing access to health and housing benefits Companies are required to register contracts with the government separation or similar concepts related to the employment relationship In Mexico, digital companies now must guarantee the publication of algorithmic management policies and may not manipulate income to distort the employment relationship or carry out contractual simulations. The law also prohibits withholding of workers’ wages The new law in Mexico is one of the most progressive in the world  in regulating work through digital platforms The members of the Federation of General Workers of Myanmar (FGWM) at the Charis Sculpture factory went on strike in November after the employer did not comply with the terms of a new contract negotiated in July The Hong Kong-owned Wise Unicorn Industrial Ltd., owner of Charis Sculpture, has an estimated annual revenue between $10 million and $50 million when workers protested the employer’s refusal to pay overtime as promised workers described being followed out of the factory After the workers went on strike inside the factory November 6 and boosted their list of demands to include dismissal of the director who they say assaulted two workers “He dragged me and then pushed me with force (Names are not used to protect workers’ privacy.) the company says the workers were dismissed for violating  the employment contract and “will be dealt with by existing law,” which workers say is an unlawful dismissal workers were denied entry to the factory and nearly 350 workers remain outside on strike Protests against low wages and poor working conditions remain risky fine porcelain and alloy statues for export to Europe and the United States They seek to receive family-supporting pay including a daily wage of 9,000 Myanmar kyats ($4.28) With overtime pay essential for basic support they call for a 2,000 Myanmar kyats (.98 cents) per hour overtime wage The workers say many need overtime but the employer does not select them—and overtime pay is “important for workers because the basic wage is not enough,” said one worker Women workers especially face physical and verbal harassment which is seeking safe workplace conditions an end to verbal and physical abuse and an environment with suitable temperature They also are seeking employer-paid medical care and an end to wage cuts when workers take leave Nearly 2,000 workers at textile factories in Casablanca health care protection and a voice on the job after joining the Moroccan Workers’ Union (UMT) and the federation of textile workers “We joined the union primarily to preserve our dignity which some managers have trampled on,” said one worker All 605 workers in three factories in Casablanca and the majority of the more than 1,000 workers in four additional factories in the area’s large textile industry joined the union workers at textile factories are able to address workplace safety and GBVH “we couldn’t find solutions to our issues or secure our legal rights which the company has neglected for more than five years.”  and ready-made garment factories are involved in leather production and received insufficient compensation when often required to work overtime—or engage in fewer hours than specified by the government and we only receive them after striking and protesting,” one worker stated when describing conditions before the union representation Another worker described being “required to work up to 240 hours a month instead of the legal 191 Achieving success in mobilizing and assisting textile workers to form unions was part of a two-year campaign involving Solidarity Center support in providing data and analysis of key employers the Solidarity Center trained a team led by two women and one man to head up the organizing drive the team conducted one-on-one outreach at the factories located in a difficult to access industrial zone organized offsite outreach meetings and collected worker stories about their needs and challenges in accessing their fundamental rights The outreach effort is essential for expanding the union’s efforts to broaden worker rights “Organizing textile workers is crucial to strengthening the union’s capacity to advocate for workers’ rights secure demands and build solidarity within the Moroccan Labor Union and the National Union of Textile and Ready-Made Garment Workers,” said Al-Arabi Hamouk general secretary of the National Federation of Textile Textile workers sought improved occupational health and safety in the factories and wanted to ensure the companies’ adherence to labor laws and payment to the country’s social protection fund  we have been deprived of health coverage because the company hasn’t paid the required contributions even though they are deducted from our wages,” one worker said abuses such as violence and harassment could be addressed workers suffered “from verbal and sexual harassment by some managers as well as arbitrary individual and collective dismissals when demand decreases or when we ask for our legal rights.” “The Solidarity Center played a critical role in the success of the campaign within the textile sector,” said Hamouk “The organizing team demonstrated the ability to strategize Assisting textile workers in forming unions moves forward their ability to achieve decent wages safe workplaces and essential health care coverage—and advances their democratic rights to freely form unions Said one union member: “We achieved dignity and the freedom to associate [email protected] This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page This report primarily aims to evaluate the growth of trade between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Recent developments underscore Iran’s growing economic integration with the EAEU facilitated by a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the active participation of the private sector Trade figures from Iran’s northern provinces reveal significant increases in both the volume and value of non-oil exports based on previous analyses by SpecialEurasia aims to provide an updated overview of Iran’s trade activities with EAEU member states Thanks to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 2019 and extended until October 2025 Iran’s trade relations with the EAEU have intensified in recent years facilitating greater market access for Iranian goods Mohammad Ali Dehghan Dehnavi, head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organisation (TPOI), highlighted Iran-EAEU trade has increased by over 2.5 times and emphasised the importance of competitive production to boost non-oil exports The province of Mazandaran serves as a case study of Iran’s enhanced trade activities the director general of Noshahr Customs Office Mazandaran exported 814,000 tonnes of non-oil goods between 21 March and 21 September 2024 a 6% increase compared to the same period in 2023 The total value of these exports amounted to over $260 million reflecting a substantial 61% increase compared to the previous year On October 8th, 2024 representatives from the Tula Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Mazandaran Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry met virtually to discuss potential business collaborations The parties agreed to continue these discussions through B2B meetings and sign a cooperation memorandum Tula also invited Mazandaran to participate in an upcoming economic forum signalling their commitment to building stronger economic ties The enhanced economic collaboration between Iran and the EAEU provides an opportunity for Tehran to strengthen its non-oil exports and pursue economic diversification thereby easing the repercussions of Western sanctions This deepening relationship, particularly with Moscow, is further reinforced by both countries’ involvement in developing the International North-South Transport Corridor (INTSC) which is expected to benefit not only them but also other EAEU members However, the escalating military tensions in the Middle East, marked by recent Iranian missile attacks against Israel in response to Tel Aviv’s actions in the Gaza Strip and against Hezbollah in Lebanon If these tensions escalate into a broader regional conflict the consequences would reverberate beyond Iran affecting the entire Eurasian geopolitical landscape This instability could complicate Tehran’s efforts to capitalise on its economic ties with the EAEU as regional security risks might overshadow trade opportunities While the trade initiatives between Tehran and the EAEU signal positive relations particularly considering the INTSC and the non-oil sector the evolving geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East represent a significant challenge To better understand the progress and potential of the EAEU as well as the future of Iranian exports to its member states it is helpful to monitor the Middle Eastern regional dynamics related to the Palestine situation and stay informed about the developments in the Ukraine conflict For further reports and consulting on Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, contact us at info@specialeurasia.com and request a call to discover our intelligence monitoring services Don’t Miss Our Next Course in Geopolitical Intelligence Analysis This is the SpecialEurasia online course designed for professionals and investigators aiming to enhance their ability to produce geopolitical forecasting and risk assessment reports Testata giornalistica registrata presso il Tribunale di Cagliari n 54/2025 del 09/01/2025 ©2024 All rights reserved Home / Sports Trojans win just two matches in loss to Burlington at home FAIRFIELD — For the first time this season Fairfield girls tennis suffered its second straight defeat the Trojans were bested once again on Monday night by the Grayhounds of Burlington It was a tough night for the Trojans as they were defeated 7-2 by the Grayhounds the two victories came in singles from Emma Wendland in the No Wendland was a winner in a hard fought match 9-8 (7-2) Wendland and Yammanur were defeated in the No Tula Sorflaten and Janell Furguson came up short 8-3 in the No Fairfield drops to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in SEC play A universe of sentences cannot properly convey the breadth of a life And sometimes a union of lives becomes so intertwined that one cannot withstand the loss of the other together for 72 years as a married couple and who died 19 days apart in June 2022 Tula was a young Navy nurse from Oklahoma and John was a Marine Corpsman from Maine when they met during their service commitments in Boston 30 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren later found them in bucolic “retirement” on Tims Ford Lake in Tenn Tula worked at Lock Haven Hospital and John was Lock Haven University’s Vice President of Academic Affairs then Professor of Biology and Abscuf teacher’s union president before his retirement Zaharis was instrumental in bringing ROTC to campus and naming Akeley Hall They will be remembered as great supporters of education the arts and a constant exuberance for life’s curiosities Copyright © 2025 Ogden Publications of Pennsylvania or use the navigation above to locate the post [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] a celebration of the new academic year with music opens a fall season of events as students return to the San Diego State University campus The late-night festivities, sponsored by Associated Students (AS) and the divisions of Student Affairs and Business and Financial Affairs, have been an SDSU welcome (and welcome back) tradition since 2008. Most events start at 10 p.m. and run until 2 a.m. All are free and participants must have a valid SDSU RedID and observe all facial covering requirements The series kicks off with a four-hour First Night Fest food trucks and inflatable games are scheduled along with presentations from student leaders and organizations A Moonlight Maskerade Welcome Back Dance begins at 10 p.m This year’s end-of-summer movie screening is the 1985 teen classic “The Breakfast Club,” with trivia The following week brings a country-themed Barnyard Bash (Aug. 26) and a two-night campus carnival with rides, game booths, music and food (Aug. 27-28). Additional information and policies can be found at the Aztec Nights website. Aztecs Nights events continue in September with Jokers Are Wild: Casino 4) and the movie “Raya and the Last Dragon” (Sept 17 with a community block party at the student union In addition to Aztec Nights, new students can sample from a variety of daytime Welcome Weeks activities to learn about student organizations The first weeks of the semester also bring a slew of additional welcoming and orientation events for all students Student Ability Success Center Meet and Greet Learn how to use Student Ability Success Center (SAC) Connect SDSU Entrepreneurship experience; Meet SDSU entrepreneurs and learn about the ZIP Launchpad startup incubator Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex 103 Center for Intercultural Relations Open House DREAMer and Mixed Immigration Status Welcome Office of Education Opportunity Programs & Ethnic Affairs Welcome Back Meet the ECRT (Economic Crisis Response Team Burritos and Budget: Plan out a more financially successful school year Student Involvement Expo: Student organizations from across SDSU will have information booths on campus walkways from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Student Involvement Expo: Fraternity and Sorority Life walkways across campus and Goldberg Courtyard provides information on 21 Sport Club teams the facilities at the newly renovated and expanded Aztec Recreation Center with information on 21 competitive sport club teams and yoga classes led by Aztec Recreation group fitness instructors The Aztecs open the 2021 football season against New Mexico State at 7:30 p.m This will be the first home game since 2019 with fans in attendance the stadium Aztec replica jerseys will be given away to the first 10,000 fans.AND MORE Additional AS-sponsored events can be found on a calendar here Events@State maintains a calendar for events during the entire academic year the Ramirez family opened Fiesta Mexican Restaurant on County Street in Somerset they’re marking another milestone: their fourth restaurant were busy putting the finishing touches on the new restaurant at 634 State Road on Monday he said the three keys to their successful restaurants are “service After opening the first site at 117 County St. they followed it up five years later with a second location at 34 Bedford St. they launched their third location at 175 Mansfield Ave. in the site formerly occupied by the Route 6 Diner and before that will serve their customers who come to the Somerset location from Dartmouth and Westport The Ramirez family started working on the interior back in February with Efrain and Zoel doing much of the work on the restaurant themselves including the tilework around arched windows in the dining area The decor features tiled floors and warm-hued classic Mexican tones The menu will be the same as at the other locations offering a variety of meat combinations of fajitas and chimichangas in addition to signature chicken featuring a half-pound of seasoned skirt steak their signature chicken dish with mushrooms Nachos are a popular item from among the appetizers and vegetarian selections include the garden quesadilla spinach enchiladas and a hefty veggie burrito the family moved here from California to open the original Fiesta Mexican Restaurant back when there were few family-owned Mexican restaurants in the area The recipes were from his father and his mother “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to be successful when we came here — not a lot people had tried authentic Mexican food,” recalled Zoel they also own a 700-acre ranch in Union de Tula they continue to strive to build on their success by putting the “best Mexican food on the table,” Zoel said The success also entails routinely working seven days a week who manages the family restaurants alongside his father and brothers “I don’t feel comfortable when I don’t come into the restaurant,” he said [email protected] [email protected] Due to the current international situation the European Judo Union announces with regret that the following two events have been cancelled: Torpedo Moscow have been fined 900,000 rubles ($16,300) by the Russian Football Union for incidents involving their supporters during a Premier League match against Arsenal Tula Russian soccer's governing body found the Moscow club's supporters guilty of unveiling Nazi symbols at the game on Sunday and their fans were also involved in running battles with the police and rival supporters Torpedo will have to play two home games behind closed doors "We made an investigation into the banner which supporters from Torpedo put up and one of them had a Celtic cross on it which is a racist symbol and is used by white supremacy groups," the head of the Russian Football Union's Disciplinary Committee Artur Grigoryants told reporters Tuesday Torpedo fans have been from attending the team's next three away games after being found guilty of offensive chants and throwing fireworks at Arsenal Tula supporters The Moscow club had already been punished three times this season for the racist behavior of their supporters The last incident occurred on March 15 when they abused Zenit St Torpedo will now play their next four home matches behind closed doors They lie 12th in the Russian Premier League Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression Siberia swings between extremes: bitter winters and scorching summers Vast landscapes virtually untouched by human hands and others profoundly changed by the extraction of natural resources and some of the worst air pollution in the world The Soviet Union focused its attention on the development of Siberia starting in the 1950s in an effort to bolster a lagging economy. Mariia Koskina, a doctoral candidate in history at Binghamton University researches that tension between economic development and nature preservation and how the Soviet legacy continues to shape the Eurasian and global environment to this day Koskina recently received a Stanford U.S.-Russia Forum (SURF) fellowship joining a cohort of 51 scholars from 11 countries exploring issues of mutual interest to the United States and Russia in-person conferences will be replaced by virtual roundtables and seminars with leaders across business government and academia from both countries She’s part of SURF’s Climate and Environment working group which is focusing on wildfires in Siberia and Alaska “It is a fantastic opportunity for me to build connections in and outside of my field to expand my knowledge of U.S.–Russian relations and cooperation in various areas,” she said Koskina holds a master’s degree in linguistics from the Higher School of Economics in Nizhny Novgorod She came to Binghamton in 2015 on a Fulbright scholarship earned a master’s degree in American history and interned at the United Nations’ Department of Public Information as a multimedia archivist and at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as a Russian language specialist working on the International Cold War History Project her doctoral research investigates Soviet environmental policies and popular attitudes toward nature practices in Siberia’s Yenisei basin from the 1950s through the 1970s “Mariia is pursuing a theoretically important and yet also playful project to be a passive recipient of human care and development becomes the agent of a new Soviet environmental subjectivity,” DeHaan said the expectations of Soviet administrators — and of us as historians — get ‘flipped on their head,’ and the mighty waters of the Yenisei River suddenly assume an important role as agents of historical change There are delightful and eye-opening ironies in the material she has uncovered.” Siberia is a huge landmass — a third larger than the United States — with natural resources ranging from water and timber to gold hydroelectric dams sprang up on Siberian rivers Koskina specifically looks at the city of Krasnoyarsk and its dam on the Yenisei River one of the most powerful hydroelectric generators of its time The dam enabled a local industrial revolution It also changed the landscape beyond recognition The river no longer freezes during the bitter Siberian winter isn’t the whole story; the Soviet Union also had its own home-grown environmentalism emerged in pre-Soviet times; they were modeled somewhat after the American national park system but the number dipped as more land was harnessed for economic use; some of these reserves were recovered in the 1960s One of these nature reserves was established in Krasnoyarsk between the dam and the city The dam site also included a “green zone” that prohibited hunting and fishing While the Soviet Union had no private or non-governmental environmental organizations it did have the All-Russian Society for Nature Protection Green and blue patrols at schools organized cleanups of forests and local water bodies and city planning efforts attempted to preserve native vegetation the USSR and the USA squared off in a “green race,” trying to demonstrate whether socialism or capitalism better protected the environment The USSR showcased its ideas on environmental protection during the 1974 World’s Fair in Spokane and in 1978 published a comprehensive list of endangered animal and plant species President Richard Nixon and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev signed an agreement calling for environmental cooperation Russia and the United States don’t often take bilateral action to address the climate or the environment today underscored by President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord “The history says that our leaders can and the state of our environment says that they should work together better; after all and Russia are some of the world’s major polluters,” she said While the Soviet Union’s “conquest of nature” storyline is common in scholarship Koskina’s work also considers the everyday encounters of Soviet newcomers with Siberia’s landscape but they also wrote poems about the region’s beauty tended city greenery and prosecuted poachers East European and Eurasian Studies Dissertation Research Grant which funded the first round of her fieldwork and saw firsthand why its name means “marvelous mountains.” “A visit to the Stolby nature reserve was the highlight; Siberian nature and landscapes are stunning and very different from central Russia,” she said But she also experienced the downsides of Siberian development: bad air and frigid temperatures caused a painful bout with bronchitis She knows that tension between the economy and nature from her own childhood in Tula Her father worked at a metallurgical plant for more than 50 years but the industry that provided her family with financial security also created the soot they breathed and which coated the fruit and vegetables they grew But the love for the land rooted deep in Koskina; when she moved to the United States she planted blackcurrants to give her a literal taste of home she hopes to continue her career in Western academia writing about Russia and the Soviet Union in English has been a real mystery and a myth; both countries have gotten used to defining themselves through what they believe to be their differences,” Koskina said “I think that we can get closer to the truth regarding both nations while looking at their commonalities of which there are more than you would think.” Research explores the Soviet Union’s environmental legacy by | Jan 6 UNTA members march to demand recognition of labor relations and rights for platform-based workers in Mexico [email protected] Inside the Central Committee during Brezhnev’s stagnation Washington, D.C., May 25, 2017 –The National Security Archive marks what would have been Anatoly Sergeyevich Chernyaev’s 96th birthday today with the publication for the first time in English of his extraordinary diary for 1977 written from inside the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union where he was then a Deputy Director of the International Department The Archive’s dear friend and partner in opening historical records passed away this past March but his voice is with us and remains irreplaceable for anybody who wants to understand not only the end of the Cold War in the 1980s but also what was going on at the very top of the political hierarchy in Moscow in the darkest years before the dawn of the new thinking that would put Chernyaev at the right hand of Mikhail Gorbachev.  The diary of 1977 continues the themes seen in the earlier 1970s chapters chronicling the decline and atrophy of the Soviet political system starting with its top leadership.  The first entry of the year vividly describes Chernyaev’s conversation with his close friend and confidant at the time in the International Department—Karen Brutents.  They share their feeling of “despair” about the Soviet Union’s “dead end,” their pessimism about where the country is going their embarrassment at the party’s empty ideological words and the constant flattery with new medals and awards that the leadership demands.  The diary describes the long decline of then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev who sometimes is barely capable of reading prepared texts in large letters but is forced by his position to make long speeches and travel abroad.  Yet Chernyaev also details how Brezhnev occasionally promoted new initiatives himself proposing a détente speech to greet the new U.S emphasizing his genuine desire for arms control and peace.  The speech won praise from Western Europe (especially for one of the sections written by Chernyaev) and some blunting of American rhetoric about the Soviet threat Also telling are the diary’s descriptions of the rest of the Soviet leadership at the time with one Politburo meeting featuring only half of its members since the rest were ailing in various hospitals often the source of Chernyaev’s frustration the head of the International Department Boris Ponomarev (referred to as B.N in the diary).  The 1977 diary describes the process of drafting the text of the new Soviet Constitution as Ponomarev’s pet project—grand statements without real substance A key theme of the 1977 diary revolves around Chernyaev’s particular area of responsibility and sincere concern:  the USSR’s declining relationships with fraternal communist parties.  Chernyaev details the tensions especially with the Eurocommunists such as Carrillo in Spain and the Italians who seek exclusive interviews with Brezhnev yet criticize Soviet authoritarianism at the same time.  Chernyaev laments that the International Communist Movement is falling apart losing steam and no longer using the USSR as its model The 1977 diary also provides a unique insider Soviet view of the first Carter administration venture in U.S.-Soviet relations the mission to Moscow by new Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in March which utterly failed.  The Carter proposal for deep cuts in nuclear weapons offended the Soviets as a show of disregard of Soviet interests and initiatives and of the negotiation work that had already been done with Nixon and Ford.  As Chernyaev’s diary shows proposals were meant to undermine the real security of the USSR and thought them a Zbigniew Brzezinski ploy in his competition with Vance.  The diary describes incredible patience on the part of Vance while in Moscow on the receiving end of real mistreatment by the Soviet leadership The 1977 diary has the first assessment of Carter as champion of human rights and the Soviet dissidents’ protector.  Soviet officialdom saw dissidents as a major irritant and it is clear from the diary that Chernyaev does not hold them in high esteem while ironically sharing very similar views with them about the state of the Soviet political system.  Chernyaev often describes his conversations with close friends and colleagues about the economic and political situation in the country getting progressively worse while the people were endlessly patient “as long as there was no war.” (For more on the decline of détente during the pivotal late 1970s, visit the National Security Archive’s Carter-Brezhnev Project page which presents compilations of declassified documents and a series of extraordinary conference transcripts from the 1990s featuring face-to-face discussions between former U.S One of the many ironies in this chapter of the Chernyaev diary is the author’s genuine obsession with and admiration for Lenin.  After reading a particular Lenin essay Chernyaev remarks on the “brilliance of thought and phrase” and describes his reactions as “I would jump up and run around the room chuckling with delight” – presaging the attitude of his future boss as a “return to Lenin.” But that would not happen until the passing of the aging and ill generation of Soviet leaders so vividly described and criticized in the 1977 pages of the landmark Chernyaev diary Chernyaev to The National Security Archive Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1972May 25 Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1973May 25 Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1974May 25 Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1975May 25 Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1976May 25 Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1977May 25 Anatoly S. Chernyaev Diary, 1978May 25 The Chernyaev Diary, 1979Mat 25 The “Irreplaceable” Chernyaev Diary 1980May 25 The Chernyaev Centennial, Diary 1981May 25 The Chernyaev Diary, 1982May 25,  2022 The Chernyaev Diary, 1983May 25,  2023 Waiting for Gorbachev: The Chernyaev Diary, 1984May 25 The Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev, 1985May 25 The Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev, 1986May 25 The Diary of Anatoly S. Chernyaev: 1987-1988May 23 The Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev, 1989May 26 The Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev, 1990May 26 The Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev, 1991May 25 Gelman LibraryThe George Washington University2130 H Street Phone: 202/994-7000Fax: 202/994-7005Contact by email     ​ support our work - donate The National Security Archive is committed to digital accessibility. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on this page, let us know via our Contact form Contents of this website (c) The National Security Archive 1985-2025For educational or noncommercial use contact the Archive using the form above for permission the Fairfield Elks Lodge sponsors the Fairfield Middle School \u201cStudents of the Month\u201d award Home / Community the Fairfield Elks Lodge sponsors the Fairfield Middle School “Students of the Month” award The purpose of this award is to acknowledge positive contributions of FMS students at school These positive contributions range from assisting teachers and peers in classroom activities to displaying characteristics as a role model in and out of the classroom The “Students of the Month” certificates are awarded after a nomination and voting process is completed by each grade level teaching team The following paragraphs were written by FMS staff and faculty who selected Students of the Month in each grade from fifth to eighth Congratulations to Miranda Lehigh for receiving the May Student of the Month award Miranda's energetic personality is a joy in the classroom She always comes to school happy and ready to learn She loves being around friends and shows a love of learning She is kind to her peers and is passionate about life Miranda is well-deserving of this award and is an excellent model to others Tristin Markle has been selected as the 5th grade May Student of the Month Tristin has been a joy to have in class this year He treats others with kindness and is always willing to lend a hand I can always count on him to do the right thing and to help be a leader to others I would like to select Peyton Freeman as May Student of the Month Peyton is a delight to have in the classroom I appreciate everything that she has to offer such as her great attitude and her determination to overcome difficult tasks Congratulations to Benjamin Strickland on being the May Student of the Month Benjamin is a student that I can always trust to do what he is supposed to do and to be doing it to the best of his abilities Benjamin is not only responsible when it comes to doing his own work but he is also very willing to lend a helping hand to others Ben takes risks and inspires his classmates keep working hard and being the awesome student that you are The 6th Grade Team is proud to announce Bella Buckley as our Student of the Month for May Bella is a quiet leader and is a very conscientious student who is always kind to others Bella has a strong work ethic and a strong desire to learn Congratulations to Blake Burnett on being chosen as the 6th grade Student of the Month for May Blake comes to class every day with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn Blake gives his absolute best effort in everything he does Merrick Flanagan is proudly announced as the 7th Grade Team’s selection for May Student of the Month Merrick comes to class every day with a positive attitude and is prepared to learn She has a strong work ethic and takes pride in her work She works well with her peers in a variety of settings It is our pleasure to name Tula Sorflaten as the 7th Grade Team’s pick as Student of the Month for May She is kind to others and helps create a positive culture in the classroom She works well with others in pairs and small groups across all classes The 8th grade team is proud to announce that Donavan Titus is the Student of the Month for May Donavan has shown outstanding work ethic this month and quite frankly He works hard to complete all of his assignments on time and strives to do his best on those assignments as well He continues to be an excellent role model when it comes to behavior expectations in the classroom The 8th grade team is excited to announce that Annabelle Teel has been named the May Student of the Month Annabelle exhibits all the characteristics of an exemplary student -- by being prepared and showing how a respectable student should act She always shows amazing effort in all she does and is a worker who leads quietly by example All Saints cemetery in the Russian city of Tula is home to thousands of hidden and overgrown tombs Several burial sites are laid out in Communist design and decorated with the symbols of its ideology thick wall keeps out the sounds of car hooters and acceleration Behind the wall the dead have their own city where silence rules and time seems to stand still All Saints cemetery in Tula encompasses a huge area Innumerable graves disappear among wild vegetation and winding paths several of the tombstones were given a peculiar layout the bereaved seem to have had a strong desire to mark death the way religions normally do [email protected] by | Feb 7 App-based drivers in Nigeria are joining together to win decent work Drivers in Nigeria won the country’s first union covering platform-based workers a victory that shows it is possible for “unions to organize workers in the gig economy,” says Ayoade Ibrahim secretary general of the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria (AUATWN) Platform workers in Nigeria join with Labor Ministry officials to finalize recognition of their union The Ministry of Labor’s recognition of AUATWN empowers it to have a say in determining the terms and conditions of drivers working for Uber, Bolt and other app-based transportation companies in the country, and covers drivers who deliver food and passengers or engage in other services. The union worked with the Nigeria Labor Congress throughout the campaign for recognition In a statement approving AUATWN as union representative of app-based workers last week the Labor Ministry pointed out that while the freedom to form unions and collectively bargain are internationally protected rights app-based drivers often must work long hours to support themselves and pay for expenses like vehicle maintenance “I work 15 to 18 hours a day. Long hours working is actually not safe for drivers,” says Ayobami Lawal, a platform driver in Lagos. “That is why you see in the news that the driver had an accident. It is because of fatigue, because there is no time to rest.” Drivers also risk being assaulted and even killed on the job as platform companies do not screen riders riders have access to drivers’ name and personal phone numbers a move that did little to improve drivers’ pay and nothing to improve conditions As the process to register a union with the government dragged platform worker associations made key gains in mobilizing workers through Facebook The campaign also includes legal action and lobbying Parliament to extend labor laws and social protections to workers in the informal sector Three worker associations engaged in the campaign—the National Union of Professional App-based Transport Workers (NUPA-BTW) the Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association of Nigeria (PEDPAN) and the National Coalition of Ride-Sharing Partners (NACORP)—last year joined together to form AUATWN “We cannot go to war with a divided mind,” says Ayoade Unions face unique challenges organizing app-based workers but by mobilizing members through online apps unions also have the ability to involve more workers in meetings If the delegates can’t join for a physical meeting Members’ questions can be quickly answered on social platforms and the union operation is more transparent members “will see how the money to the union is moving from the app to the account Every member knows how the money will be used.” have assisted platform workers in many of these cases Ayoade also is mindful of the cost some workers paid for a lack of decent work “Some of the people we started together with in this campaign they lost their life along the line,” he says The lack of insurance or social benefits mean that if drivers are attacked or robbed or even die on the job they and their family are left all on their own Although he is bullied and even threatened for his work Ayoade says such tactics only make him see his efforts are effective “God gave me the opportunity to help people in this struggle I am doing something that is improving people’s lives.” by | Nov 27 Workers are on strike at Charis Sculpture factory in Myanmar demanding living wages and an end to workplace abuse [email protected] [email protected] is importing tequila made from agave grown at his brother's plantation in Mexico Sergio Barajas started planning for the current tequila craze decades ago growing up in the Mexican state of Jalisco He and his brother Carlos daydreamed about growing agave and distilling Mexico’s national liquor in their small hometown of Unión de Tula in the countryside southeast of Puerto Vallarta he moved to Seattle and has lived in the area for 27 years working for the city’s parks department and his own flooring business but Carlos stayed in Mexico and several years ago started an agave plantation He pays a distillery to make it into his family’s own brand of tequila avoiding the fate of some new agave farmers who have had trouble finding buyers for their plants because of a market glut began selling their family’s El Relingo brand tequila in Washington state It cost about $30,000 to launch the importing business from their home in Issaquah the state has ordered more than 5,000 bottles of El Relingo which is sold in liquor stores and a growing number of restaurants beginning with Las Margaritas in Issaquah Sergio is astonished by the number of tequila brands available 20 different bottles in a single restaurant He considers himself blessed to be able to start a business in the down economy “We thought it would be an awful time to launch our tequila,” he said Then they saw the liquor control board’s projections about sales climbing in 2009 the state’s fastest-growing liquor category for years “Maybe God is on our side,” he said where they expect to begin distilling El Relingo later this year where so much of the liquor is made that “by the time you’re in the square of the town you’re basically drunk already,” Sergio said introduced El Relingo to liquor buyers at Tequila Fest in Las Vegas last year By the time the festival rolls around again this fall which he figures will cost at least $10,000 He offers four types of tequila: unaged or “blanco” ($26) moderately aged or “reposado” ($29.65) aged more than a year or “anejo” ($34.65) and a version called “gold” that is not 100 percent agave ($18.75) Much as he wants people to drink his tequila Sergio pleads with customers not to drink and drive “Please put that in the article,” he said and asked his daughter to write the message in Spanish: No manejes borracho a longtime women’s clothing boutique in downtown Seattle Owners Michael Smith and Carol Baldwin said they want to pursue another type of retail venture after more than 30 years will take Totally Michael’s space on Union Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues Toys R Us is offering consumers who missed a gift-card redemption deadline at KB Toys stores an opportunity to exchange them for a 15-percent-off coupon valid through the end of this month KB Toys recently stopped accepting gift cards purchased at its stores as part of its bankruptcy proceedings The Red Apple Market in Newport Hills closed Jan Owners Lenny and Laurie Rose still own two Red Apple Markets: the “Hilltop” store on Beacon Hill and the “Promenade” location in the Central District a children’s clothing concept by J.Crew will open its first Seattle-area store at University Village this spring The store is taking space occupied by Glassybaby which will close at the end of this month and move to another U Village location Trophy Cupcakes will open this spring at University Village taking space occupied by pet store Buster & Sullivan Jamba Juice began offering oatmeal this month hoping its 731 stores can capitalize on the popular breakfast meal offered by Starbucks With its slow-cooked organic steel-cut oats Jamba Juice “takes on the world of instant oatmeal (hint think Starbucks),” a spokeswoman wrote in a story pitch Starbucks introduced oatmeal last year as part of a program to offer healthy food alternatives Executives say it is popular with customers Retail Report appears Fridays. Melissa Allison covers the food and beverage industry. She can be reached at 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com. Amy Martinez covers goods, services and online retail. She can be reached at 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser Tula Serves of Jackson Township recently was named Ms The 85-year-old was walking through the airport in Atlantic City when she was approached by three women Senior Ohio 2009 and asked me if I had talent,” Serves said “Then they said they wanted me to participate in this pageant.” having just lost a brother and a niece recently but one of the women called her and recommended she take voice lessons She found Rose Darling at Pellegrino Music Center and signed up for a half-hour voice lesson in December She performed publicly the first time in Laughlin in January during the Winter Break Pageant for women 60 and older She will be going back to Atlantic City in October to compete for the Ms Serves earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Akron She received a master of arts degree in education from Columbia University Teacher’s College in New York She taught in Akron Public Schools more than 30 years Melanie Wilson recently was honored by Ohio Mutual Insurance Group as a 2007-2009 member of the company’s Customer Service Representative Council She received the Making a Difference recognition to acknowledge her professional dedication over the past three years retired president and chief executive officer of Union Hospital in Dover recognizing a significant lifetime contribution to the health care field in Ohio This is the Ohio Hospital Association’s highest honor named for the association’s former president Hospitals gathered to honor 75 health care heroes recently registered nurse case manager at Salem Community Hospital in Salem an emergency response system that links elderly and homebound individuals directly to the emergency department She installed the devices in subscribers’ homes and trained them how to use the system Buchmann also worked to establish Hospice Care in Columbiana County and she was one of three original facilitators for the I Can Cope Cancer Support Group The Ohio Patient Safety Institute Best Practice Award was given to Aultman Hospital presented by the Ohio Patient Safety Institute honors a health care organization for implementing the most innovative evidence-based patient safety practice in the state Hospital Safety Awards are given to hospitals for successful hospital safety programs and superior employee safety records honors and other items of interest to Denise Sautters Information also can be faxed to her at (330) 454-5745 or e-mailed to her at denise.sautters@cantonrep.com by | Nov 4 App-based drivers in Sri Lanka work long hours to earn sufficient pay Imagine frequently working more than 11 hours a day—or even up to 16 hours a day—to earn a living Those hours are what nearly all (93 percent) app-based passenger and delivery drivers say they must work to support themselves and their families in Sri Lanka according to a new Solidarity Center report With 100 Sinhalese and Tamil platform workers surveyed in Colombo, the Sri Lanka capital, and several interviewed, Low Pay, No Support: Delivery Drivers Fight for Worker Rights examines the struggles of app-based workers who are not covered by hard-won labor laws that mandate a minimum wage social protections and the right to join or form a union and bargain collectively “The money I earn each day is just enough to cover that day’s expenses; most of it goes toward petrol and other vehicle expenses,” says Abdul Illias so we must continue working daily to manage for the next day,” says Illias a 50-year-old father of three who drives passengers (names were changed to protect workers’ privacy) While the rapid increase in app-based jobs around the world offers millions of workers additional avenues to earn money The new report identifies these challenges and seeks to ensure platform workers receive decent work With increasing growth in the informal economy employers and the government should engage in dialogue to ensure worker rights are protected and the countries benefit from the platform economy None of the drivers or deliverers surveyed or interviewed receive vacation or sick pay they receive no compensation from their employers and often do not even receive a phone call a 38-year-old bicycle delivery driver for Uber Eats “We are on the roads for 10–12 hours a day and we have no support if we get into accidents,” she says I had an accident where both my hands were broken The company expects us to be admitted to a private hospital for treatment to receive a larger [insurance] payout but we can’t do that; we don’t have that kind of money.” The report also shows how workers are “managed” by algorithmic platforms that determine how they get paid and reported that they sometimes get cheated out of hard-earned wages as app-based companies reel in workers and then change the rules “There is a difference between the actual distance and what the app indicates,” says Jayasinghe Lanka “I’ve observed that Uber reduces 100 meters for every kilometer it automatically reduces it by one kilometer and shows it as nine kilometers I joined Uber when it first started in Sri Lanka Women passenger and delivery drivers experience even more difficulty who supports her mother with her pay as an Uber Eats delivery driver we don’t have a proper facility nearby for sanitary needs and even though they know a woman will pick up the order The app selecting main roads instead of smaller ones would improve our safety They should be more mindful of the roads they choose.” Delivery and passenger drivers in Sri Lanka are now joining together to form a union—and demand change who is organizing app-based platform workers in Sri Lanka says drivers are “working to build strong collective bargaining power to negotiate better terms and conditions.” A key part of drivers’ campaign for fairness is addressing arbitrary and unfair ​algorithms Delivery workers suffer from bans from the app plans to advocate and negotiate transparent and fair pricing mechanisms and fair revenue-sharing models Attanapola and others members seek to register their union under the name Sri Lanka App Workers Unions and to negotiate contracts that establish reasonable work hours and breaks that protect workers’ health and safety guard against exploitation and enable app-based taxi drivers and delivery workers to earn decent wages without unreasonably long hours “We also will advocate for safe and healthy working conditions including measures to prevent workplace injuries and harassment,” he said The union looks to provide solutions “for minimal to zero resting places and sanitation facilities in major cities around Sri Lanka.” Sri Lanka’s app-based taxi drivers and delivery workers are classified as freelancers or self-employed workers an independent worker status outside labor regulation App-based workers are seeking coverage by the same labor regulations as protect those in the formal sector workplace safety and health standards and health coverage “I think the government should intervene in this sector and establish regulations companies like Uber and PickMe will always benefit while we get nothing,” says P Championing worker rights in Colombo and beyond requires workers joining together “We encourage app workers “to join the trade union and participate actively in its activities like advocating for safe and healthy working conditions.” [email protected] Women make up over half of Myanmar’s population yet significant obstacles remain for women to be able to participate in political processes and to achieve equal representation in Myanmar’s state institutions Before the military coup on 1 February 2021 Myanmar’s 2020 general elections saw an increased number of women elected as members in legislatures (16 per cent) in comparison to the 2015 elections (13 per cent) The post-coup uprising of Myanmar’s people in a massive civil disobedience movement (CDM), in which women made up 60 % of protestors,[1] and women garment workers civil society organisations and human rights defenders working on women’s rights have taken a leading role has created unique opportunities for Myanmar’s legitimate democratic actors - the National Unity Government (NUG) the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and the National Union Consultative Council (NUCC) - to work towards gender equality in Myanmar’s future institutions the People’s Assembly decided to include a 30 per cent quota for women in different levels of decision-making mechanisms in Myanmar’s future democratic institutions The implementation of this quota will require further detailed discussion and weighing of constitutional design options among the democratic actors involved in Myanmar’s ongoing constitution building process The amended Federal Democracy Charter (FDC) endorsed by the People’s Assembly establishes a Women Rights and Gender Equality Commission and contains a set of expanded fundamental human rights provisions including gender quality and children’s rights and a prohibition of discrimination on any grounds Postal Address:Strömsborgsbron 1  SE-103 34 StockholmSweden Palaces of Culture—known in Russian as Dvrortzi Kultury but few are operational or properly funded Almost two years ago, Dmitry Lookianov started driving around central Russia to document what remains of 18 of these places, including simple wooden rural clubs, huge constructivist buildings, and palaces of the Stalin era, for his book, Dkdance.* While some of the DKs are still used he found many in bad shape and in need of repair his photos represent a tradition in decline and people are losing their interest increasingly in such institutions as there are many ways to spend free time now Cultural programs at DKs have really become outdated and there is nothing with which to fill the gaps,” Lookianov said via email it was popular to go to discos at the DKs but today it is irrelevant as young people prefer to go to nightclubs and bars.” the DKs were intended to “contribute to public education and promote party ideas.” Traces of the grand ambitions of their former Soviet proprietors remain in some of the DKs Lookianov said he saw Soviet murals and mosaics stripped away and others crudely covered over with plaster “Nowadays the government doesn’t pay enough attention to cultural policy a DK often remains the only institution of its kind It makes you wonder about a strong cultural imbalance in Russia.” 2015: This post originally misidentified palaces from the Stalin era as “constructivist buildings.” The photographer Dmitry Lookianov photographed both constructivist buildings and palaces from the Stalin era The match, won 1-0 by Tula, was blighted by violence in the stands with Spartak fans climbing on to the roof of the stadium and throwing flares and other objects at rival supporters. The club was fined for the banner, with the Russian football union saying: “Due to the public display by their supporters of a banner, which included racist symbols (a Celtic cross), Spartak have been fined. “The club will also be banned from having supporters attend their next two away games (this will not include women and children up to the age of 12) in the Russian Premier League.” The head of the disciplinary committee, Artur Grigoryants, said: “Russia has signed up to all the necessary documents supporting the fight against racism and discrimination. “A swastika and a Celtic cross are two of the main symbols, which are absolutely necessary to banish from the walls within a stadium along with banners with these emblems.” Arsenal Tula were fined £11,000 with the bulk of that sum for failing to provide adequate safety measures, leading to a supporter falling off the roof of the stadium and breaking both his arms. Arsenal will also be forced to play their next Russian Premier League home match at a neutral venue. Spartak are seventh on 36 points, while Arsenal are 13th on 20 points. By EMN Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day Here we have an ugly duckling of a Russian small arm These hold a significant place in the history of Russian firearms design Expelled from the Kharkov Technical Institute in 1905 Korovin’s journey took him to the Belgian arms industry before he returned to Russia during World War One he joined the Tula Arsenal in 1920 and went on to create the Tula-Korovin the first semi-automatic pistol developed in the Soviet Union This pioneering firearm showcased Korovin’s engineering skills and set the stage for the introduction of other renowned Soviet firearms like the TT-33 which achieved immense popularity with over half a million units produced These achievements cement Korovin’s legacy as a significant contributor to the development of Russian firearms Lot 2601: Eight European Semi-Automatic Pistols from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1035/2601/eight-european-semiautomatic-pistols If you want to subscribe to our monthly newsletter CarbonMedia OutdoorHub // TheFirearmBlog // AllOutdoor // ActionHub // AgDaily © AllOutdoor • All Rights Reserved • Carbon Media Group Outdoors The Voice Of Sikkim Tula Ram Upreti is a 98-year-old farmer from Assam Lingzey village in Pakyong district of Sikkim He has been practicing organic farming for the last eight decades and has been a pioneer in cultivating paddy and other vegetables organically Upreti comes from a family of organic farmers he has been continuing the legacy of his forefathers He had to stop regular farming about 5-6 years ago due to knee-related ailments but he has been a champion of organic farming taking the silk route on foot with a cargo of rice Upreti also served as a local panchayat member from Lingzey ward under Assam Lingzey Gram Panchayat Unit for 25 years He was also a two-time panchayat president and retired from social service in 1996 Tula Ram Upreti studied till the fifth standard at Tashi Namgyal Higher Secondary School which is now known as TN Senior Secondary School served as a minister and legislator from the Rhenock Assembly constituency from 1979-99 Upreti was Sikkim’s lone pick for the Padma Shri a prestigious award given by the Government of India His dedication and hard work towards organic farming have been an inspiration to many and he continues to be a role model for generations to come like us on Facebook fb.com/thevoiceofsikkim or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/thevoicesikkim and Instagram instagram.com/thevoiceofsikkim Co-ordination meeting regarding various issues pertaining to tourism such as regularization of tourist taxi fares,… where a man allegedly killed his 14-year-old son following…