A terrifying letter was waiting for us at home this week, on our return from our first summer break in two years.
Addressed to Thomas and Lucinda Utley, it came from our local council and threatened us with a penalty of tens of thousands of pounds if we failed to comply with an enclosed Requisition for Information within 14 days. Dear Sir/Madam, it began, the London Borough of Lambeth have information that the property above is being used as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) and is required to be licensed. Failure to license is an offence and enforcement action can result in either a civil penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecution (unlimited fine).
Athens Banner-Herald
Somewhere in Athens is a poet whose written word and personality will be engaging enough to win over eight people tasked with choosing Athens first poet laureate.
The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission s goal is to select a poet laureate sometime in April, which fittingly, is National Poetry Month.
While there is a poet laureate of Georgia namely Chelsea Rathburn few cities select a person to hold such a title.
The energy behind the idea sprang from Melissa Cahnmann-Taylor, a language and literacy education professor at the University of Georgia and a member of the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission.
RESIDENTS and businesses in three rural communities have been told of a plan to improve their internet access which could end the frustration many have felt for a long time. A scheme to deliver fibre broadband to residents in Ovington, Hutton Magna and Wycliffe, in Teesdale, by the end of 2021 was revealed to residents last week. MP Dehenna Davison met with representatives from Digital Durham and she and a number of residents were given a presentation from supplier Factco about the proposal. The Digital Durham programme, led by Durham County Council, is a £25 million initiative to transform broadband speeds for residents and businesses across County Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland and Tees Valley.