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An animal-rescue pilot died in a crash. 2 dogs aboard are recovering
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has "no structural damage" to his back following a scary fall on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to the Los Angeles Times ' Dan Woike . The 26-year-old is on the flight to Salt Lake City with the team ahead of their game against the Utah Jazz on Sunday despite dealing with some soreness, per Woike. This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis. For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app , homepage and social feeds—including Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok .
Ex-CM Jagan sends legal notice to media claims defamation over power agreement
Florida knocks No. 9 Ole Miss out of College Football Playoff contentionWant a Copilot+ laptop? Get the Asus Vivobook S 14 while it’s $300 offLafayette Renaissance guard Mathew Gordon (1) drives on Westgate guard Amari Simon (10) during their Sunkist Shootout game Thursday. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save STM Sunkist Shootout (All boys at St. Thomas More) Thursday’s Games Catholic-NI 56, Barbe 43 Westgate 68, Lafayette Renaissance 58 Vandebilt 57, Brother Martin 35 Marksville 49, Teurlings 41 Ascension Episcopal vs. Sulphur Calvary Baptist vs. Lafayette Christian Patterson vs. St. Thomas More Newman vs. Church Point Catholic-NI 56, Barbe 43 CATHOLIC-NI (56) Layron Mitchell 4, Jaiden Mitchell 9, Karon Eugene 3, Tristan Lewis 24, Chris Green 4, Joab Trosclair 6, Jules Davis 3, Wilfred Andrus 2, Jacob Minivelle 1. Totals: 23 (4) 6-10. BARBE (43) Tylon Sam 5, Ben Golla 10, Riley Galmarini 4, Deshawn Calhoun 2, Eris Jones 4, Mason Fullington 6, John Strokes 12. Totals: 17 (5) 4-7. Catholic-NI 15 17 10 14 – 56 Barbe 18 4 17 4 – 43 3-pointers – CATH: Jaiden Mitchell 1, Lewis 2, Davis 1; BARBE: Sam 1, Golla 2, Galmarini 1, Fullington 1. Total Fouls: CATH 13, BARBE 11. Westgate 68, Lafayette Renaissance 58 LAFAYETTE RENAISSANCE (58) Mathew Gordon 17, Tahj Domingue 4, Gabe Duhon 8, S. Taylor 3, Bubba Etienne 14, Jaquelle Smith 3, Tavion Gallien 9. Totals: 17 (7) 17-32. WESTGATE (68) Jackilon Robertson 1, Cayden Lancelin 24, Joseph Dakylon 6, Amari Simon 2, Antonio Quetel 7, Shadon Lee 19, Chance Archangel 7, Caemon Crockem 2. Totals: 25 (2) 15-16. Lafayette Renaissance 18 16 14 10 – 58 Westgate 10 22 16 20 - 68 3-pointers – LRCA: Gordon 3, Domingue 1, Etienne 2, Gallen 1; WGATE: Lancelin 1, Quetel 1. Total Fouls: LRCA 27, WGATE 32. Vandebilt 57, Brother Martin 35 VANDEBILT (57) Jayden Coleman 9, Josiah Johnson 7, Carter Bunnell 9, Terrell Mixon 2, Jaylon Coleman 11, Leighton Smith 5, Rob Sandolph 4, Jordan Matthew 14. Totals: 23 (8) 3-6. BROTHER MARTIN (35) Hale Hankins 6, Raphael Bickham 7, Jax Wilklow 6, Christ Keene 2, Will Mcchesky 4, Chase Chesser 6, Blake Mccrary 4. Totals: 15 (1) 4-10. Vandebilt 17 15 16 9 – 57 Brother Martin 11 7 11 6 – 35 3-pointers – VAND: Jayden Coleman 1, Johnson 1, Bunnell 1, Jaylon Coleman 1, Smith 1, Matthew 3; BM: Bickham 1. Total Fouls: VAND 14, BM 15. Marksville 49, Teurlings 41 MARKSVILLE (49) Elydrick Murry 8, Devin Lavalais 19, Braylen Bazile 4, Jaden Price 6, Shannon Davis 2, Dayne Small 10. Totals: 19 (4) 7-12. TEURLINGS (41) Teyerance Alfred 4, Jordon Senegal 11, AJ Price 4, DeVon Warren 16, Brayden Brooks 6. Totals: 15 (1) 10-14. Marksville 13 14 15 7 – 49 Teurlings 13 9 9 10 – 41 3-pointers – MVILLE: Murray 1, Price 1, Small 2; TEUR: Senegal 1. Total Fouls: MVILLE 14, TEUR 13. Friday’s Games 10 a.m. – Brother Martin vs. Calvary-LCA loser 11:15 a.m. – Barbe vs. Newman-CP loser 12:30 p.m. – Teurlings vs. AES-Sulphur loser 2 p.m. – Lafayette Renaissance vs. STM-Patt loser 3:15 p.m. - Catholic-NI vs. Newman-CP winner 4:30 p.m. - Vandebilt vs. Calvary-LCA winne 6 p.m. - Westgate vs. STM-Patt winner 7:15 p.m. - Marksville vs. AES-Sulphur winner Saturday’s Games 10 a.m. – Consolation bracket semifinals 11:15 a.m. – Consolation bracket semifinals 12:30 p.m. – Losers bracket semifinals 2 p.m. – Losers bracket semifinals 3:15 p.m. – Fifth place semifinals 4:30 p.m. – Fifth place semifinals 6 p.m. – Winners bracket semifinals 7:15 p.m. – Winners bracket semifinals Sunday’s Games 1 p.m. – Losers bracket third place game 2:30 p.m. – Losers bracket finals 4 p.m. – Fifth place game 5:30 p.m. – Third place game 7 p.m. – Championship game Darrel Mitchell Holiday Classic (Boys, Girls at St. Martinville) BOYS SCHEDULE Thursday’s Games St. Martinville 50, Comeaux 47 New Iberia 38, Rayne 32 Franklin 44, Cecilia 40 Ellender vs. Acadiana Lafayette Peabody Loreauville vs. Breaux Bridge New Iberia 38, Rayne 32 RAYNE (32) Lesean Leday 4, Ja’mari White 4, Diondre Eaglin 8, Juantreal Wilridge 1, Jaylon Alleman 6, Syncere Smith 4, Jarmel Guidry 3, Kristian Delco 2. Totals: 13 (1) 3-9. NEW IBERIA (38) Tre Lively 10, Shane Westley 2, Brian Canrfry 2, Miles Jones 8, Kaden Johnson 8, Khaleb Fuselier 8. Totals: 9 (4) 8-14. Rayne 10 11 7 4 – 32 New Iberia 9 8 12 9 - 38 3-pointers – RAY: Guidry 1; NISH: Lively 1, Jones 2, Fuselier 1. Total Fouls: Rayne 14, NISH 7. Franklin 44, Cecilia 40 CECILIA (40) Malik Joseph 12, Jermaine Davis 7, Christian Menard 8, Jayden Lewis 4, Gavin Soloman 2, Connor Helaire 4, Jakarik Sebille 3. Totals: 11 (4) 6-9. FRANKLIN (44) Jylon Jackson 10, Jahiri Perry 11, Jeremiah Gray 13, Treyshawn Mack 7, Jarion Gray 3. Totals: 13 (3) 9-18. Cecilia 11 9 5 15 – 40 Franklin 9 10 19 6 - 44 3-pointers – CEC: Davis 1, Menard 2, Sebille 1; FRANK: Jackson 2, Jeremiah Gray 1. Total Fouls: CEC 20, FRANK 11. Friday’s Games Noon – Cecilia vs. New Iberia 1:30 p.m. – Breaux Bridge vs. Comeaux 3 p.m. – Loreauville vs Rayne 4:30 p.m. – Lafayette High vs. Ellender 6 p.m. – Peabody vs. St. Martinville 7:30 p.m. – Acadiana vs. Franklin Saturday’s Games 1:30 p.m. – Cecilia vs. Loreauville 3 p.m. – Ellender vs. Comeaux 4:30 p.m. – Rayne vs. Franklin 6 p.m. – Acadiana vs. Peabody GIRLS SCHEDULE Thursday’s Games Westgate 50, Breaux Bridge 37 2 p.m. – New Iberia vs. Cecilia 4 p.m. – Peabody vs. St. Martinville 6 p.m. – Karr vs. Carencro Friday’s Games Noon – Karr vs. Cecilia 2 p.m. – Westgate vs. St. Martinville 4 p.m. – Breaux Bridge vs. Peabody 6 p.m. – Carencro vs. New Iberia Saturday’s Games Noon – New Iberia vs. Breaux Bridge 2 p.m. - Carencro vs. Westgate 4 p.m. – Karr vs. Peabody 6 p.m. – Cecilia vs. St. Martinville Northwest Holiday Tournament (Boys and girls at Northwest High) Thursday’s Games Ville Platte 45, Rayne 38 (Girls) David Thibodaux 55, North Central 30 (Boys) 3 p.m. – Port Allen vs. Westminster (Boys) 4:30 p.m. – Douglass vs. Beau Chene (Boys) 6 p.m. – Northwest vs. Baker 7:30 p.m. – Karr vs. DThib-NCentral winner (Boys) Friday’s Games 10:30 a.m. – Nwest-Doug vs. Doug-BChene losers (Boys) Noon – North Central vs. Doug -BChene losers (Boys) 1:30 p.m. – Northwest vs. Rayne-VP winner (Girls) 3 p.m. – North Central vs. PA-West winner (Girls) 4:30 p.m. – Winners bracket semifinals (Boys) 6 p.m. – Losers bracket semifinals (Boys) 7:30 p.m. – Winners bracket semifinals (Boys) Saturday’s Games Noon – Girls consolation finals 1:30 p.m. – Boys consolation finals 3 p.m. – Girls third place game 4:30 p.m. – Boys third place game 6 p.m. – Girls championship game 7:30 p.m. – Boys championship game Coca-Cola Yuletide Classic (Boys and girls at Vermilion Catholic) Thursday’s Games Crowley 60, Acadiana Renaissance 57 (Boys) Avoyelles 57, ESA 46, (Boys) Southside 55, Erath 42 (Girls) 4:30 p.m. – Kaplan vs. Hathaway (Boys) 6 p.m. – Vermilion Catholic vs. Kaplan (Girls) 7:30 p.m. – Abbeville vs. Notre Dame (Boys) Crowley 60, Acadiana Renaissance 57 ACADIANA RENAISSANCE (57) Dayne David 6, Jordan Stabile 22, Kruz Olivier 5, Dredyn Jenkins 2, Karsen Buggs 10, Kristian Aubrey 7, Noah Nowick 5. Totals: 13 (8) 78. CROWLEY (60) Chris George 12, Ronelle George 8, Dustin Walters 5, Floyd Flugence 31, Rae’Kelun Thomas 1, K’Mari Jason 3. Totals: 18 (5) 9-15. Acadiana Renaissance 5 14 18 20 – 57 Crowley 14 18 13 15 - 60 3-pointers: ARCA: Stabile 6, Olivier 1, Aubrey 1; CROW: R. George 1, Walters 1, Flugence 2. Total Fouls: ARCA 12, CROW 10. Avoyelles 57, ESA 46 EPISCOPAL ACADIANA (46) Thomas Breaux 12, Ryan Miniex 4, Jesse Lejeune 6, Mark Miller 3, Tripp Kordisch 3, Cade Broussard 2, Semar Flugence 16. Totals: 16 (2) 8-14. AVOYELLES (57) Terridus Mason 22, Chris Barnes 5, EyKeist Fransico 3, Arthella Augustine 11, Preston Barnes 8, Landon Curry 2, DeRon Jenkins 4, Kelvin Jones 2. Totals: 7 (12) 7-11. Episcopal of Acadiana 11 10 16 9 – 46 Avoyelles 15 8 17 17 - 57 3-pointers – ESA: Miller 1, Kordisch 1; AVOY: Mason 5, C. Barbes 1, Fransico 1, Augustine 3, P. Barnes 2. Total Fouls: ESA 11, AVOY 15. Southside 55, Erath 42 SOUTHSIDE (55) Layla Breland 15, Lola Dimas 4, AnnaLeigh Horton 8, Remi Rivers 2, Alexa Begnaud 2, Urijah Carmouche 22, Mariah Moore 2. Totals: 14 (7) 6-8. ERATH (42) Mollie-Grace LeBlanc 16, Kayleigh Perro 10, Ail Balillion 4, Allie Floris 9, Skylar Marshall 3. Totals: 10 (3) 13-18. Southside 16 19 11 9 – 55 Erath 10 13 7 12 - 42 3-pointers – SSIDE: Breland 3, Dimas 1, Carmouche 3; ERA: LeBalnc 2, Perro 1. Total Fouls: SSIDE 17, ERA 8. Friday’s Games 1:30 p.m. – ESA vs. Abb-ND losers (Boys) 3 p.m. – Erath vs. Acadiana (Girls) 4:30 p.m. – Acadiana Renaissance vs. Abb-ND winners (Boys) 6 p.m. – Kaplan vs. St. Thomas More (Girls) 7:30 p.m. – Vermilion Catholic vs. Kap-Hath winner (Boys) Saturday’s Games 1:30 p.m. – Boys consolation game 3 p.m. – St. Thomas More vs. Acadiana (Girls) 4:30 p.m. – Boys losers bracket game 6 p.m. – Vermilion Catholic vs. Southside (Girls) 7:30 p.m. – Boys winners bracket game Monday’s Games Noon – Kaplan vs. Acadiana (Girls) 1:30 p.m. – Boys losers bracket finals 3 p.m. – Southside vs. St. Thomas More (Girls) 4:30 p.m. – Boys third place game 6 p.m. – Vermilion Catholic vs. Erath (Girls) 7:30 p.m. – Boys championship game North Vermilion Holiday Classic (All boys at North Vermilion) Thursday’s Games 5:30 p.m. – Opelousas Catholic vs. Mamou 6:45 p.m. – North Vermilion vs. Erath Friday’s Games 5:30 p.m. – Erath vs. Opelousas Catholic 6:45 p.m. – Mamou vs. North Vermilion Saturday’s Games 11 a.m. – North Vermilion vs. Opelousas Catholic 12:15 p.m. – Mamou vs. Erath Brad Fontenot Memorial Holiday Shootout (Boys, girls at St. Edmund High) Thursday’s Games 2:30 p.m. – St. Joseph’s vs. Elton (Boys) 4 p.m. – Sacred Heart-VP vs. Port Barre (Boys) 5:30 p.m. – Basile vs. Ascension Catholic (Boys) 7 p.m. – St. Edmund vs. Lacassine (Boys) Friday’s Games 11:30 a.m. – SJ-Elton vs. SHVP-PB losers (Boys) 1 p.m. – Basile-AC vs. St. Ed-Lac losers (Boys) 2:30 p.m. – Sacred Heart-VP vs. Elton (Girls) 4 p.m. - SJ-Elton vs. SHVP-PB winners (Boys) 5:30 p.m. – St. Edmund vs. Mamou (Girls) 7 p.m. - Basile-AC vs. St. Ed-Lac winners (Boys) Saturday’s Games 11:30 a.m – Consolation bracket (Boys) 1 p.m. – Third place game (Boys) 2:30 p.m. - Mamou vs. Elton (Girls) 4 p.m. – Losers bracket finals (Boys) 5:30 p.m. – St. Edmund vs. Sacred Heart-VP (Girls) 7 p.m. – Boys championship game
Things to watch this week in the Southeastern Conference. No. 7 Alabama (No. 7 CFP) at Oklahoma, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC) It's the first regular-season meeting since 2003 between traditional college football heavyweights who have combined for 25 national titles and usually face off in January bowl games with championship implications. Another fun fact: They've only played once each on the other's home field in six lifetime matchups, with the Sooners winning that showdown 20-13 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Alabama won the most recent postseason meeting, 45-34, at the Orange Bowl in the 2018 College Football Playoff semifinal before falling to Clemson in the championship. Another berth in the 12-team playoff is at stake for the visiting Crimson Tide (8-2, 4-2 SEC, No. 7 CFP), which trails No. 3 Texas and No. 15 Texas A&M by a game in the standings and is among four two-loss teams trying to stay within reach and possibly get to next month's championship in Atlanta. Alabama has won three in a row overall including last week's 52-7 rout of Mercer, rolling up 508 yards on offense. Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe passed for 186 of his 229 yards from scrimmage and two of his three touchdowns. Milroe's 32 total TDs lead the SEC and he's second with 17 rushing scores. Rather than contending as hoped, SEC newcomer Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5) is instead playing spoiler after four losses in five games, against ranked league foes Texas, No. 19 South Carolina and No. 9 Ole Miss. The Sooners scored two late fourth-quarter touchdown to lead Missouri 23-16 two weeks ago before the host Tigers scored two TDs in the final 1:07 seconds for a 30-23 victory. Alabama is a 14-point favorite according to BetMGM. No. 9 Ole Miss (8-4, 4-2, No. 9 CFP) at Florida (5-5, 3-4), Saturday, Noon ET (ABC) The Rebels have won three in a row since falling at LSU and four of five overall. They're coming off a bye after beating then-No. 3 Georgia 28-10 on Nov. 9 and look to stay within reach of first place and remain in the CFP discussion. Florida upended No. 21 LSU 27-16 on Saturday to earn a signature win for embattled coach Billy Napier and reach the cusp of bowl eligibility after finishing 5-7 last fall. Also worth a look: Vanderbilt (6-4, 3-3) at LSU (6-4, 3-3). Both are bowl eligible, but the Commodores can clinch their first .500 SEC finish since going 4-4 in 2013 and help coach Clark Lea match his win total for the past two seasons combined. The Tigers look to regroup from the Florida loss. No. 15 Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed. Reed is 4-1 as a starter for an Aggies team that visits Auburn hoping to stay in the playoff hunt before the regular season finale against in-state rival Texas. Reed has passed for 1,129 yards and nine touchdowns against two interceptions. He has run for 375 yards and six scores. The Tigers have had some struggles against dual-threat quarterbacks like Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia and Arkansas' Taylen Green. Vanderbilt will play in LSU's Tiger Stadium for the first time since 2009, having played in Nashville three times since. The Commodores' last win over LSU came in 1990 and they haven't won in Baton Rouge since 1951. ... First-year Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is 34-2 in the month of November, including a 10-0 mark since 2022. ... Kentucky's 107th-ranked offense (340.5 yards per game) faces Texas's No. 1-ranked defense, which is giving up just 249 yards a game. ... Texas A&M has held opponents to 100 or fewer rushing yards in five of the last seven games, including holding LSU to 24 yards on 23 attempts. ... Auburn QB Payton Thorne has only three touchdown passes in his last four SEC games. ... Mississippi State's Isaac Smith leads the SEC and is tied for seventh nationally with 101 total tackles. ... Kentucky is 3-0 in nonconference games after shellacking in-state foe Murray State 48-3, which followed four SEC home losses. AP Sports Writer John Zenor contributed to this report. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars Preview: The 3-12 Tennessee Titans are on a four-game losing streak, but they hope to snap it and avenge their early December loss when they head to Jacksonville to take on the 3-12 Jaguars. Neither team has met expectations this season. Both have had their share of quarterback inconsistencies and injuries. In the first meeting between the two, only 16 points were scored. The Jaguars won that game, 10-6. Since Doug Pederson took over as head coach, the Jaguars have beaten the Titans four of the last five times they have played. A win this weekend would make it the Jaguars’ second sweep in the last three seasons. Despite both teams’ horrid seasons, they should see a little optimism as the season ends. They are both in contention for a top-five draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Listen to the Bet the Edge podcast as hosts Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick provide listeners with sharp actionable insight, market analysis and statistical data to help bettors gain more information before placing their wagers. So, whether you’re targeting spreads and totals, looking for value in futures markets or circling player props, give their podcast a listen to give you that extra edge. How to Watch Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars Live on Sunday: Date: Sunday, December 29th, 2024 Time: 1:00 PM ET Site: TIAA Bank Field City: Jacksonville, FL TV/Streaming: CBS Latest Game Odds for Titans at Jaguars - Week 17: The latest odds as of Thursday morning courtesy of DraftKings: Moneyline: Tennessee Titans (-110), Jacksonville Jaguars (-110) Spread: Titans -1 Total: 39.5 NBC Sports Bet Best Bets: NBC Sports analyst Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) recommends betting on Calvin Ridley over 60.5 receiving yards... Thomas: “The Titans haven’t been the best team through the air. Will Levis has struggled with consistency; he’s thrown 12 interceptions and just 12 touchdowns. However, the Jaguars love giving up big chunk plays to the wide receivers. Only two teams give up more receiving yards to wide receivers: the Vikings and the Lions. When the two played earlier in the season, Calvin Ridley was targeted 12 times. He was able to haul in seven of those targets but fell short of the 60.5 mark. I think this week is different. He probably sees a few more deep shots with nothing to lose, which he should capitalize on.” Titans at Jaguars Team Stats, Betting Trends: The Titans have failed to cover in 6 of their 8 road games this season The Jaguars have lost 9 of 12 games this season following a defeat 5 of the Titans’ last 7 games (71%) have gone over the Total Quarterback Matchup for Titans at Jaguars: Titans: Will Levis – The Will Levis Experiment has not gone as planned for the Titans. He’s yet to make the big leap. This season, his 12 interceptions are more concerning than his lack of big numbers. Ball security should be a point of emphasis in the offseason as he grows to be a better quarterback. Jaguars: Mac Jones – Jones has been under center with Trevor Lawrence on the IR. The only win he’s had under center this season was against the Titans in Week 14. Player News & Injuries: Titans: K Nick Folk (abdomen) is questionable RB Tony Pollard (ankle) is questionable WR Tyler Boyd (foot) is questionable LB Kenneth Murray Jr is on the IR Jaguars: TE Brenton Strange (shoulder) is questionable DT DaVon Hamilton (illness) is questionable G Brandon Scherff (knee) is questionable G Ezra Cleveland (knee) is questionable OT Walker Little (ankle) is OUT Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest and tools for the NFL, including game predictions, player props, futures, and trends! Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas) Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
John Elway: remorse over bypassing Josh Allen in draft mitigated by watching Broncos rookie Bo Nix
Barry Tompkins: Bay Area teams wilting like the Christmas tree( MENAFN - Jordan Times) LONDON - Last month, I wrote about the central role of inflation trends in the outlook for the world Economy in 2024 and beyond. Of course, there are many additional risks, which is why the forecasting community is hedging its projections with sensible caveats about various“known unknowns”. Chief among these are the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the uncertainty about China, and looming elections in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. With respect to inflation, I offered a cautiously optimistic outlook based on recent reports showing that many underlying indicators appeared to be moving in a promising direction. Since then, however, the latest monthly inflation data (for December) in the eurozone, the United Kingdom, and the US have surprised on the upside. That has given pause to many policymakers, investors, and analysts after weeks of markets pricing in large interest-rate cuts this year. Finally, I concluded by mentioning that it would be a pleasant surprise if wage gains in many countries persisted, despite the improving inflation outlook, without contributing to a fresh, more sustained rise in prices. Of course, most economists and central bankers would put little store in this scenario unless there was clear evidence of a much-needed uptick in productivity across the Western world (and beyond). Without additional productivity, they would warn, real (inflation- adjusted) wage gains cannot be sustained without becoming inflationary. Nonetheless, I find myself holding on to the same hope I had last month. After all, productivity data arrive with a lag, so it would be quite risky for central bankers to react too strongly to continued wage gains, such as by declaring that they will maintain a more restrictive monetary policy than they otherwise would have done. Specifically, there are three good reasons to adopt a wait-and-see posture. First, although forecasters failed to anticipate the persistent weakness in productivity over the past two decades, it is only recently that they seem to have given up signalling an expectation that it will start to recover. Second, there are obvious reasons for thinking that productivity will eventually improve, even if most have given up hope. Just look at the big developments in artificial intelligence, the shift to alternative energies, the change in working patterns since the start of the pandemic, and policymakers' renewed focus on initiatives explicitly designed to boost productivity. True, the data have yet to show that these developments are bearing fruit; but, again, the gains from new technologies often take time to work their way through the economy - and into official statistics. The third reason to hold off on monetary tightening concerns the social and human aspects of the wages and productivity issue. As we know from debates about the sources of growing anxiety and economic insecurity across many democracies, median real wages have performed poorly in recent decades. This trend has clearly played a big role in the public's growing disillusionment with“capitalism” and“globalisation”, and in the rising support for more radical and populist political parties and movements. It follows that an increase in real wages would help to moderate political attitudes. Repressing wages simply because of a belief that they are unjustified would be dangerous. Will the improvement in inflation be sustained? Though the December inflation figures came in higher than expected, the preceding months had shown sharper-than-expected declines. If one examines the smoother underlying measures of trend inflation, as well as surveys of inflation expectations, the outlook remains quite promising. As for the other cyclical factors, three things stand out to me as we approach the end of January. First, Chinese economic data and financial-market performance remain generally disappointing despite stronger efforts by the authorities to support a robust recovery. Second, in the US, most (though not all) economic indicators continue to come in stronger than expected. That is a relief, even if it isn't alleviating the uncertainty among many commentators who worry that the recent positive trends may not be sustainable. Markets, too, have had a jittery start to the year. According to the so-called five-day rule (whereby a net gain for the S&P 500 in the first five trading days of January bodes well for the next 12 months), there is only a 50 per cent chance that this will be a positive year for stocks. Yes, this is far from a scientific truth. But, as I have noted previously, a positive start has predicted a positive year more than 85 per cent of the time, going back decades. Lastly, despite the worrying issues in the Middle East and Ukraine, commodity-price volatility has remained remarkably subdued. Perhaps there are some odd technical supply-demand factors that account for this. But whatever the case, the relative stability is discernible across many markets. Most key commodities, as well as the recognised major commodity indices, are down compared to a year ago. That, too, is slightly reassuring. Jim O'Neill, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a former UK treasury minister, is a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2024. MENAFN30112024000028011005ID1108942277 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Residents of the town of Fort Frances will be paying more for services and seeing higher water and sewer rates next year as the town works to establish its various budgets for 2025. The rates were discussed and approved at Monday night’s meeting of town council, where administration presented two reports detailing the planned increase. The reports proposed that most user fees would see an increase of 2.1 percent, while residential sewer and water rates would receive an increase at 2.25 percent, and institutional rates would be increased by 3.25. When discussing next year’s user fees within the Town of Fort Frances, the report prepared by Town Treasurer Dawn Galusha notes that not every fee charged by the town would increase, but some of the fees that will see an increase in 2025 include business licenses (e.g. hairstyling shop increasing to $55.75 from $54.60), letters of compliance or approval for properties ($88.30 from $86.50), building/demolition permits (e.g. Residential construction – new and/or addition – Main Floor increasing to $1.00 per square foot from $0.95 per square foot), some landfill rates (e.g. rate per tonne when scale is in operation increasing to $84.55 from $82.79), and community services like Memorial Sports Centre ice rental rates. Discussion also turned to non-resident rates for town facilities, which were once in place but were removed during the previous council’s term. Coun. Mike Behan, responding to a comment from coun. Wendy Brunetta around the possibility of revisiting those rates in order to drive revenue for the town, noted that as a member of the committee that made the decision, the rates were in fact removed for exactly that purpose. “My reasoning for supporting at the time was to actually increase revenue because of the law diminishing returns,” Behan said. “The more expensive something gets, you don’t necessarily get that back, and it might actually lose revenue. So the thought process, to me, was if more non-residents joined the Sportsplex as members, or whichever, we actually might raise more money, which in turn would actually reduce the amount that taxpayer had to subsidize these programs and facilities. That was my thinking, it was sort of outside the box at the time, but we wanted to see if there was some way to raise revenue, not decrease revenue.” Behan noted that the idea was presented as something of a pilot project, though it was complicated by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that he was open to looking at the revenue generated now without the non-resident fees to see if that idea had borne fruit. Coun. Steve Maki echoed Behan’s point, saying he would also be in favour of extending the non-resident fee removal as a pilot project to determine its impact on facility revenue, to which Brunetta agreed. “That’s basically the point I was trying to make is that I’d like to see some facts and figures,” she said. “I’d like to know if it did, in fact, increase our membership, and I accept the fact that COVID put a real dent into what information we could collect. If we’re not going to look at it this budget cycle, I’d like to at least have some information in the next budget cycle so we can actually use facts to support our decision.” Galusha noted there might be some challenge in pulling data that will be useful, as outdated usage numbers from 2019 would be difficult to compare to today’s or even next year’s fees, though Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas expressed his confidence in administrations capabilities. Council requested a report on the non-resident user fees be prepared for Q2 2025. As discussion turned to water and sewer rates in Fort Frances, council reviewed a report from operations and facilities manager Travis Rob that recommended the aforementioned changes to the fee structure, noting the increase would see a 2.24 rate increase for flat rate residential customers that would bring the 2025 total to $1149 for the year, up from $1123.80 per year in 2024, which would equate to an increase of $25.50 per year or $2.10 per month. The fee updates would also set the volumetric rate at $3.89 per cubic meter, or a 3.77 percent increase for Industrial / Commercial class. Overall, the proposed changes would see an increase of $178,197.78 in revenue for the town compared to the 2024 forecasted revenue “which results in a deficit of $11.22 from the forecasted revenue of $6,239,162.00 given the forecasted 2024 consumption,” according to Rob’s report. Speaking to council, the operations and facilities manager noted much of the difficulty in setting these rates comes down to trying to estimate what the annual consumption is going to be, which changes from year to year, especially when trying to plan for saving money in the respective reserve funds. “We use the previous year’s consumption as kind of a guide for us moving forward,” Rob explained. “So we really lean back heavily on our financial plan, and our financial plan does take into account not only the assets that we have, the value of those assets, the age of those assets, and the conditions of those assets. So the financial plan is really establishing that percentage increase or that revenue component with contemplated large capital works in mind. We talked a little bit about it at the capital budget meeting. All of our infrastructure, you know, linear and otherwise is old. It’s reaching end of life... But we fully acknowledge that this is a big year in terms of capital cost. Does that mean we need to try and recuperate some of that reserve contribution this year? I mean, that’s really up to the will of Council. We do still have fairly healthy sewer and water reserves, even with the expenditures that we have.” Rob noted the town has worked to put away roughly $25,000 per year in extra money to help support the reserves, and thus any future projects that may be larger and more costly in scope. It has also been working to incrementally close the gap between the residential and ICI (industrial, commercial and institutional) water and wastewater rates. Council ultimately approved the recommended water and sewer fee changes, with all approved rate and fee changes expected to come into effect January 1, 2025. The complete reports detailing all proposed user fee and water and sewer rate changes can be viewed on the Town of Fort Frances’ website included on the agenda for Monday night’s meeting.
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