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The spokeswoman also said there was an opportunity for residents who wished to sell their homes to the council to rent their houses back until the council required the property.
Caloundra residents in uncertain future with Caloundra plans: Caloundra Residents in Omrah Street are unsure about what the future holds.
The remaining homes sit in what has now been zoned a Community Facilities Zone under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014.
Under the Draft Master Plan the street is identified as a "Community and Creative Hub", which could house the new transit centre and provide pedestrian connections to Oval Ave and Bowman Rd, the Master Plan's intentions for redevelopment to deliver a range of community activities including community facilities, education, accommodation and car parking.
A number of residents, including Maureen Beer, Jim Street, Les Sperling, Russell McKenzie and more aren't happy.
They say their properties have been gradually devalued for more than a decade through the planning process and are asking two questions. Why must their homes be obtained and if so, why aren't they being paid what they're worth?
However the council says that it is paying the true value of the properties and that the zoning change will not affect how market value is calculated when it comes time to sell.
Ms Beer had a valuation done on her home, which sits on a 708 sq m block, back in November, 2013.
The appraisal price was between $680,000 and $760,000. The agents referred to a similar property in Ormuz Ave that had recently sold for $800,000, albeit on a bigger block and deemed to be in a better location, but was judged an inferior home.
The property next door to Ms Beer - also on a 708 sq m block - was purchased by the council for $460,000 in July last year. Back in 2004 another Omrah Ave property was purchased for $850,000 by the council, according to RP Data.
Other conservative RP Data value estimates of properties along the street range from anywhere between the mid-to-late $400,000 mark to more than $600,000, although it's unclear if the estimates account for proximity to beaches, shops and other amenities.
Ms Beer's daughter's ashes are scattered in her backyard and the 65-year-old motel manager remained anxious about what the future held for she and her 96-year-old mother, holding off constructing a granny flat for her mother until the proposed Master Plan became clearer.
"It's quite traumatic. You actually get sick in the gut," she said.
Mr McKenzie said he couldn't understand why the council wasn't willing to pay the true value of the properties if they so desperately wanted to acquire them.
"We just want them to either be fair about it or just leave us alone," he said.
Deputy Mayor and Division 2 Councillor Tim Dwyer said any valuations and negotiations would be carried out assuming the site was zoned low-density residential with improvements or accounting for capacity to improve, in that current market.
He said he hoped to avoid going down the property resumption path "unless absolutely necessary" and said the council had a duty not to pay "ridiculous prices" but equally not to rip off ratepayers and ensure they received the fair market value and that was the only way he would support property acquisitions.
"It's about true value," Cr Dwyer said.
He said he welcomed owners getting valuations done and instigating negotiations with the council and that he would be "happy to talk to them and happy to pay good market value from a residential perspective".
Mr Sperling said their current location was "unequalled" in the area and that he could not find a better spot, adding he "wouldn't want to go even for the right price" and was also frustrated at the ongoing uncertainty.
What does it mean to be Jewish?
Ken Adelman: I’m Jewish, and was raised Jewish. And I don’t consider myself, you know, a temple-goer very often because I find it very boring, to tell you the truth. But then when you are in nature – when you’re hiking in the great outdoors in Colorado, which we do a lot – you just feel that, “Oh my gosh. This is so magnificent.” You feel a different dimension. And with me, it’s more when you think about back to basics. You think about how wonderful Ron Reagan was as a leader. You think about how mystical it was, and how wonderful it was that we had a Churchill come along at the time we did; and FDR come along when he did. I read about six books on Lincoln over the last year. I have two full shelves on Lincoln. I think, “My gosh! Where did this come from?” And then comes . . . To me the ultimate is, of course, Shakespeare. How could somebody, you know, who had a seventh grade education give us the greatest works that I think the human mind has ever come up with? And there just cannot be human mind that produced this. There has to be something else.
Just to give you one fact, in 1599, Shakespeare wrote . . . or probably finished, but wrote the bulk of Hamlet, Henry V, Julius Caesar, and As You Like It. Now come on! That’s not a human product, those four things. Any one of the four – had they done nothing else – he would be very well known in history.
Margaret Mitchell wrote one book in her life, “Gone With the Wind”. It was a hell of a book. It is a hell of a book. Shakespeare would have written eight of those four plays out of his 37 in a whole lifetime. And I would have said, “My gosh! He’s a genius! He’s fantastic.” But to crank out those four in one . . . in one year , it comes from somewhere else. It comes from somewhere else.
Adelman finds nature and art to be more inspiring than a synagogue.
She registered for her degree in person, diligently attended lectures, defended her proposal after waiting in the queue like all other students and on Tuesday Higher Education Minister Naledi Pandor reaped her reward: she obtained a PhD from the University of Pretoria.
The university said in a statement Pandor’s research topic was titled “The contested meaning of transformation in higher education in post- apartheid South Africa”. The work she produced has received acclaim from international examiners like Professor Fazal Rizvi from the University of Melbourne, who congratulated her on a “most insightful thesis”. Thanks to Pandor's thesis he now has a “more nuanced understanding of South African higher education and theoretical issues” he had not previously encountered.
Pandor, a former teacher who already holds a Master’s in Education Policy and Practice in Multi-racial Societies, as well as Linguistics from the applied linguistics perspective, admitted to being nervous and “slightly embarrassed” at being an older student.
She said she chose to further her studies in education because it fascinated her.
“I learnt that there is a vast amount of absolutely fascinating education information that we need to tap into much more than we do today. I also learnt how to use research material and to carry out a very demanding academic schedule,” she said.
“Every moment outside work and politics was given to my studies. I tried to balance [it] but some areas were neglected, especially family."
Professor Chika Sehoole, Dean of the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Education, was Pandor's supervisor.
“After I agreed to supervise her, she set the rules for the relationship," said Sehoole, who was also a former colleague from before the education department was split into basic and higher education.
He found it difficult to call her by her name, he admitted, but described her as a good student.
Pandor said Sehoole was an “excellent supervisor" who built a positive relationship with her. "He knew when to advise or support, when to apply pressure, and when to leave me to my own devices."
The former Science and Technology minister said in one of her department's budget speeches in Parliament five years ago that South Africa was producing too few doctoral graduates. Then there were just more than 1 800 PhDs per annum, City Press reported at the time.
Pandor said the National Development Plan sets a target of 100 000 PhDs by 2030 to improve research and innovation capacity. To reach that target, there needs to be 6 000 PhDs per year.
Academy of Science of South Africa president Professor Jonathan Jansen has hailed Pandor’s accomplishment.
Re: How far should you go in pursuing your dream?
Never give it up. Follow your dream in to the depths of madness. And if you succeed, get right on the trail of the next dream. I find myself quoting Franz Kafka quite often but once again, he sums it up so nicely.
"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly."
Position is based in an FE college in Wiltshire.
The college currently deliver a range of engineering subjects and are looking for an enthusiastic professional to join their team. If you are an experienced engineering teacher and have had experience delivering previously, then this role will interest you.
A fantastic opportunity for a Mechanical Engineering Lecturer to join a college that is growing in stature and numbers. The college are the leading apprenticeship and FE provider in the area.
The college is situated across 4 campuses, delivering FE and HE courses. The College have students studying courses that range from vocational qualifications to community leisure courses. The demand for more engineering professionals to join the department is high due to the number of students looking to join this excellent FE College.
This position requires a candidate to have Mechanical Engineering and / or have substantial experience in the Engineering industry. They are looking for an individual who has practical PEO experience within the industry. A teaching qualification is beneficial but not essential, however, you must be willing to work towards this.
Regarding the interview process for this position, there is a face to face interview at the college where a presentation and interview will take place.
To discuss the position prior to applying feel free to contact me directly on (phone number removed), via email or find me on linkedin.
* Safeguarding and Vetting: Edgware Associates is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, applicants and clients to share this commitment. Some roles that we introduce applicants to may involve work with under 18’s or vulnerable adults. Any appointment to such roles will be made subject to strict vetting and screening checks and receipt of a satisfactory enhanced DBS check.
Humans aren’t the only species to experience craniomaxillofacial disorders. Puppies can be born with congenital birth defects of cleft palate; cats suffer an oral immune disease that is analagous to a human condition. Fortunately, veterinary medicine has discovered a lot in the research and treatment of these various conditions that can translate to helping humans.
�I want to tell you that personally for me it is very difficult what Okruashvili has done. I am accustomed to accusations being levelled against me and against my relatives. But this person [Okruashvili] - unlike others, who might actually believed in what they say � knows very well that it is a lie.
This man accused us of something, that - and he knows it very well � is the key principle of my life, against which I am fighting; this is clannish, corrupt deals. He has accused us of something that is most unacceptable, something that we have never done and will never do and he knows this.
I want to stress - to ensure that no one would accuse the president of influencing the court or interfering in the judicial process � it is up to the court to make all decisions and one should not judge my plans regarding these particular accusations. According to the Constitution, I have no right to interfere in this process.
But, everybody should remember one thing � if a person has stolen money, if a person has caused damage to our state � which is in the process of being built, if a person does not observe the law, justice will reign and the state will perform its duties, regardless of what statements are made.
I want to ask a simple question: I was a justice minister in the decayed Shevardnadze government. When I quit, I had only 100 Lari in my pocket. I remember when we rented the office for the National Movement [Party], we, including my friends, who are lawmakers now, were collecting 50 Lari each [to pay office rent]. And how could one earn millions while serving in my government, during my presidency?
This is a clear example personally for me and for everyone that untouchable people and uncontrolled territories should not exist, do not exist and will never exist in Georgia.
The rule of law and putting everyone where they deserve to be, if they violate the law � this is the style of my governance and style of our governance.
The New Orleans-based bank has acquired Phoenix Capital Group.
New Orleans-based Gulf Coast Bank & Trust is adding to its Small Business Administration lending operations, headquartered in Texas, with the acquisition of American Business Lending.
A growing housing market in Orlando, Florida has prompted New Orleans’ Gulf Coast Bank to expand its loan production offices to that metro area.
New or small businesses turn to alternative lending for fast, no-hassle sources of funding, but bankers are urging them to read the fine print first.
If a small business owner is considering borrowing money, it helps to understand how a banker thinks.
Gulf Coast Bank CEO Guy Williams said the results reflect continued strength in small business lending, highlighting loan demand among businesses supporting natural gas extraction and the wave of natural gas processing plants to be built in south Louisiana over the next five years.
Gitmo plans coming. Defense officials have indicated that President Barack Obama’s plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay would be released this week, so we eagerly await the delivery to Capitol HIll — where it is sure to be rejected. The package is expected to include options for transferring the remaining detainees to high-security prisons in Colorado, Kansas, or South Carolina and an assessment of the related costs and logistics.
But FP’s Dan De Luce takes a deeper dive, and finds that even if president Obama used executive action to shutter the facility, it would likely be months before any detainees were physically moved out of Cuba. And with little support on Capitol Hill for shipping dozens of detainees to the United States to be housed in prisons here, “the administration would have to be ready for the potential political fallout from a showdown with Congress, which could include cutting funding for White House priorities or even forcing a government shutdown,” De Luce writes.
It’s on. The long-awaited push to retake Mosul may have kicked off this week over on Sinjar mountain, where thousands of Kurdish forces launched an all-out assault on the Islamic State in the area between the Sinjar and the Syrian border. The idea is to shut down the militant’s use of Highway 47, a main route for shipping supplies between Raqqa in Syria and Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, which ISIS overran in June 2014.
U.S. Special Operations forces are on the mountain helping to coordinate the dozens of airstrikes that have pounded ISIS positions over the last two days, but FP’s Paul McLeary reports that pushing the group out of Sinjar probably won’t make the eventual fight for Mosul any easier. The militants in the city have had plenty of time to build what U.S. officials have described as vast fields of landmines and deeply entrenched defensive positions scattered throughout the densely populated city of 1.5 million.
In it together. We promise. Just two days before diplomats gather yet again in Vienna in an effort to end the civil war in Syria, Secretary of State John Kerry sought to reassure skeptical members of the Syrian opposition on Thursday that they would play an influential role in determining their country’s future, reports FP’s John Hudson.
“Kerry’s vow came despite the fact that neither the Syrian opposition nor the regime of President Bashar al-Assad were invited to attend the Saturday meeting,” Hudson writes. The Syrians were also excluded from the previous round of talks in the Austrian capital two weeks ago. Leaders of the Syrian opposition to President Bashar al-Assad are worried that the negotiators will bargain the revolution away, since opposition groups don’t have a seat at the table. “My concern is that this is going to be heavily in favor of the regime and you’re going to have a war criminal and an absolute monster come out on top,” Muna Jondy, president of United for a Free Syria, told Foreign Policy.
The Lewis sacking comes just three days after Carter’s public affairs chief, Maura Sullivan, announced she was leaving after only four months on the job. In a letter to the Pentagon’s public affairs staff forwarded to SitRep, Sullivan would only say that she was “transitioning” to a “leadership role in the Department of the Navy.” Current Pentagon spokesman, Peter Cook, will take on her job as well as holding down his duties at the podium. Carter’s nine-month tenure got off to a bit of a rocky start after he took three months to appoint Cook as his spokesman after telling then-spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby that he was naming his own guy to take the podium. More significantly, Carter swapped out his chief of staff in July, when he named Eric Fanning, who led his transition team, to be acting under secretary of the Army, and bringing on Eric Rosenbach to take his place as chief of staff.
No troops. The White House was forced to shoot down assertions made by Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson and his staff that Chinese troops are on the ground in Syria. FP’s David Francis is following the story, and reports that Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes was forced to tell reporters Thursday that “it’s worth stepping back and noting China makes it a practice to not get extended into military conflicts in the Middle East. Their policy over many years and decades has been to not be overextended in military exercises.” Interesting concept.
Thanks again for clicking on through for another day with SitRep as we wrap up another eventful week. As always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along! Best way is to send them to [email protected] or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.
The Assad regime has managed to take back more territory in the course of its Aleppo offensive, this time seizing the town al-Hader along the highway linking Aleppo to Hama, according to Agence France Presse. Troops from Iran and Hezbollah took control of al-Hader, wresting it from al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters from the Nusra Front. It’s the second objective seized by the coalition backing Assad in recent days, after the Assad regime broke the Islamic State’s siege of Kweres airbase on Tuesday.
The U.S. may have killed ‘Jihadi John,’ a.k.a. Mohammed Emwazi, the British Islamic State fighter who savagely beheaded aid workers and reporters from the U.S., Britain and Japan. A Nov. 12 U.S. drone strike in Raqqa targeted the notorious Islamic State terrorist, and while officials are still assessing whether or not the strike killed Emwazi, some have been making confident-sounding noises, calling the strike a “flawless” and “clean hit” that “evaporated” Emwazi with no collateral damage.
The Islamic State is threatening Russia with retaliation for its air campaign in Syria in a new video circulating on social media, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. In the video, members of the jihadist group chant “soon, very soon, the blood will spill like an ocean” and promise attacks on Russia. A number of Russian citizens have already traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State, particularly from the Caucasus.
The New York Times reports that the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Beirut that is home to Syrian and Palestinian refugees and supporters of Hezbollah. The bombers detonated their explosives at rush hour in order to maximize casualties and the death toll so far has reached at least 43.
Israel’s defense industry has taken a huge hit, with exports down 40 percent this year and in steady decline since 2012, according to Defense News. Defense executives are reportedly in a state of near panic, writing a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding more spending and a new defense industrial strategy to cope with the declining sales in an increasingly competitive global arms market.
Israeli intelligence officials have notched up their estimate of Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal from 100,000 to 150,000, Avi Issacharoff writes in a new piece for the Times of Israel. Hezbollah has reportedly been trying to augment its weapons arsenal with shipments from Syria, and the terrorist group is reportedly looking to get its hands on SA-17, SA-22, and P-800 Oniks missiles.
The Islamic State’s insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai province is taking a toll on the longstanding presence of multinational peacekeepers there, causing some doubt about the Multinational Force and Observers’ (MFO) mission in Sinai as the violence escalates. MFO troops originally came to Sinai to monitor the terms of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, but as one diplomat told Reuters, the MFO presence reflects a different and more permissive threat environment than now exists in the age of Islamist violence, which has recently escalated in Sinai.
The Pentagon revealed on Thursday that two U.S. B-52 bombers flew near disputed islands claimed by China. The Pentagon described the flights as “a routine mission in international airspace” and said that the Guam-based bombers never came closer than 15 nautical miles of islands in the Spratly Archipelago, though it did receive verbal warnings from China. The flight comes after the USS Lassen conducted a sail-through near the islands there claimed by China.
Ars Technica spots a new article in the Journal of Applied Physics by Chinese researchers from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology highlighting their work in developing stealth technology. The article recounts the researchers’ development of “active frequency selective surface” which can cover the surface of an object and absorb certain frequencies of radar. China has been investing big in stealth research and developing a number of stealth fighter jets.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DAPRA) will be testing a new sub-hunting undersea drone next year, the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel. Vice reports that the sub drones would spend long durations at sea, quietly shadowing adversary submarines.
Accidentally on purpose — that’s the New York Times’s suggestion for the provenance of footage showing blueprints for a new Russian dirty bomb torpedo recently aired on Russian television. Russian officials have claimed that the designs showed up accidentally, leaking sensitive information about an apparent bid to build a new environmental weapon that would irradiate enemy coastlines. But even some Russian talking heads are doubting the official storyline, saying the broadcast was likely intended as a not-so-subtle threat to the West.
There’s a $200 million authorization tucked into the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act which directs the Defense Department to audit its weapons systems for software flaws which could be exploited by an adversary. The move comes on the heels of a Defense Department investigation which found “significant vulnerabilities” in the software of major weapons programs.
Defense Department emails will no longer render HTML, Federal Computer Week reports. The move to blocking HTML from Pentagon email, coordinated by deputy chief information officer for Cyber Security Richard Hale and Cyber Command, will deactivate hyperlinks in emails sent to .mil addresses and is intended to mitigate phishing attacks and the careless clicks that enable them.
We now have positive confirmation that Russia has deployed T-90 tanks to Syria, thanks to several pictures of a military band playing — and doing some serious mugging — in front of one of the tanks at a Russian outpost in the country. We’re sure the band is fine and all, but for our money, “Tops in Blue” is still, pound for sequined pound, the best military band out there.
Former CNN anchor/reporter Miles O’Brien will be temporarily returning to the network, a CNN source said. O’Brien has been signed for two weeks as an aviation analyst amid the network’s coverage of the ongoing search for the missing MH370 flight. O’Brien worked at CNN from 1992 to 2008, and being a pilot himself, he covered aviation issues and several plane crashes during his initial tenure.
John Hendricks is officially departing Discovery Communications. The 61-year-old founder of the massive media company, who stepped down as CEO in 2004, will retire from his role as chairman of the board of directors and director of the board this spring. He will remain in the position through the May 16 annual meeting of shareholders.
Discovery Communications has promoted Doug Baker to chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Discovery Networks Intl. He previously served as exec VP and CFO. In his new role, Baker will be responsible for oversight of strategy and research for Discovery’s 100-plus international outlets, in addition to leading all financial aspects of Discovery Networks Intl. finance and marketing.
If Rampage Jackson is the only B.A. Baracus you’re aware of, we pity you, fool. Rampage can’t hold a candle to Mr. T, who perfectly put the “bad attitude” in the character’s steez on the original NBC show. Aside from being the mercenary team’s resident mechanic, Mr. T’s duties included wearing “chain heavy” jewelry and breaking opponents’ faces without cracking a smile. Since his A-Team partners were all rather soft, B.A. Baracus was depended upon to crack skulls, and he never let his crew down.
The new chairman of the Brazilian Tourist Board (Embratur), Flávio Dino, has been installed in his post in a ceremony held at the auditorium of the ministry of tourism, in Brasilia.
The new chairman drew attention to the diversity offered by the country in its various regions, the hospitality of the Brazilian people and the goals to be achieved by 2020.
“Today I accept the task of getting more and more people to look at us”, he stated.
In his speech, the new chairman also spoke about continuing the work carried out by Embratur.
He noted that today Brazil has come to enjoy in recent years a leading position in receiving tourists in South America.
“That shows that the work is continuing along the right road,” added Mr Dino.
According to him, the goal of attracting 10.5 million tourists and subsequently trebling the country’s foreign exchange revenue to Brazil in 2020 is highly achievable.
The chairman also spoke about the importance for the country of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
“We are in a golden decade, because these sporting events will leave unforgettable legacies, both tangible and intangible, such as for example, the consolidation of Brazil’s image abroad”, stated Dino.
The ex-Federal Deputy for Maranhão, now heading up Embratur, also stressed the importance of private enterprise for the tourism sector.

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