Humanitarian concern

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF Protesters have united against a proposed quarry at North Canterbury's Rangiora Racecourse. (Video first published December 2020). Opposition to a quarry at North Canterbury's Rangiora Racecourse continues to mount, with protesters gathering at the gates for the harness club’s biggest meet of the year on Sunday. Since an application by Taggart Earthmoving Ltd for a resource consent to extract gravel was publicly notified at the end of October , concerns have been raised about the health of those living nearby. Many residents of the closest subdivisions in west Rangiora say they were blindsided by the application , despite it having been in the planning since 2016. Sue Johnson lives overlooking the racecourse but needs to downsize, and is having difficulty getting anyone to buy her house. READ MORE: Rangiora residents riled about being left in dark over quarry plan Rangiora Racecourse quarry resource consent notified Opposition … [Read more...] about Quarry protesters take concerns over plans to the races

In move many expect to signal U.S. reengagement in the world body, the U.S. Senate Tuesday confirmed Baker-native Linda Thomas-Greenfield to the cabinet-level position of Ambassador to the United Nations. She was confirmed on a 78-21 vote , with one senator not voting. Both U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy, R-Madisonville, and U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, voted in favor of confirming Thomas-Greenfield. “I’m proud she’s from Louisiana, but I’m more proud of her service to our country,” Cassidy said in a statement after the vote. The 68-year-old LSU graduate is expected to be sworn in Wednesday by Vice President Kamala Harris. Then, she’s expected to travel to New York City, where the UN headquarters are located, to present her credentials to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday. Thomas-Greenfield also will assume leadership of the global policy-making U.N. Security Council on Monday. Almost immediately Thomas-Greenfield will be thrust into dealing with … [Read more...] about US Senate confirms Baker-native Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador

About 40% of the American workforce is going to be comprised of freelancers by the year 2020, meaning that platforms such as WordPress are becoming more and more catered to these self-sufficient people who want to take the entrepreneurial route to make money for themselves. Freelancing is a tedious business, forcing you to be your own boss and actually sit down and work without any distractions. The only problem is that every day there is a new distraction dancing in front of our eyes that takes us away from productivity and down a route that spells bad news for your freelancing business. Good thing there are also plenty of WordPress tools for freelancers and WordPress professionals to fight off these distractions, make you more productive, and even track your time like you might do in a regular office job. Although many of us freelancers may scoff at some of the techniques and tropes you can find in the corporate world, there is a reason some of the tools are implemented. … [Read more...] about The Best WordPress Tools & Resources for Freelancers

I am Freddy Muriuki, a freelance WordPress blogger and part-time web designer. While it’s somewhat difficult to write about myself, I will try my best to give you a glimpse, however slight, into my beautiful WordPress life . It’s a look back on the beautiful life you so graciously helped me build. It all started in December 2008, when I discovered WordPress.com. Of course, before then, I had grown an unquenchable interest in all things web design when I started working in a cyber cafe back in 2007, a few months after graduating high school. More about this in a moment. Long before web design, or even WordPress, I knew I wanted to write. When I was just 12 years old, I put together my first short story; The Adventures of Ronnie and Friends , which later disappeared from my locker under mysterious circumstances. At that tender age, I never for once thought I would eventually put bread on the table writing, or rather blogging. Before I discovered blogging though, I would write … [Read more...] about My Beautiful WordPress Life: Meet Freddy

The devil is indeed in the details when it comes to setting up a WordPress eCommerce store. You need to get really specific with your needs – the ecommerce plugin you ultimately choose should meet all your business requirements. You must have a spot on definition of what you expect your online shop to achieve, long before choosing your shopping cart. Without a sound plan, you won’t get far. You will choose the wrong ecommerce platform, fail miserably if you don’t make changes, and then close shop. In today’s post, we will shine light on some of the considerations you need to keep in mind when selecting a WordPress ecommerce solution. We will go a step further and review some of the best WordPress ecommerce solutions in the market, so you can start your online biz on the right note. Enjoy! Price It takes money to make money, that’s very true. Don’t get it twisted, there’s nothing wrong with bootstrapping your business from the ground up, but you shouldn’t look into saving on your … [Read more...] about How to Choose the Best WordPress eCommerce Solution