Vibrant urban neighbourhoods, a bustling new food hall, and a £40m skills training centre were among the new additions to Bolton in a year that saw the borough’s regeneration come to life. After years of planning, preparation and investment, 2024 marked the first time that residents and visitors could see, feel and experience the benefits of redevelopment. Not only was this the year that major projects were completed, but a number of exciting plans were also confirmed for 2025 and beyond. The year started with the official reopening of Bolton Central Library in January, following a £4.43m renovation to provide an expanded children’s area, improved social spaces, updated digital facilities and the brand-new Café Crescent. Bolton Council Leader Cllr Nick Peel and Deputy Leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman visit the newly opened homes at the Moor Lane development (Image: Bolton Council) Time kept ticking on, and in February the council intervened to repair and restore the clock tower at Bolton Train Station. While regeneration and new developments are vital, the move was said to have underscored a commitment to protecting and enhancing the borough’s many great heritage assets. Cllr Hamid Khurram, Cabinet Member responsible for Transport, with the newly restored train station clock tower (Image: Bolton Council) Elsewhere in the borough, the council is working with Heritage England, investors and other partners to bring historic buildings like Hall i’ th’ Wood, Number 1 Newport Street, and Rock Hall back into public use. In March, then Mayor of Bolton Cllr Mohammed Ayub cut the ribbon at Elizabeth Park, the town centre’s first new green space in over a century. Featuring a central lawn, broad flower beds, a rain garden, generous seating and a public performance space, the park would go on to win “Project of the Year” at the regional Civil Engineering Contractors Association awards. Regeneration is happening right across the borough, with Farnworth among the district centres benefiting from significant investment. Farnworth has previously secured funding from the Future High Street Fund and the Greater Manchester Investment Fund. This had already seen the Leisure Centre being upgraded, new homes , shops, and a community hub at Farnworth Green, as well as streetscape improvements which started in April. In May, residents were consulted on a new long term plan for Farnworth which will see £20m invested in the town, spread over the next ten years with projects and priority areas decided by local people. Bolton Market Food Hall (Image: Paul Heyes) Regeneration goes far beyond just new buildings and major investment, but also means creating vibrant communities and building a sense of pride in where people live. Bolton has a well-deserved reputation for its performing arts, major events, and cultural scene and this plays a vital role in attracting people to live, work , visit, study and invest locally. Once again, Bolton took centre stage when it was declared this year’s Greater Manchester Town of Culture in May. Announcing his decision, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: "I'm confident that we'll see the very best of Bolton over the next 12 months and that people will come from far and wide to see what this brilliant town has to offer." During the summer, work to build the £40m first of its kind, Bolton Institute of Medical Sciences was also completed ahead of welcoming its first students for the new term. (Image: Adrian Greenhalgh) Subject to approval, the Institute will become a medical school (pictured above )with the first cohort of student doctors expected in September 2025. June was a big month for food lovers as the traders at the Bolton Market Food Hall opened for businesses, just in time for live screenings of UEFA European Football Championship. Part of the wider £5.9m market transformation, the hall offers cuisine from around the world and has proved a massive hit with customers. Bolton Market offers fresh, locally sourced produce at reasonable prices, making it the ideal shopping destination for the many new residents who are expected to move to the town centre as part of the regeneration masterplan. This took a major step forward in July when local developers Watson secured land at Church Wharf to deliver a £75m project to include a hotel and 400 new homes. Watson continued to invest in the community as headline sponsors of August’s Bolton Food and Drink Festival. READ MORE: Multi-million pound development of Bolton Library Bolton's Primark store's opening day sees 500 shoppers queue The highlight of the annual event calendar, the festival showcases the very best of Bolton to a national and international audience. Food and Drink Festival (Image: Paul Heyes) After Storm Lilian put the event in doubt, council staff, local businesses and volunteers worked through the night to ensure the festival could go ahead. Major events are a key part of Bolton’s Visitor Economy Strategy, a plan to drive footfall, enhance the quality of life of residents and boost the economy. Off the back of the strategy, Bolton was chosen in September as a pilot area for the Greater Manchester Visitor Economy Accelerator Programme. The aim of the programme is to foster growth and increase collaboration within the tourism and hospitality sectors through masterclasses, workshops and one-to-one support. Wellsprings Innovation Hub (Image: Bolton Council) September also gave residents their first look at the Wellsprings Innovation Hub backed by £6.9m from the Towns Fund and a further £1.4m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Since then, entrepreneurs and business start-ups from the creative and technology sectors have been applying for office spaces at the facility which opens in early 2025. The Wellsprings offers co-working space and meeting rooms, call pods, bike storage and kitchen facilities. October brought one of the year’s most significant announcements with news that the demolition of Crompton Place is due to start in 2025 with work already underway to appoint a developer for the site. Bolton Council Leader, Cllr Nick Peel, said: “The redevelopment of Crompton Place is a once in a generation opportunity to replace and reimagine an underused and unappealing building with something everyone in Bolton can be proud of. “It also gives us the opportunity to enhance Victoria Square and open up a direct link to Bradshawgate, with various buildings and open spaces on the site, rather than the single large building we have at present. “This will be our flagship redevelopment project, signalling to the private sector that Bolton Council is serious about regeneration and thereby attracting even more commercial investment.” The announcement followed years of work by Bolton Council to support existing tenants to relocate to other areas of the town centre, as part of a plan to consolidate a quality retail offer around the Market Place. This culminated in November with the grand opening of the shopping centre’s new Primark. Store Manager, Caroline Wood, said: “We’ve been in the heart of Bolton now for 48 years so this is an important move for us, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response already from shoppers who’ve joined us today.” In December, attention turned to the enormous potential of some of the town centre’s other buildings. During a business event, property owners and potential investors were given advice and information about converting existing buildings for residential use in the centre. This followed a similar successful event focused on the hospitality sector, and a planned event in February focusing on buildings with potential to be used as office space. The year ended with even more exciting news, as the first residents moved into their new homes at Moor Lane. Bolton at Home and Step Places have jointly developed the 214-home Neighbourhood Moor Lane development in partnership with Bolton Council. Deansgate Gardens (Image: Bolton Council) Developments like Moor Lane and the nearby Deansgate Gardens, among others, are expected to bring an additional 5,000 people to live in the town centre, creating vibrant urban neighbourhoods and supporting local businesses. Reflecting back on the year, Bolton Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Akhtar Zaman, said: “In January, I said that 2024 would be the year that Bolton residents would first see and feel the tangible benefits of regeneration. “As we come to the end of the year, we can already see the positive impact that projects like the new Food Hall and renovated library are having. “As Moor Lane and Deansgate Gardens welcome their first residents, this will boost the town centre economy and build market confidence to attract more inward investment. “Now is the time to build on this success and we look forward to more exciting announcements in 2025.”
Their expectation levels may have been different, but neither Rutgers nor Seton Hall has had the most promising start to the season. New Jersey's two power-conference programs will try to author a signature win when the Pirates visit the Scarlet Knights for the Garden State Hardwood Classic on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Cardlytics reports that card-linked cash-back offers represent a strategic stocking stuffer for smart shoppers navigating the expensive holiday landscape. Click for more. Holiday spending hacks: How to unwrap savings without sacrificing festive cheerNonePre-Money Valuation of JPY9 Billion is Approximately Multiples of Current Parent Company Market Capitalization. Strategic Investors Further Validation of Technology and Growth Potential. Further Commercialization with Recent 25,000 Unit Order from B2B Sales Channel. TOKYO, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. MRM announces that its subsidiary MEDIROM MOTHER Labs Inc. raised to date an aggregate total of 260.3 million yen (approximtaely USD $ [1.7] million calculated at an exchange rate of JPY[153.64] to US$1) at a pre-money equity valuation of JPY9 billion (approximately USD $ [58.6] million calculated at an exchange rate of JPY[153.64] to US$1) in its Series A equity financing. NFES Technologies Inc. is the lead investor in the financing round, and several public companies in Japan, including M3, Inc. (TOKYO PRIME: 2413) and Elematec Corporation (TOKYO PRIME: 2715), as well as certain individual investors are also participating. The Series A equity financing round is still ongoing. MEDIROM MOTHER Labs has closed financings with six investors to date and intends to conclude the financing round by December 31, 2024. "We are very excited that our MEDIROM MOTHER Labs subsidiary has received such significant validation from strategic partners as our lead investor NFES Technologies Inc. as well as M3,Inc and Elematec Corporation. The pre money valuation of 9 billion yen is approximately multiples of MEDIROM's current NASDAQ listing market capitalization which I believe further validates our technology, business model and growth potential." said Kouji. The MOTHER Bracelet ® is currently in commercialization. From July 1, 2024 through October 31, 2024, MEDIROM MOTHER Labs received purchase orders for an aggregate of over 25,000 units from its B2B sales channel. "We believe the MOTHER Bracelet ® to be the world's first fitness tracker that requires no electric charging by utilizing an innovative technology that enables the user's body heat to generate electricity. We co-developed it with Matrix Industries, based in Silicon Valley and believe its features are cutting-edge technology with rich features and ease of use to track fitness levels, sleep patterns, pulse and body temperature We will continue to target markets such as hospitals, nursing homes and gyms, where such data is vital," said Yoshio Uekusa, CEO of MEDIROM MOTHER Labs. ABOUT MEDIROM MOTHER Labs Inc. A subsidiary of MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. MRM ("MEDIROM"), MEDIROM Mother Labs Inc. focuses on the health-tech sector. The company's core activities include the "Specific Health Guidance Program" offered through the "Lav" health application and development and sales of the 24/7 recharge-free MOTHER Bracelet ®︎ smart tracker. By leveraging the features of the recharge-free MOTHER Bracelet ®︎ , MOTHER Labs offers customizable health management solutions across diverse sectors, including caregiving, logistics, manufacturing, and similar industries. Forward-Looking Statements Regarding MEDIROM and MOTHER Labs Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may include estimates or expectations about MEDIROM's possible or assumed operational results, financial condition, business strategies and plans, market opportunities, competitive position, industry environment, and potential growth opportunities. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "design," "target," "aim," "hope," "expect," "could," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," "predict," "project," "potential," "goal," or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These statements relate to future events or to MEDIROM's future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause MEDIROM's actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond MEDIROM's control and which could, and likely will, affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects MEDIROM's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to MEDIROM's operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release include: MEDIROM's ability to achieve its development goals for its business and execute and evolve its growth strategies, priorities and initiatives; MEDIROM Mother Labs's ability to close its Series A equity financing on the anticipated timeline or at all; MEDIROM's ability to collaborate in the anticipated manner; changes in Japanese and global economic conditions and financial markets, including their effects on MEDIROM's expansion in Japan and certain overseas markets; MEDIROM's ability to increase sales of the MOTHER Bracelet and achieve and sustain profitability in its Digital Preventative Healthcare Segment; the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates, which affects MEDIROM's expenses and liabilities payable in foreign currencies; MEDIROM's ability to maintain and enhance the value of its brands and to enforce and maintain its trademarks and protect its other intellectual property; MEDIROM's ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms or at all; MEDIROM's level of indebtedness and potential restrictions on MEDIROM under MEDIROM's debt instruments; changes in consumer preferences and MEDIROM's competitive environment; MEDIROM's ability to respond to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and to global pandemics, such as COVID-19; and the regulatory environment in which MEDIROM operates. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect MEDIROM's business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price is included in MEDIROM's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including in the "Risk Factors" and "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" sections of MEDIROM's most recently filed periodic report on Form 20-F and subsequent filings, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov . MEDIROM assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. NASDAQ Symbol: MRM Tradepia Odaiba, 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan Web https://medirom.co.jp/en Contact: ir@medirom.co.jp MEDIROM MOTHER Labs Inc. Tradepia Odaiba, 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan For more information visit: https://mother-bracelet.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
T he artist Jasleen Kaur was born in Glasgow in 1986. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and later at the Royal College, and had her first solo show, Be Like Teflon , in London in 2021. She works mainly with installations, using everyday objects to explore identity, cultural memory and political belonging. Earlier this month, Kaur won the Turner prize for her 2023 exhibition Alter Altar at the Tramway in Glasgow , which memorably featured a replica of her dad’s red Ford Escort covered in an outsized doily. A group show of this year’s shortlisted artists’ work is at Tate Britain until 16 February . Kaur lives and works in London. Gaza Biennale I heard about this on the evening of the Turner prize ceremony: some of the folk protesting outside the Tate [calling for institutional divestment from ties to Israel and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza] have also been organising with the artists in Gaza who are putting on their own biennale. I don’t know what to say about the fact that, amid total destruction, artists in Gaza are putting on a biennale . I could say that it shows something about the power of art. But it also feels like a call to the global art community to listen. It’s a point of connection, it’s an attempt at connection or conversation. Kneecap I find that the energy of [the Northern Irish hip-hop trio] Kneecap feels really vital – they are totally honest in speaking truth to power. The film is the heavily fictionalised origin story of the band, who rap in the Irish language. A couple of things stood out to me. One was about a relationship to music that is anti-imperial, something I’m thinking about in my own life and practice. The film also tells how each of us has a political voice and the need to exercise it. These working-class rappers have a place to push things forward. Island of Us: Conversations About Justice With Children by Jack Young This is a resource born out of a beautiful exhibition by Rory Pilgrim at Chisenhale gallery earlier this year featuring work by people who are incarcerated. This book, developed from workshops with local primary school-age children, contains conversations around justice and freedom. It reminded me of conversations I have with my own kids. There are questions like: “If somebody who’s really poor steals an apple, what should happen?” The answers are really thoughtful. I just think young people are incredible. I learned a lot from it. F*Choir Where to begin with the force that is F*Choir? They are a queer-led choir based in London. I saw them perform with my kids at the Walthamstow Trades Hall two years ago. I’ve also marched with them during Palestine protests and been to open singing sessions with them. I’m just so in awe at the way that they practise singing in community with such dedication. They’ve got this session called Singing to Stay Alive. You can book to sing with them, and you really feel that singing collectively is part of living. It’s a life force. We Are Made of Diamond Stuff by Isabel Waidner As someone who is heavily dyslexic, I find reading really hard. Recently a friend said: “Put down your theory books and pick up some fiction.” So I went to a bookshop and deliberately chose books that were thin, with a font that I could cope with. I wanted to check out Isabel Waidner, who writes really thin fiction, and they’ve got me hooked. This novel takes place on the Isle of Wight. There are protests and climate migrants and right-wing LGBTQ+ factions. Their writing is so visual, it’s like a film, and each sentence is like something I’ve never read before. June Jordan The distilled language of poets such as June Jordan is bringing so much solace at a time when language is kind of failing. I’ve decided that Jordan is one of my ancestors. Her poetry and her political life were not separate and she had the ability to get to the heart of things with so few words. Her [1982] poem Apologies to All the People in Lebanon is heartbreaking. You read it and think, it must have been written now, surely. Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh We were filming up in Glasgow for the Turner prize and one of the crew who were driving us around had an album by Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh playing, and his music has been carrying me through the past months. The fiddle really gets to my heart. I feel like it’s part of my ancestry, it moves me in the way that an Indian stringed instrument might. This album [ Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh & Thomas Bartlett ] is really comforting but it’s also a lament, and there are times when the fiddle is barely even playing, it’s just a scratch of a string.Syrians cheer end of 50 years of Assad rule at first Friday prayers since government fell
Bolton Hospice and farm turning Christmas trees into festive alpaca feed
NFL Week 17 Recap: Los Angeles Chargers 40, New England Patriots 7ROSEN, LEADING TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action First Filed by the Firm – CMGThe NBA on Saturday suspended three players for their roles in an on-court clash during Friday's game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. Dallas forward Naji Marshall was suspended for four games and Suns center Jusuf Nurkic for three while Mavericks forward P.J Washington will sit out one game. The incident came with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter when Nurkic committed on offensive foul on Dallas's Daniel Gifford. "Marshall and Nurkic then engaged in an on-court altercation. Nurkic escalated it by swinging his arm and striking Marshall on top of his head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch that connected with Nurkic's face," the NBA said in a statement. "As the officials and other players attempted to diffuse the situation, Washington further escalated the altercation by shoving Nurkic to the floor. For their roles, Marshall, Nurkic and Washington were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game," the league added. Marshall late confronted Nurkic near the locker rooms, in a "hostile manner" according to the NBA. The NBA said the players will not be paid during their suspension periods. sev/bb
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Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, died on Sunday at the age of 100, the Carter Center confirmed. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center announced on social media X, formerly known as Twitter. During Carter’s presidency, in December 1978, China and the United States issued the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America. On Jan. 1, 1979, the two countries officially established diplomatic relations. Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaties in 1977 which restored Panama’s full jurisdiction over the Panama Canal Zone starting from 2000 and guaranteed its neutrality. He also witnessed the inking of the Camp David Accords, which were signed by then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978. Since leaving the presidency, Carter and his wife established the non-governmental organization Carter Center. Carter was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia. His father was a farmer who owned large areas of peanut land. Carter and his wife Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, had been married for 77 years, making them the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. Carter was the country’s longest-living former president. ■