Latest news with #Hurst
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Sir Geoff Hurst criticises Thomas Tuchel for England slip up - "A real taboo"
Sir Geoff Hurst, the scorer of England's most famous hat-trick in 1966, has yet to be convinced over Thomas Tuchel and the latest crop of Three Lions stars ahead of next summer's World Cup On a midsummer night where London meets Kent's commuter sprawl, Sir Geoff Hurst struggled to find a quantum of solstice. England's witless scuffling against Andorra and Senegal left the last man standing among the Boys of 66 wondering if he'll ever see another England captain lift the World Cup like Bobby Moore. Sir Geoff revealed he is a signatory to the campaign for Moore to be awarded a posthumous knighthood, and he's not alone. If David Beckham can get a tap on the shoulder for taking a nice free-kick, the shameful disregard for Moore's unique achievement among Englishmen remains a stain on the honours system. Based on the hapless floundering of Thomas Tuchel's side earlier this month, Hurst's optimism that a nation's 60-year vigil for glory will end at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey on July 19 next year is currently tempered. And he was unimpressed that a comment from Tuchel's mother about midfield kingpin Jude Bellingham's behaviour being 'a bit repulsive' found its way into the public domain. 'There's no point in sugar-coating it - the last two games were bitterly disappointing, not just the results but the manner of the performances,' said Sir Geoff, now 83 and looking as trim as a trip to the barber. One statistic celebrated Tuchel being the first England manager to start with three clean sheets, but Hurst sniffed: 'I'm not sure a clean sheet against Andorra is anything to write home about. 'I'm inclined to approach this World Cup with a positive mindset, and I want to believe this crop of young players is the best we've had in a long time, because that's the way I was as a player and I am as a person. 'But nobody can say anything too hopeful, or shout form the rooftops, based on those last two performances. 'One thing that cropped up was that Tuchel's mum apparently had something to say about one of the players, and somehow it came out. For me that's a real taboo. What the manager's mother thinks about a player shouldn't be part of the debate.' Hurst was speaking at a function for Future Pathway, an inspired support group who fund free first aid, rescue and safety courses for military veterans, their families, and sportsmen or women active or retired. Future Pathway's co-founder, John McDonald, is best known as master of ceremonies at Professional Darts Corporation events for the last 20 years - and he's never fluffed his lines. Hurst is too gracious to call time on Tuchel's reign after just four games. But as the diamond anniversary of his hat-trick in the World Cup final approaches, already there are signs that patience among the great unwashed is wearing thin. 'Over the years I've not been a particularly big supporter of England appointing foreign managers,' said Hurst. 'In fairness, some of the English ones we've had were absolutely average. "But if we don't win the World Cup next year, we're going to be in danger of another golden generation pass us by without having a major trophy to show for all their promise. It's amazing that such a major football nation, where so many of the world 's best players come grace the Premier League, has gone 59 years without success at international level. 'I know the previous manager came close - two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final was closer than anyone since Sir Alf - but if our time isn't now, when will we get a better chance? That's the real measure of the job for Tuchel.' Before he settled down to plunder almost 300 goals in club football, plus another 24 in 49 caps for England, Hurst was a decent cricketer who made one first-class appearance for Essex as a wicketkeeper-batsman, scoring 0 and 0 not out against Lancashire at Aigburth. The notion that modern players could find the time to dabble with bat and ball in football's absurdly-crowded schedule now is laughable. Hurst was scathing about the current two-bob celebration of burnout in the States. 'I don't like the Club World Cup. If one club is beating another 10-0, as Bayern Munich did the other day, that's not my idea of elite competition. There are probably too many tournaments for the players' liking already, but it's hard to take it seriously based on that gap. "I'm not sure Phil Foden running around in searing heat, thousands of miles away, is going to help Manchester City win the title or help England win the World Cup over the next 12 months. He should have his feet up at home.'
West Australian
7 days ago
- Health
- West Australian
Regulator promises action on medicos abusing patients' compassionate release of super funds
Medical practitioners have been warned the regulator is on the hunt for any doctors and dentists abusing the safety net that allows patients early access to superannuation to pay for vital treatments. The crackdown follows The Sunday Times' expose of rogue dentist David Hurst and the horrendous plight of his former patients. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia issued a joint statement expressing concern some practitioners were putting profits ahead of patient care. 'Compassionate release of superannuation (CRS), administered by the Australian Taxation Office, is an important safety net for access to urgent health care for people who cannot otherwise afford it, however, it can also have significant long-term financial impacts on individuals' superannuation outcomes. 'It is important that it is used appropriately and that patients are clearly informed of potential risks. 'The significant increase in approvals for the use of CRS for dental treatments in recent years, raises concerns that some practitioners may be placing profits over patient care. 'AHPRA and the Dental and Medical Boards of Australia are working with other regulators, including the ATO, to understand the recent growth in applications to use CRS to fund treatment and identify any concerns about inappropriate conduct. 'Under close examination is the practice of practitioners with high rates of report writing that indicate inappropriate patient assessment may be occurring.' AHPRA chief executive Justin Untersteiner added: 'We are deeply concerned by reports that some practitioners may be putting their own financial gain ahead their patients' best interests. 'We're working with the ATO to identify any potential predatory practice. 'Practitioners are on notice that we will take action to protect the public.' AHPRA said red flags for consumers included requests or demands for payment upfront; asking to use patients' myGov login details; Telehealth consults instead of in-person examinations; and missing financial consent information. All of these were experienced by patients of Dr Hurst, who withdrew up to $70,000 each from their super funds for dental implants. As reported, more than 130 patients were left in limbo following the sudden death of the 43-year-old Perth dentist last December, with $2.3 million of their pre-payments discovered missing in the wake of the tragedy. The Sunday Times has interviewed scores of patients who complain shoddy work and cheap materials left them in agony and, in some cases, looking disfigured. Dr Hurst had been allowed to practice in Australia despite a criminal conviction in his native Wales. He stole £15,584 (more than $32,000) from the UK's National Health Service by forging patient declarations while working as a dentist in Bridgend, near Cardiff, in 2006 and 2007. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to 69 counts of theft at Cardiff Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and given a 200-hour community work order. In 2021, Dr Hurst had been ordered to undertake education by AHPRA following patient complaints about his work. Impacted patients were this week informed a bankruptcy trustee was being appointed over the deceased estate of Dr Hurst, indicating their prepayments were gone. The number of Australians raiding their super accounts early to get dental implants and other expensive treatments has exploded by 528 per cent in five years. Money-wise, the amount withdrawn has jumped from $66.4 million in 2018-19 to $526.4m in 2023-24 — an increase of 693 per cent. Tanja Dixon, 53, is among Dr Hurst's implant patients. As happened with many others, the provisional teeth she was fitted with all snapped and broke. She said she had experienced 'rough handling' while in the dentist's chair. 'Every time I went to him he seemed agitated and frustrated,' she said. 'I even stopped him once with and said, 'You all right there, mate?'' Each setback with her new teeth meant another trip from her home in Newman to Perth. 'I was getting really annoyed because my company paid for me to fly to Perth from Newman five times at an average cost of $900 each trip not to mention accommodation costs and car hire,' Ms Dixon said. On one occasion, she flew into the city only to get a text message saying her appointment had been cancelled. Ms Dixon has lost the $50,000 she paid from her super, plus a $20,000 loan for her final instalment that she transferred in late December, unaware that Dr Hurst had died two weeks earlier. 'If I knew he had died I would not have paid the money,' she said. Ms Dixon was assured another practice, Aria Dental, would complete her treatment. But that didn't occur because Dr Hurst's practice couldn't afford to pay its bills, including to Aria Dental. Ms Dixon has had to get another $20,000 loan to finish the work with Aria Dental, which she said had been great. She needed implants because her teeth were falling out due to a rare heart condition. 'I thought I was too young to have no teeth,' she said. 'And I deal with customers every day (in my job) running fuel sites for Dunning's Fuel. 'I've been battling things for the last three years, and (finally) I thought I was winning (in life),' she said. 'My heart was getting a bit better and I was getting my teeth done, and then, bang, it all turned to s..t.' WA Health Consumers' Council executive director Clare Mullen welcomed the strong statement from AHPRA and the Dental and Medical Boards on this issue. 'We'd encourage anyone considering a significant financial investment in any health treatment to take note of the red flags they've highlighted,' she said.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EBR Metro Council picks new advisor for Raising Canes River Center redevelopment project
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Metro council members move forward with bringing the Baton Rouge Convention Center Expansion and Headquarters Hotel Development Project to life. With one opposed, council members chose to have Hunden Partners serve as the city-parish's advisor for the project. The project, which has been in the works, is to make the center cater more to conventions, all while construction for a headquarters hotel takes place next door. At the same time, a new LSU arena would take on the larger scale of events like concerts and games. Councilwoman Carolyn Coleman, whose District houses the river center, supports the plan. 'This is just the first step. This process is not an overnight process as well but it is a much-needed process,' she said. While many on the board like Coleman agree, Councilman Darryl Hurst said this should have been decided differently. 'Made a decision as a city parish. I urge the mayor and everybody else to slow down. We need to see the data before we make a decision as a council,' said Hurst. Hurst said he's for the project as a whole to help reshape the parish, as it lacks an all-around convention center for businesses. But he worries the community is an afterthought. 'I'm for a better Baton Rouge. I'm for less burden on the taxpayers as long as the city-parish and the lawyers stay true, and the developers, that they're not going to ask the taxpayer for a dime, I support it,' he said. With other projects taking over the parish and budgets shifting around due to new city changes, both Hurst and Coleman say this project is a reflection of not only economic changes, but a representation of the people. 'Baton Rouge has to become a priority for somebody, and it's definitely a priority for me,' said Hurst. 'Not I think, but I know that this is the first step toward what's the best is yet to come,' said Coleman. The parish attorney will start contract negotiations with Hunden Partners, which will then have to be approved by the Metro Council. EBR Metro Council picks new advisor for Raising Canes River Center redevelopment project 'It's a big problem in Baton Rouge': Authorities suspect human trafficking in massage parlors College Drive flyover project complete, brings relief to Baton Rouge drivers Louisiana lawmakers push for transparency in drug pricing, bill advances Judge blocks Trump's National Guard deployment in Los Angeles Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hamilton Spectator
06-06-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Levelling the Playing Field at Burlington's Accessible Sport and Art Fair
This article has been corrected; in the main photo, Teresa Campbell, Supervisor, Sports Development, was not identified correctly, and that has now been rectified. On May 31, Tansley Woods Community Centre was host to the Accessible Sport and Art Fair. The event was put on by the City of Burlington and was intended to be an opportunity for citizens to learn about the many programs that operate in Burlington and are fully accessible. Booths were set up in a recreation hall, with a number of local organizations present, including the Burlington Lions Club, the Burlington Public Library, Student Theatre, Special Olympics, and the Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB). On the opposite side of the building, demo rooms were prepared with activities hosted by groups in attendance, including wheelchair basketball, pickleball, adaptive rugby, improv, and arts and crafts workshops. Cheryl Hurst, who sits on the City of Burlington's Accessibility Advisory Committee, describes her personal connection with accessibility in her youth, which inspired her to take action. 'Growing up, I did have a good friend who had some different challenges, and we would see those roadblocks,' Hurst said. 'So I just didn't want other people to have to face those if they didn't have to.' Hurst explained the kind of work the Accessibility Advisory Committee does around the city. 'We come to different community events and try to have communication with different community members, and we want to get as much feedback as we can from them,' Hurst said. 'What their personal experiences are, good things, challenges, things that we can work with.' 'Then we provide input and feedback to different city [staff] members and different departments,' Hurst continued. Hurst gave a recent example of the city doing a renovation of a major Burlington park. 'They came to our meeting and brought their plans, and then we gave our input and feedback on things that they've done really great and suggestions about other changes that might be helpful,' Hurst said. Hurst said that many people at the event were unaware of the many programs available throughout the city with accessibility options. 'That speaks to [the fact that] maybe we're not communicating or sharing all of the great things that we do have in the city,' Hurst said. Hurst said that access to parks and further accommodation at intersections were also repeated concerns. 'Making sure that all of our intersections have the proper grading so that you're not just flying off of the curb, as well as the texture [of paving], so that if you have sight impairment, you can use your accessories and tools to be able to safely cross the street,' Hurst said. 'And when you push the button, the sound is there so that you know it's safe to cross.' Hurst said that the city is making strides in the right direction and is working to implement these changes at all intersections. Annie Webber, education coordinator at the AGB, was representing the gallery at the event. Webber said that the AGB is able to make the majority of events accessible with advance notice and help from community partners. Webber spoke about what the AGB hoped to gain from the event. 'We're here today to learn how we can improve our setup so that we have passive programming that's accessible and more regularly occurring programs that are accessible,' Webber said. 'We're looking to build our audience and our network of colleagues who have more expertise than we do in the field of accessibility.' Webber spoke about why having more accessible programming is so important. 'We want to welcome everyone, and we want people to feel cared for, thought of, and considered,' Webber said. 'We're happy that we can get in touch early enough to put those supports in place, but we also want people to be able to come in intuitively and experience the place in a way that's meaningful to them.' Webber said that the event was very useful for networking with other organizations, as well as making community members aware of what is already available. Attendees could also enter a raffle for prizes available at a table in the front entrance. Prizes included t-shirts, a life jacket, and safety gear for sailing. Prizes were all donated by the vendors present at the fair. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State AG's office revives probe into voter fraud allegations involving 2023 Springfield election
SPRINGFIELD — The state Attorney General's office has reportedly revived an investigation into whether the mayoral candidate of Justin Hurst paid for votes in 2023. City officials confirmed that a prosecutor and a Massachusetts state trooper visited City Hall May 28 and quizzed Elections Office staff and requested voter records related to the mayoral race that pitted Hurst against longtime incumbent Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. State investigators showed up at City Hall two days before Hurst pulled papers to run for City Council once again. Hurst said he believes his work in city government is not done. 'The issues that I campaigned on when I ran for mayor are more present now than ever before. Time and time again, we are failing to meet the moment. And we, the people, feel the pain,' Hurst said. Days before the November election in 2023, campaign workers for Hurst were captured on building video outside City Hall carting local voters back and forth to the polls. While Hurst was in the convoy of cars, the footage did not show him providing $10 bills for votes, unlike some of his workers. The voters also were promised a fish dinner once they presented their 'I voted early' stickers to Hurst people standing outside City Hall. About a half dozen city officials, as well as a police officer, said in sworn affidavits at the time that they witnessed the distribution of $10 bills. When the video footage emerged, Hurst claimed it was a last-minute 'smear campaign' from Sarno's camp and denied paying for votes. Around 130 voters registered to vote and cast their ballots early on the same day, according to City Solicitor Stephen J. Buoniconti. Many of those voters logged their addresses as the Worthington Street homeless shelter. The Republican at the time interviewed a man who confirmed he was paid $10 to vote for Hurst. The city solicitor at the time, retired judge John Payne, called for the Hampden District Attorney's Office to launch a criminal investigation. 'It is extremely troubling. This is a fraud upon the elections process,' Payne said in 2023. 'Before I became a judge, I was active in elections for 30 years, and I've never heard of anyone being paid for a vote. It is very serious,' he said at the time. A state law concerning 'voter bribery' provides penalties of up to a year in jail. A state elections official told The Republican in 2023 that there is no scenario under which it would be permissible to pay a voter to cast a ballot. Buoniconti on Tuesday confirmed that investigators came May 28 with specific questions regarding 'alleged improprieties' by Hurst's camp during that mayoral race. 'They're doing a deeper dive in the investigation but it appears to us there's been a staff change in the AG's office and they're going back to start the investigation all over,' he said, identifying the lead prosecutor in the case as Karen Bell. Bell was an assistant district attorney in Hampden County before leaving for the same role in Berkshire County in 2018, and then moving on to the statewide office. The Republican has for months been asking Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's office about the status of the voting probe. The agency has resisted releasing records, citing the ongoing investigation exemption under state law. 'We have determined that because the exempt information is so interwoven within the text of these records, proper redaction would render them meaningless and therefore, withholding them in their entirety is appropriate in this instance,' reads a response from the office in November. In response to a request for comment on overcoming questions about voting impropriety, Hurst said he intends to devote his attention to what he sees as the issues of the day. 'I'll stay focused on what I can control, which is ensuring that our message for a better Springfield gets out to as many voters as possible,' Hurst said. Buoniconti, the city solicitor, said he is hopeful the matter can be resolved one way or another before the next election cycle in the fall. He also expressed frustration over the length of time it has taken Campbell's office to address the situation, despite the fact that the city turned over all records that were requested and made its staff available for interviews. He said the attorney general's office has obtained records on which voters registered and cast their ballots the same day. 'There's a cloud that is hanging over the electoral process in the city and we need to resolve that so people have confidence in the integrity of the electoral process,' Buoniconti said. He noted a climate of 'political violence' across the nation and recalled that Sarno's tires were slashed outside City Hall last year, and the suspect was a man identified as one of the people on the same-day voting list. Court records show the alleged tire slasher, Steven Kostorizos, was charged with the crime. The case is stayed because he was deemed by a judge as not competent to stand trial. Hurst said he is running for the council again after pleas from supporters 'that I would not stop fighting for them, for their children and families, and for a better Springfield.' Read the original article on MassLive.
