Daily Archives: August 30, 2023

The Union Splash-N-Swimplex is taking note of how it is rated with the company that trains its lifeguards.

The facility and lifeguards are rated by StarGuard Elite. According to the minutes from the Aug. 14 Board of Aldermen meeting, the guards were rated a four out of five the last two years, while the pool itself received a rating five out of six.

Parks Director Chad Pohlmann presented trainers Kate Schroeder and Alyson Heggemann with an Aquatic Safety Award. Theyre the two certified trainers in StarGuard training, Pohlmann said of Schroeder and Heggemann, who are both city employees. They train all of our guards.

The plaque that will be updated every year with a new medallion with the years ratings.

The award was for the 2022 season. The ratings for the 2023 swimming season, which ended Aug. 20, will be submitted later. The 2022 year is in there, Pohlmann said. Once we get the 2023 rating, we can put that in, as well.

StarGuard officials come in and perform audits at the pool, Pohlmann said.

They assess how well the guards are doing in things related to their jobs, as far as scanning the water, reacting to different things that would happen, he said. Well simulate drownings and how they respond to that. They say in these areas youre great, in these areas you need to grow.

Union switched to StarGuard for the 2020 swim season after previously using American Red Cross lifeguard training, according to previous Missourian reporting.

StarGuard, based in Orlando, Florida, was founded in 1999 and has more than 300 clients worldwide, according to the companys website. Its clients are split between public and private entities. Along with park systems, clients include waterparks, hotels and resorts, pool management companies, swim schools, camps and even private islands.

StarGuard claims to use evidence-based protocols that are the most evolutionary and up to date of any training agency in the world.

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Union pool recognized by training company | Local News ... - The Missourian

For 2024, Up Norway, the leading curator of sustainable luxury travel experiences in Norway, will be offering a northern extension to its Arctic Circle Express Train Journey with stops in Lofoten and then on to Narvik.

The 15-night rail centric experience begins in Oslo, the vibrant heart of Norway where a bustling metropolitan atmosphere meets pioneering art, architecture, and design. The itinerary continues on from Oslo by train, stopping in Bergen, lesund, Trondheim, Bod, and, with the new extension, Lofoten and Narvik. With Bod poised to shine as the European Capital of Culture in 2024, an extra layer of cultural enrichment adds to the allure. Along the entire journey, travelers will enjoy personal encounters with locals that offer unique perspectives, a diversity of local sea and farm to table cuisine, and impactful activities from cruising the fjord and kayaking along narrow waterways to the UNESCO protected Bryggen Wharf, hiking the Alnes lighthouse on Godya island, exploration of both large cities and small town, and more. In Lofoten, with the added trip extension, travelers can enjoy remote villages, a dramatic Scenic Route, adrenaline-pumping arctic surfing, and international art collections. Then, theyll progress on to Narvik where a private guided tour of the War Museum offers insight into the World War II events that shaped the area. Additionally, the Narvikfjellet Cable Car provides panoramic views of the city and its surrounding fjords and mountains.

But perhaps the standout highlight of this itinerary is the journey itself on a trio of Norway's most spectacular railways: Flm, Rauma, and Ofotbanen. The Flm Railway, an engineering marvel and Europe's steepest rail line, treats travelers to a descent of 2,828 feet to the fjord below. Meanwhile, the Rauma Railway offers an unrivaled passage through the dramatic Romsdalen valley, and the Ofotbanen Arctic Train is a unique marvel fully above the Arctic Circle presenting panoramic views of towering peaks and cascading waterfalls.

Luxurious and authentic accommodations range from boutique hotels that overlook the commanding Hardangerjkulen glacier to the cozy embrace of a traditional fisherman's cabin. In 2024, guests can also opt to stay at the brand new Basecamp Narvik in the Narvikfjellet Mountains.

This enhanced 15-night itinerary invites discerning travelers to embark on an immersive adventure through Norway's captivating Northern landscapes, unveiling hidden gems and rich cultural experiences along the way. Up Norway provides effortless travel experiences every step of the journey over dates of ones choosing. Guests are provided with a comprehensive pre-trip digital guide filled with insider tips and recommendations, all travel details, and a 24-hour direct chat to access the Up Norway team with any questions.

The 15-night Arctic Circle Express with Lofoten and Narvik starts at $6,587 USD per person for a couple. Without the extension, the 11-night Arctic Circle Express Journey starts at $4,639 USD per person. For more details about the new extension of the Arctic Circle Express Itinerary, visit https://upnorway.com/journeys/hop-on-the-arctic-circle-express-train.

Photo Credit: Kylling Bru (Leif Johnny Olestad)

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Arctic Circle Express Train Journey in Lofoten Islands and Narvik ... - Luxury Travel Magazine

On August 8, 2023, massive wildfires raged through the historic West Maui town of Lahaina. Once upon a time, Lahaina was a vibrant and productive wetland community central to Native Hawaiian culture and commerce, known as the Venice of the Pacific. Excessive water diversions by plantations and land developers with colonial roots turned Lahaina into a desert overrun by dry invasive grasses. More than a century of water and land mismanagement, in addition to drought worsened by climate change, set the conditions for the most devastating wildfire in the history of Hawaii and the entire United States in more than a century. As recovery efforts begin, the fight for who controls Mauis waters is rearing its head.

To understand what is happening in the aftermath of the unprecedented wildfires in Lahaina, it is important to understand the history of water law and policy in Hawaii. For those who have visited Lahaina, it may be hard to imagine, but in the 1850s Lahaina was verdant. The royal capitol of the Hawaiian Kingdom, this town bustled amid rivers and waterways with an actively managed fishpond in the center. Streams were understood then to be the lifeblood of the communities that grew up around them.

As the 19th century waned, plantation barons grabbed land and water across the islands, then conspired to illegally overthrow the Hawaiian nation. Their monocrop plantations of pineapple and sugarcane spread across the Hawaiian Islands, and most streams were so extensively diverted that the streambeds were dry most of the time. For Lahaina, this meant the fishpond and the wetlands eventually turned to dirt. In place of native lowland forests, a variety of highly invasive and flammable grasses and brush took over.

At the turn of the 20th century, Native Hawaiians faced a rolling mass extinction event in the form of a pandemic, economic invasion, political coup, and widespread displacement happening all around the same time. As plantations drained rivers and streams dry for private profit, traditional Hawaiian society and culture suffered. But under both customary and contemporary law, water is a public trust that belongs to the people, including generations yet unborn.

The modern movement to restore water as a public trust began with the Hawaii Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Richardson. The court ruled in the McBryde case in 1973 that the state and its people had an interest in river flows diverted by two plantations. This historic decision was part of a cultural and legal renaissance leading to the establishment of the public trust doctrine in Hawaiis constitution in 1978, and the water code and water commission in 1987.

Fast forward to the 1990s, and many of the plantation companies have converted into real estate companies specializing in luxury subdivisions and resorts. The water for the landscaping, golf courses, swimming pools, and decorative fountains for these new developments was the water previously used to irrigate sugar and pineapple that is, the water taken from Hawaiians, sometimes by force, by plantation barons a century earlier.

For Lahaina, this meant that millions of gallons of water a day were diverted from the highest reaches of their streams and sent to luxury homes and resort hotels on either side of Lahaina for their non-potable water uses. Diverting that much water for such an extended time meant that Lahaina itself evolved into a desert. Native Hawaiians who endured on their ancestral homes lived along streambeds that were dry most of the time.

To address this imbalance and injustice, the mostly working-class community of Maui Komohana came together over a multi-year effort to support the state Water Commission in establishing instream flow standards (IFSs) and designating their ground and surface water resources as a Water Management Area (WMA). The large private land and water companies strongly opposed these efforts because it would foster public transparency and accountability and curtail greedy private diversions. The Maui Komohana community secured their historic WMA designation last summer, and the first permit applications for Maui Komohanas newly protected water resources were due to the water commission on Monday August 7th, one day before the devastating wildfires.

In a series of letters sent to the Chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources between August 9 and 11, one of the big landowners and private water diverters in the area, West Maui Land Co. (which bought out Pioneer Mill, a sugar plantation in Lahaina established in 1860), insinuated that the water commissions deputy director prevented them from taking more water to fight the fires. This is dishonest because the West Maui Land Co.s reservoirs are not connected to the countys fire hydrant system, and the helicopters were grounded due to high winds.

The Governor responded by falsely accusing community members for opposing the use of water to fight fires, suspending the state Water Code, and signaling his intent to reverse the designation of the Maui Komohana Water Management Area and make changes to the Water Code next legislative session. This blitzkrieg attack culminated in the ousting of Kaleo Manuel, the most diligent and respected water deputy to date. He is the longest serving water deputy and the first of Native Hawaiian ancestry.

At the same time, on the east side of Maui, the Attorney General filed an action before the Hawaii Supreme Court blaming the environmental courts recent ruling in favor of community efforts to restore instream flows as the cause of the fires in that region. Their argument is blatant and shameful opportunism. The County of Maui filed a motion clarifying that more water in the east Maui reservoirs (that are operated by Alexander & Baldwin, a former plantation company, and Mahi Pono, a farming company) would not have helped fight any of the fires on Maui in August.

Thankfully communities from across Hawaii are coming together now in solidarity for Lahaina and for our public trust water resources. Learn more about the movement to return water to Hawaiis streams across the islands.

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How Maui's Wildfire Sparked a Disaster Capitalist Power Grab for ... - Earthjustice

Newly completed infrastructure projects have been inaugurated in three islands of Laamu atoll.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih inaugurated the projects during separate ceremonies held in Isdhoo, Kalaidhoo and Dhanbidhoo islands on Monday.

Inaugurated on Monday were water supply networks on all three islands and an upgraded harbor in Isdhoo.

President Solih was accorded a warm welcome upon arrival in all three islands.

The Maldivian leader inaugurated the projects as part of his campaign tour across Laamu atoll, ongoing as part of his bid for re-election in this years Presidential election, slated for September.

The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) was contracted to complete the Isdhoo island harbor under which the company conducted harbor basin and channel dredging operations and established a seawall measuring 160 meters. Further, MTCC also developed a 48-meter quay wall, a revetment measuring 98 meters and other port-related work.

This upgrade is expected to enhance the functionality and safety of the island harbor, for residents and visitors alike.

The water supply networks on Isdhoo and Kalaidhoo were carried out by S.M.C. Infrastructure Private Limited with S.A.S. E. Construction Private Limited having completed the water supply network on Dhanbidhoo.

These initiatives came under the administration's efforts to develop water networks across all inhabited islands and aim to significantly improve the quality of life for local communities by providing access to clean and reliable water sources.

The incumbent administration has made significant strides towards the equitable development of all inhabited islands nationwide without discrimination, under the capable leadership of President Solih.

The government-led initiatives have ensured that the quality of life of island residents has been enhanced and they have been empowered to lead dignified lives.

President Solih has been officially inaugurating several development initiatives that have been completed across the scatter of islands comprising the Maldives, as part of his campaign tours.

The initiatives underway on the islands represent significant investments in the development and well-being of island communities and are expected to enhance their quality of life.

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Pres. inaugurates completed projects in three islands of Laamu atoll - Raajjemv

For more than 50 years, Australia and the Pacific have worked together to achieve lasting sovereignty, stability, security and prosperity for all Pacific countries and peoples.

A major part of Australia's development program to the Pacific is infrastructure development. Australia is the largest infrastructure financier to Pacific governments after the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

ADB estimates over US$30 billion needs to be invested in the Pacific's infrastructure by 2030. Better roads, ports, telecommunications, water and energy infrastructure will underpin economic development, increase employment and attract investment into new industries. It will enable Pacific nations to integrate with global supply chains and participate in the global economy.

At a grassroots level, robust infrastructure ensures remote Pacific communities can access essential services. There is also an urgent need for climate-resilient infrastructure.

The Developing Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure in the Blue Pacific Conference will highlight opportunities for Australian companies to invest in or build infrastructure across the Pacific. Attendees will hear about countries' infrastructure pipelines for the next 35 years and how to get involved in these projects. The conference will help companies understand how to engage with businesses in the Pacific Islands, including how to work with local workforces and supply chains.

'Australian companies make solid business partners for Pacific organisations,' says Adrian Weeks, Austrade's Senior Trade Commissioner, Port Moresby and Solomon Islands. 'We are well regarded for delivering high-quality projects in partnership with Pacific companies and development agencies.

This conference will present great opportunities to bring innovative solutions to projects. This innovation can then be transferred to project partners, building local capacity and new capabilities.

International development donors have made major investments in the Pacific that have improved the quality of life. The investments have helped bring essential services such as water storage and treatment, hospitals and schools to remote communities.

However, Pacific Island countries are among the most exposed nations, globally, to the effects of climate change. Yet many lack the resources and capacity to respond to external shocks because of ageing or inadequate roads, sea walls, ports and power networks.

The Pacific region also faces energy challenges. Its limited supply of fossil fuels has led to a historical dependence on imported diesel for power generation. This has made nations vulnerable to fluctuating energy prices.

At the same time, outdated power infrastructure, geographical dispersion, small economies of scale, and limited generation capacity have resulted in high power costs, transmission and distribution losses, and low electrification rates.

The most critical infrastructure projects are focused on strengthening climate and disaster resilience. These include building new marinas and seawalls and investing in renewable energy projects. There is high demand for construction services for the marine environment, renewable energy solutions, and power infrastructure and transmission.

Projects differ between nations. In Fiji, the focus is on improving water supply and treatment, with the Water Authority of Fiji tendering for suppliers. Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati are seeking renewable energy products to reduce their use of diesel fuel. Meanwhile, renewing port infrastructure is top of mind for Papua New Guinea.

Australian companies continue to deliver on major projects. Power Protection Industries (PPI) is customising electrical solutions for infrastructure projects across the Pacific. Hall Contracting, Australia's largest dredging company, is delivering climate adaptation projects with a focus on community resilience in Nuie and Tuvalu. Hydroflux is providing ecologically sustainable water and wastewater solutions for businesses and municipalities in Fiji. Geofabrics has developed a range of coast protection solutions to build climate resilience.

Australian companies are not only building infrastructure, they are helping train the next generation. Beca HunterH20 is working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australian Water Partnership. This initiative includes the Young Water Professionals program, which is helping train young people in the Pacific region.

'We've trained them in a range of areas around modern water utilities,' says Peter Dennis, Beca HunterH20's General Manager of Water. 'These include governance and technical skills and procurement and risk and built their toolbox to become water utility professionals. It's a great example of supporting our neighbours in the Pacific.'

Many infrastructure projects in the Pacific are funded by the Australian Government and/or multilateral development agencies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Pacific Marine Group recently built a provincial wharf in Alotau in Papua New Guinea with funding from the Asian Development Bank and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The project was an initiative of the PNG Climate Change Development Authority, which focuses on constructing climate changeresistant infrastructure.

'Most bilateral and multilateral agencies are open to discussion about solutions for infrastructure gaps,' says Weeks. 'Deeper collaboration is often needed to solve complex challenges like energy or fresh water supply to remote or rural areas.'

There are also investment opportunities. Private-sector investment will be critical to deliver large-scale projects such as renewable energy infrastructure. Palau's first utility-scale solar and battery energy storage facility was built by renewable energy developer Solar Pacific Pristine Power. It received $31.4 million in funding from the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFPP).

Since being established in 2019, AIFFP has signed agreements for 12 projects in 9 Pacific Island countries worth over $1.2 billion. AIFFP is supporting a range of transformative projects, including new ICT cables to provide connectivity across the region and major investments in PNG ports and airports in Fiji, Timor and Nauru.

Austrade will host a stand at the Developing Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure in the Blue Pacific Conference and Trade Expo. Interested parties can meet with Austrade to discuss aspects of doing business across the Pacific.

'The conference will give Australian companies a first-hand understanding of the investments being made and assess how their capabilities could contribute to the projects,' says Weeks. 'We can share insights about the potential challenges and the importance of partnerships and networks to address the challenges.

'Our Pacific neighbours are living with the effects of climate change. We are at a critical point in time where Australian companies can help mitigate these effects and make a lasting contribution to climate resilience in the Pacific.'

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Insight: Boosting Resilience of Pacific Islands' Infrastructure - Mirage News