Latest news with #Pugh
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Blind Staffordshire man 'humiliated' after Father's Day pub row
A blind man said he felt "humiliated" and was "left in tears" after he was forced to leave a pub when a row broke out over a table Pugh, from Stoke-on-Trent, said he was disrespected by staff when his family went to the Chatterley Whitfield in Tunstall on Saturday for an early Father's Day came after the table he booked specifically to allow enough room for his guide dog, Liberty, was unavailable, leading to the family being given another table Mr Pugh claimed was not suitable.A spokesperson for the pub said they were sorry Mr Pugh felt let down and a full investigation was being carried out. Mr Pugh told BBC Radio Stoke: "In all honesty, I just wanted to sit there crying. I'm fed up with these access issues - 88% of guide dog owners go through it."He went to the pub with his mother, father and brother, having booked a table months before, but once they arrived, they found out the table had been given to a larger said they were given a different table but it meant his dog Liberty was in the way of customers, who had to clamber over her to get to the bar. His mum and brother were overheard at the bar saying they would "leave a Google review", Mr Pugh said, when a member of staff ordered them to get out of the Mr Pugh got up to leave, he said a "complete stranger" accused him of swearing and causing said he was then approached by a staff member, who told him he could "clearly see" the number of customers they had, referring to the problem over his Pugh said it was this comment that caused him so much upset, leaving him "humiliated, dismissed and in tears"."It cuts like a knife because obviously my guide dog and me are invisible to them. They're not seeing me for me and my disability," he added. 'Make this right' Mr Pugh posted about the row on Facebook, which has been shared more than 6,000 times and garnered 5,700 reactions and 1,500 said it was the latest incident he had experienced, having previously had taxis drive past him when they spot his dog, and shops acting like he was a "nuisance".While he did not hold any hatred for the pub's staff, he wanted to see changes and wider awareness of blind people's situations."Everywhere I go there is a possibility that someone is going to say 'you're not welcome'…let's make this right," he added.A spokesperson for Chatterley Whitfield, which is owned by Greene King, said it was investigating the incident, which they described as "isolated" and said they would carry out further training for their staff."As an inclusive business we want everyone to feel safe and welcome in our pub. We recognise that on this occasion that the guest felt let down, and we apologise for that," they said. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Time Magazine
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
How Jaws Wreaked Havoc on Marine Conservation
Jaws was one of Hollywood's first viral summer blockbusters—a global, collective event from the moment it opened in theaters exactly 50 years ago this week. To mark the date on June 20, Steven Spielberg has filmed a new introduction to the movie, which will have a summer run in theaters. Millions born long after the movie last disappeared from big screens still know the plot of the 1975 thriller: A terrifying great white shark attacks fun-loving beach-goers, sets off a panic, and is hunted down by a local sports fisherman. The iconic line 'don't go into the water,' seemed to live on in memory for years. A half-century on, ocean advocates lament the impact the film had on the public's view of sharks. Among its fiercest critics is endurance swimmer and U.N. patron of the oceans, Lewis Pugh. Raised in Plymouth, U.K. and Cape Town, South Africa, Pugh gained fame for his long-distance swim across the icy Geographic North Pole in 2007 without a wetsuit. He has also swum the Antarctic sea, and over long distances in every ocean in the world—including last month in the waters around Martha's Vineyard where Jaws was filmed. Speaking to TIME at the June U.N. Oceans Conference in Nice, Pugh says the world is still suffering the aftereffects of Jaws. Environmentalists say the film led to the wide destruction of shark populations, and that it instilled fear in many about swimming in the sea, markedly setting back the cause of ocean conservation for generations and inspiring a rise in shark trophy hunters. For the past few years, Spielberg, now 78, has expressed remorse over Jaws —even though it sealed his major-league status as a director, while he was still in his 20s. 'I regret the decimation of the shark population because of the book and film,' he told the BBC in 2022. 'I truly and to this day regret that.' Far from Hollywood, on a dockside in Nice, while politicians holed up in the U.N. conference debating how to save the oceans, Pugh spoke about the film's impact, and how to rewrite the story of sharks. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. TIME: The movie Jaws really portrayed sharks as villains. Pugh: It turned them into monsters. And they are nothing of the sort. They are essential to a healthy ecosystem. They are like the lions of the savannah. Imagine taking out all the lions in Africa. Very soon the wildebeest, the zebra, the impala, everything would be overgrazed, and there would be no food. There would be an ecological collapse. It's the same with sharks. How are you marking the 50 th anniversary of the movie? I went to Martha's Vineyard, which is where it was filmed, and did the first unassisted swim [without a wetsuit or goggles] around the island. It was to me [about] introducing sharks to a new generation. I swam around Martha's Vineyard over 12 days. It's a big island, it's just over 100 kilometers, or about 60 miles. I've been swimming for 40 years, and Martha's Vineyard turned out to be the toughest swim of my life. We suddenly went into a 10-day storm. Martha's Vineyard is incredibly exposed to the North Atlantic. It's out on Cape Cod. We had 10 days of really, really bad weather. Some days I went literally just one mile in the right direction. It became very, very challenging to just keep calm and carry on. It would be calm, then I'd go over some sea grass which was black and whipping around. Nature can be very, very tough. Steven Spielberg seems to now regret Jaws. He expressed regret on the British radio show 'Desert Island Discs.' Has there ever been a movie that's been more detrimental to the environment? And also: It terrified swimmers and ocean-goers for a generation—actually more than a generation now. It had a very significant impact. What's the story we need to tell instead? We really do need to change that narrative about sharks. They are incredible animals. They've survived five mass extinctions. They are older than the dinosaurs. They are incredible, they are essential, and they are really threatened. I always tell people these numbers: First, 50: It's been 50 years, and we now need a new narrative for the next 50. The second one is 274,000: That's the number of sharks that are killed on average globally every day by commercial fishing. How is that possible? It's a number that is so deeply shocking. The other great threat to sharks other than commercial fishing is indifference. People believe sharks don't matter. They do matter. You take out all the sharks and you will have a watery desert. The third number is: If you multiply 274,000 sharks killed a day, it's about 100 million a year. If that is not ecocide, I don't know what is. Why are they being killed on such a giant scale? [Many] kill sharks for their fins or for food, or they're killed while they are trying to catch something like tuna in nets. What fish do you eat? I don't eat fish. I don't any seafood. I eat a little bit of chicken. Look at what's happening to the fish populations around the world... What if the fish are farmed? I would want to know where the food is coming from that the fish are fed. There's this extraordinary situation where to farm salmon you need large amounts of anchovies and sardines to feed the salmon. In my view a lot of it is done very unsustainably. The numbers are shocking: It takes 10 times the sardines in order to get one kilogram of salmon. [The industry says the ratio is closer to 1.7 kilos of wild-fish feed for a kilo of salmon] You are hoovering up the ocean in order to get a product which is higher up the value chain to sell to people in America or Europe. It's a very personal choice what you eat. What I've learned is when you tell people what to eat, very, very quickly you divide people. But our oceans have been so overfished, and we're sitting here right now on a sea, the Mediterranean, which is one of the most overfished in the world. Are you hopeful that leaders will work together to protect the oceans? You've got to be very careful about hope. It can be an abdication of responsibility, a feeling that some other countries are overfishing, that some countries are damaging the environment, that someone is going to come up with some magical solution. You have to earn hope, by taking action every single day. We've got to face reality head on. The stability we have had with our climate for the past 12,000 years has now ended. I see that because I'm in the ocean. I'm in the Antarctic frequently. What do you think these politicians could be doing? The leaders have got a very important responsibility. The decision whether to take action now, or not to take action, will impact every person on this planet, and the whole of the animal kingdom. It's a very big responsibility. The big changes I'm seeing from 40 years in the ocean: The impact of the climate crisis. I swim a lot in the Arctic and the Antarctic and see the ice melting so quickly. Ice is essential for the health of the planet, keeping it in a temperature we can live in. I swam the length of the English Channel for 49 days. I saw a few dolphins, one shark, sea birds, and nothing else. And I had my head in the water for 49 days! What I did see is lots and lots and lots of jellyfish. That is a sign of warming water. The last thing I'm seeing is plastic pollution—everywhere, even places where humans have never been, like in Antarctica or high up in the Arctic. There's the conveyor belt of currents taking plastic from a beach in Florida, into the north Atlantic high up into the Arctic. Is there a sense of urgency among governments? No. If there was a sense of urgency they wouldn't speak about preserving 30% of the oceans by 2030, which is what all the nations have agreed. And in order for that to become international law 60 nations have to ratify it into law. It's underwhelming. And it shows that they don't understand the scale and the speed of the crisis coming at us. We've been focused on every single other crisis. The environment always gets kicked down the line. Nature won't wait until you have time to negotiate deals. So why did the U.N. call the global oceans conference this month? It's important. You have governments, you have NGOs, you have business, you have scientists, coming together. They need to knock their heads together and find solutions. The ocean impacts all of us. You can't be isolationist when it comes to oceans. Is it important that the U.S. has taken itself out of the process? It's extremely important. They have an enormous coastline. They have enormous influence in the world. As I say, you can't be isolationist when it comes to the environment, and believe you can look after your own waters and you'll be fine. No, it doesn't happen like that. Americans have added so much over the years to the debate. It's better to be in the room and share your thoughts, than not being in the room.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Teacher incentives, math education bills become law in Oklahoma
Skelly Elementary teacher Charity Hargrave leads a reading exercise with a small group of fifth graders in Tulsa on April 9, 2024. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Longtime Oklahoma teachers will continue earning annual salary increases for an extra 10 years, and their children will qualify for a major state-funded scholarship under new laws the governor signed this week. Gov. Kevin Stitt approved House Bill 1087 on Tuesday to extend the teacher salary schedule, which grants annual incremental pay raises, up to 35 years. The bill also adds one day to the minimum length of an Oklahoma school year, stretching it to 181 instructional days in public schools. HB 1727, which Stitt also signed Tuesday, opens the Oklahoma's Promise college scholarship to the children of classroom teachers with at least 10 years of experience. Oklahoma's Promise pays an amount equal to full resident tuition at a public college or university. The state's largest teacher union, the Oklahoma Education Association, celebrated both bills as ways to retain veteran educators. Offering scholarship funds to educators' children is a 'powerful step for Oklahoma valuing its teachers and their households,' OEA President Cari Elledge said. 'By granting Oklahoma's Promise Scholarship to children of certified educators with at least a decade of service, this bill eases the college burden on our families while incentivizing long-term commitment to our schools,' Elledge, a former Norman teacher, said. 'OEA championed this from committee rooms to the governor's desk because addressing the educator shortage requires meaningful investment.' The governor also signed a bill offering grants to school districts that are trying to boost the pipeline of new teachers. Senate Bill 235 offers matching funds to districts that have established Grow Your Own Educator programs, which give undergraduate college tuition assistance or loan repayment to aspiring teachers. The bill's author, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, said lawmakers set aside $5 million for these grants. Pugh, who leads the Senate Education Committee, said the slate of school-focused bills the Legislature passed this year are 'building a stronger foundation for Oklahoma's future.' 'Each of these measures reflects our commitment to supporting students, empowering teachers and ensuring every child in our state has access to a high-quality education,' Pugh said in a statement. Multiple bills emphasizing math also passed. Stitt approved HB 1287, giving $3 million to the University of Oklahoma for a math tutoring program assisting the lowest-performing ninth graders. Qualifying students must attend a school district with enrollment of at least 30,000 or a public charter school. The governor also signed on Tuesday the Oklahoma Math Achievement and Proficiency Act, also known as SB 140. It's expected to cost $1 million, according to a fiscal impact estimate from legislative staff. The new law requires public schools to screen students' math proficiency three times a year in grades 2-5. Schools must create a math intervention plan for children who score below their grade level and could receive extra funds dedicated for these students. Struggling students also must be screened for dyscalculia, a learning disability affecting comprehension of arithmetic. Those who screen above their grade level in math must be offered advanced learning opportunities. 'Senate Bill 140 is a critical step forward in improving math outcomes across our state,' the bill's author, Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, said. 'By identifying students who need additional help or more advanced instruction, they will now have personalized support to ensure every child can succeed.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Apterra Infrastructure Capital Names John Pugh as Chief Risk Officer
NEW YORK, June 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apterra Infrastructure Capital LLC ('Apterra'), a leading infrastructure finance platform and affiliate of Apollo, today announced that John Pugh has joined as its Chief Risk Officer. Pugh brings to Apterra more than 25 years of experience in project finance, with investing experience in energy and infrastructure, and will report to Co-CEOs Ralph Cho and Michael Pantelogianis. Ralph Cho and Michael Pantelogianis, Co-CEOs of Apterra, stated: 'We are thrilled to welcome John to the Apterra team. He brings extensive risk management and infrastructure experience that will be invaluable as we continue to expand the Apterra franchise, reinforcing our position as an innovator in infrastructure financing. As we scale our operations and strengthen our leadership roster, we remain committed to shaping Apterra into the premier provider of flexible, forward-thinking financial solutions for the infrastructure sector.' John Pugh, Chief Risk Officer of Apterra, said: 'I am excited to join Apterra's highly skilled team as the company continues to scale, helping to address the substantial capital needs of next-generation energy and infrastructure projects. Apterra, backed by outstanding institutional partners, has built a reputation as a leading provider of innovative infrastructure finance solutions.' Since inception in 2023, Apterra has executed approximately $8 billion of infrastructure transactions globally and continues to grow its team of professionals in North America, Western Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Apterra, Pugh was Chief Risk Officer at GE Vernova Financial Services. He spent most of his career in GE's Energy Financial Services business, where he held several leadership positions, including serving as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Oil & Gas Infrastructure portfolio. He earned an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BS in Finance from Montana State University. About Apterra Apterra, an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, is a premier platform specializing in innovative financing solutions for infrastructure projects. Our tailored capital services empower clients, including financial sponsors and developers, to optimize assets and achieve sustainable growth. Fuelled by strong relationships, our distribution network ensures seamless access to capital through partnerships with banks, investors, and asset managers. We are focused on driving growth and operational integrity in the infrastructure sector, while creating enduring value for our clients. Visit to learn more. Contacthttps:// in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Martha Vineyard swimmer Pugh hopes to flip shark narrative
(NewsNation) — British swimmer Lewis Pugh recently completed a 12-day, 62-mile trek of the waters surrounding Martha's Vineyard that took place ahead of the 50th anniversary of the release of 'Jaws.' The timing of the feat was intentional on Pugh's part, who hopes to change the perception of sharks by swimming in the waters where the Oscar-winning motion picture was filmed in 1975. Pugh became the first person to swim the entirety of the area around Martha's Vineyard and did so to raise awareness about the need for increased protection for sharks. Trump pardons 2 divers who freed 19 sharks off the coast of Florida Doing so is essential, Pugh said, adding that predators like sharks are essential to creating a healthy oceanic environment. 'They keep the ocean in balance, and now is the time to try and change the narrative for a new generation,' Pugh told NewsNation. 'Sharks aren't monsters. They are magnificent, they're essential, and they're seriously endangered.' Pugh said that 274,000 sharks are killed each day around the world, which equates to more than 100 million sharks being killed each year, which he calls 'complete madness.' The number of sharks killed each year compares to only 10 humans being killed by sharks each year. In 2024, 88 reported shark-human interactions were reported worldwide, while 47 unprovoked shark bites were reported last year. Pugh, 55, has been swimming for nearly 40 years, but told NewsNation that he had never accomplished the kind of physical task required over the 24 hours he spent swimming around Martha's Vineyard over 12 days. Ukraine strikes bridge linking Crimea, Russia in underwater attack He said that the release of 'Jaws' in 1975 has shaped the narrative of how sharks are perceived, making the timing of his accomplishment even more significant, he said. Pugh's mission was simple: to flip the script on how sharks are perceived and to share his conviction that swimmers should not fear the ocean. 'I can honestly say it was one of the toughest swims of my life,' Pugh said. 'It was the cold, it was the distance and then just the constant thought of what may be beneath me.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
