Latest news with #communityEngagement
Phone Arena
10 hours ago
- General
- Phone Arena
OnePlus will try to beat the ROG Phone and RedMagic and their own game
No new notifications You'll get updated when important things are happening, and when you engage with our community.
Phone Arena
17 hours ago
- General
- Phone Arena
Why aren't more people buying foldables?
No new notifications You'll get updated when important things are happening, and when you engage with our community.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Aplos Announces the Launch of Its Third Location in Oxford, Marking a Milestone in Its 10-Year Growth Plan
06/17/2025, Jackson, Mississippi // PRODIGY: Feature Story // Aplós, the Mediterranean restaurant known for its fresh ingredients and strong community values, has announced the opening of its third location in Oxford, Mississippi, slated for late summer 2026. This new venue represents a pivotal step in the brand's growth, marking its first out-of-town expansion and the start of a 10-year vision to scale across the Southeastern United States. The Oxford location will be built outside the town square, a strategic move aimed at serving both the city's growing local population and the influx of students from nearby universities. Founder and executive chef Alex Eaton explains, 'Oxford is a vibrant college town, but its growth has outpaced the infrastructure around the square. We saw an opportunity to be part of the community where people live, study, and spend their weekends, not just where they party.' The decision to expand to Oxford was not made lightly. It followed careful planning, community engagement, and groundwork to ensure Aplós doesn't just arrive but truly belong to the community. Eaton has already met with local officials and planners to understand how Aplós can contribute meaningfully to the area. 'For me, it's not enough to have good food and a good-looking brand,' Eaton says. 'We want to be woven into the community fabric, partnering with schools, giving students work experience, and showing up where it matters.' This emphasis on local connection is part of what Eaton calls the 'recipe for the brand.' Inspired by his years working in the fine dining kitchens of New Orleans and his Lebanese heritage, Aplós combines Mediterranean simplicity with Southern hospitality. However, Eaton believes that a healthy business starts with people. 'Before we grow, we have to grow our executive team, our culture, our values,' he says. 'You can't build a restaurant in a new city if the foundation is not rock solid.' Oxford will be the third Aplós location, following successful openings in Jackson and Ridgeland, Mississippi. The new location will sit alongside key community spaces, a high school, a movie theater, and new student apartment beds, giving it direct access to a mix of families, students, and young professionals. 'This is not about replicating a chain,' Eaton says. 'Each location of Aplós should feel like its own thing. That's how we avoid becoming just another brand.' The long-term plan is ambitious. Eaton and his team are eyeing 10 Aplós locations in 10 years, with targeted growth in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and eventually Arkansas and Texas. 'We are focused on what I call 'community-centric development,'' says Eaton. 'If we are going to grow, it's got to be in places where we can be more than a restaurant. We need to be a job creator, a support system, a gathering spot.' As the brand expands, Aplós will continue to invest in business coaching, internal leadership development, and youth employment programs. The company already works with high schools and plans to collaborate with hospitality colleges to offer credit-earning internships. 'Growth is one of our core values,' says Eaton. 'If you're not growing, whether as a dishwasher or a regional manager, you are probably in the wrong place.' At its core, the Oxford expansion is a litmus test. 'Back home, people support us because they know me,' Eaton says. 'Oxford is different. People don't care who I am; they will judge us by our product, our team, and how we show up in their community. That's what makes this so real.' If all goes according to plan, the Oxford launch will be the start of something much bigger than just another restaurant. It will be the blueprint for how Aplós grows, with integrity, intentionality, and local roots firmly planted in every community it joins. Media Contact Name: Elizabeth Lanza Email: [email protected]
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
New city crews tackle many little jobs in Winnipeg neighbourhoods
The City of Winnipeg launched neighbourhood action teams to fix a broad range of issues in one area. They will rotate through all wards in the city between now and October.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
The House: Morning Tea with Matt Doocey
Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey hosts a meeting with senior citizens in Rangiora. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins Like most electorate MPs, National MP for Waimakariri Matt Doocey spends a lot of his weekends back home in his electorate. Saturdays are generally spent in the community and chatting to constituents. Last Saturday, The House attended one of Doocey's Q&A sessions with over-60s. They're something he likes to hold regularly in the electorate's population centres of Kaiapoi, Oxford, and Rangiora. This one was at the Rangiora RSA. The issues discussed at these sessions are many and varied. Last Saturday there were both big-picture concerns about a perceived "brain drain" and international trade, as well as local queries about roading and healthcare infrastructure. "People do want to ask you a specific question about potentially a road in their neighbourhood, or maybe there might be an issue with accessing a local public service," Doocey says. "And then for some people they do think a bit more nationally and they want to have a talk about the economy or what's happening internationally in the current geopolitical environment." His electorate, historically made up of dormitory towns, has seen significant growth since the Canterbury earthquakes. Doocey, who has been the local MP since 2014, has observed the challenges that a growing population presents. "When you have that significant growth, you have what I call 'growing pains of growth'. "Quite rightly, I've got to get in and make sure I bat for this area so it gets the investment it needs into vital infrastructure like the Woodend bypass, a new road of national significance." Doocey and his family live in the Waimakariri electorate, which he says has accepted him over the years as just another member of the community. This Parliamentary term, he has the added responsibility of being a Cabinet Minister. He must balance ministerial duties in Wellington and elsewhere, with addressing the concerns of his constituents in Canterbury. Given he's out-of-town frequently, Doocey's Electorate and Community Office (ECO) staff in Kaiapoi and Rangiora act as first responders for constituents asking for help with things like ACC or Work and Income. "They are really your front line," he says. "Through our office, we can go up to a higher level in a government department, escalate their issue in quite a timely fashion, and get them connected to the person they need to talk to as well. "So in that way, constituents don't need to wait two weeks to see their local MP." Doocey says the regular sessions with the community on the weekends have been a good forum to address some of those more generalised concerns. "I'm here for the weekend, and people do like the idea of coming to a meeting when it's not as pressured [as it would be] during a nine to five, Monday to Friday, and we can spend a bit more time unpacking the issues of the day." Rangiora resident Chris Knight, who came along to Doocey's Q&A, is a regular viewer of Parliament's Question Time. For him, events like these offer a welcome opportunity. Matt Doocey at the meeting last Saturday. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins "You don't often get an opportunity to meet or talk to an acting MP," he says. "To come to something like this and actually meet your local MP is good." Knight describes himself as a social democrat and a lifelong Labour voter both in New Zealand and the UK where he emigrated from, but he acknowledges Doocey's efforts as an electorate MP. "I think Matt does a pretty good job around here. I read some of the stuff that he has in the papers, and he's always around and available, which is good. Whether or not I'll vote for him next time, remains to be seen." ECO offices sport the colours of whichever party the MP is a member of, which may give rise to the misconception that electorate MPs' offices aren't approachable if you don't support their party. "I make it very clear," Doocey says. "I work for everyone in Waimakariri, no matter how they vote. "I'm here to serve all in the Waimakariri irrespective of how they vote. "But I do acknowledge that sometimes people come in and there might be a perceived barrier there about whether they voted for me or not, or whether they voted for my party. "But as a local MP, I'm here to work for everyone. I think over time people have got to understand that, and actually when you're working as a local MP it's not a party affiliation, in fact it's a Waimakariri affiliation, because you just want to help everyone in your community." To listen to the audio version of this story, click the link near the top of the page. * RNZ's The House, with insights into Parliament, legislation and issues, is made with funding from Parliament's Office of the Clerk. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
