NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Focusing on social equity, a black woman whose business certifies residents for Connecticut’s medical marijuana card is taking advantage of measures in a new state law that target the issue most important to her. Kebra Smith-Bolden, a former nurse and founder of CannaHealth, aims to provide security for people in her community who consume or medicate with cannabis. A groundbreaking part of the new law, which went into effect July 1, is social equity. It requires half of all licenses for entry into the state’s marijuana business be reserved for social-equity applicants, those from areas disproportionately affected…
Author: zenger.news
CANBERRA, Australia — Australians maintained their sense of wellbeing through 2020 despite the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new survey has found. While the adversity faced by Australians during the pandemic might have been expected to result in a decline in happiness, the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index report saw national wellbeing move out of its average range to reach its highest score in 20 years. The report shows those who experienced Covid-19 hardship were often able to see the silver lining. “Most participants identified positive experiences including better work-life balance, more quality time with their families, living more simply, having greater empathy for others,…
CANBERRA, Australia — A renowned musician and piano teacher who was jailed for sexually abusing pupils more than 15 years ago have lost another court battle. Victor Makarov, who is in his late 60s, lived in Ukraine from the age of three until he emigrated to Australia in 1998 to take up a position at the Australian Institute of Music. The Australian Institute of Music is an Australian private tertiary education provider, with campuses in Sydney, New South Wales, and Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1968, the Australian Institute of Music delivers education for careers in the Australian music, entertainment, and performing…
SYDNEY — Residents in southwest Sydney have been charged hundreds of dollars to receive the Pfizer vaccine. Despite government rules, it should be free. A general practitioner’s clinic in Campsie has been charging for consultations and registration before administering the vaccine. A woman in her 20s said that she had paid AU$250 ($183) to receive the Pfizer jab from the Blessed Health Care clinic at Evaline Street after queuing up on July 24. The Malaysian woman, who works as a tiler, said she did not want to wait months to get the Pfizer vaccine given the high virus transmission rates where she lives.…
SYDNEY — Modeling and health advice supporting new measures for the extension of Greater Sydney’s lockdown should be released immediately, the New South Wales opposition said. After reporting a new daily high of 177 local cases, an “upset and frustrated” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian extended the citywide lockdown to August 28. Two million people in eight local government areas spanning 50 kilometers (31.06 miles) of the city’s west cannot leave their local areas unless deemed an authorized worker. “I am as upset and frustrated as all of you that we were not able to get the case numbers we would have…
WASHINGTON — Un grupo de congresistas estadounidenses instó el 27 de julio a las corporaciones que patrocinan los Juegos Olímpicos de Beijing 2022 a que se retracten de su participación, en respuesta a las violaciones de los derechos humanos en la provincia china de Xinjiang. Los congresistas se reunieron con representantes de los patrocinadores estadounidenses para hablar sobre cómo podrían aprovechar su influencia para insistir en mejoras concretas en materia de derechos humanos en China. El senador Jeff Merkley, presidente de la Comisión Ejecutiva del Congreso sobre China, dijo en sus comentarios de apertura que la reunión no tenía la intención…
CANBERRA, Australia — Financial advisers operating as small businesses have pleaded with federal politicians to reconsider the extent of regulation imposed on the industry in the wake of the Hayne banking royal commission. The Australian Government established the royal commission on December 14, 2017, under the Royal Commissions Act 1902, to inquire into and report on misconduct in the banking, superannuation, and financial services industry. Michael Nowak, the national president of, Association of Financial Advisers, said financial advice has become increasingly costly to provide and more complex and is becoming out of reach for many Australians. He said to the parliamentary economics committee that…
PERTH, Australia — West Australians affected by Tropical Cyclone Seroja will receive further help under a record AU$104.5 million ($76.88 million) disaster recovery package. The joint state and federal funding will be spread across 16 local government areas in the state’s Mid West, Gascoyne, and Wheatbelt regions. Clean-up efforts continue three months after Seroja made landfall as a category three storm with winds up to 170 kilometers per hour (105.6 miles per hour). More than 875 buildings received some form of damage, and 32 were destroyed, including 23 homes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the federal government will stand with affected…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian supermarket giant Coles said the rate of work exploitation complaints in its supply chain has dropped to almost zero over the past year. A Senate inquiry is looking into temporary visa workers, many of whom work in the horticulture industry, a major supplier to supermarkets. Workplace compliance enforcement agency and mediator Fair Work Ombudsman has an ongoing investigation into Coles Group but declined to comment further about it when contacted, pointing to its hotline for worker pay complaints. Coles’ Vittoria Bon said to a hearing on July 29 that an accord with three unions, a complaints hotline, ethical sourcing policy,…
SYDNEY — An anti-government believer who maintained police would be hanged would not be subject to a supervision order despite authorities contending he’s at risk of committing a terrorism act. Juha Kiskonen, 51, is due for release after serving a one-year jail term for two counts of using a carriage service to menace or harass and two firearm offenses relating to a gel-blaster pistol found at his Sydney home in July 2020. The truck driver was a member of the United Kingdom of Australia (UKOA), a sovereign citizens movement that does not recognize Australian laws and contends they should not and do not…