East Ayrshire Council chief executive Fiona Lees reveals why she's leaving

The painstaking process would see scaffolding erected and workers dismantling the building from the top downwards.  South Ayrshire Council’s conservation officer said the loss of the sandstone landmark is “regrettable” but added that “retention and restoration is not viable.” The official added: “I have no objections to the demolition and rebuilding from a built heritage perspective on that basis.” The council swooped in to undertake emergency work last year after the property on Kyle Street

NEW YORK -- Nikky Finney has won the Wallace Stevens Award, a $100,000 lifetime achievement honor presented by the Academy of American Poets. Judges praised Finney, known for such collections as “Head Off & Split” and “Rice,” for her “fierce moral conviction” and as a bard “for the African diaspora.”Finney's prize was among dozens announced Wednesday by the poets academy, with money exceeding $1.2 million.

Nicola Sturgeon ’s husband as party chief executive is becoming “more untenable” every day. Jim Sillars said Peter Murrell is in “dangerous territory” over WhatsApp messages which appear to show him calling for pressure to be put on the police in the Alex Salmond case.

Amid a busy year for newsroom unionization, the Writers Guild of America East unveiled its new council leadership. The union revealed the results of its election on Thursday, which determined seven freelance seats and three staff seats on the 19-person council.

David Robb Labor EditorWomen writers carried the day in the WGA East’s Council elections, winning nine of the ten seats up for grabs. The only man to win a seat was former WGA East president Michael Winship.

Ayrshire recorded its first coronavirus case back in March. Tragically, 294 deaths in the region have been linked to the virus since then.New data released today shows where all of those deaths occurred in the community.National Records of Scotland released fresh statistics giving a breakdown of where deaths involving COVID-19 have taken place across Ayrshire.South Ayrshire has the highest death toll in the region (112) with 483 cases up to today.

Social media ‘friend’ cash scam warning from police Since the school closure review panel overturned the council’s decision in July, PKC’s lifelong learning committee has agreed to consider a catchment review and the possibility of a nursery at the school.On August 26, the lifelong learning committee also agreed to let the scrutiny committee carry out an independent review.This was after councillors questioned why PKC spent almost £110,000 on a failed legal case to “test” the “inteference by

Ayrshire residents during the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.Official Treasury figures show that diners in the region saved £2,203,000 throughout August as a result of the initiative.Diners got a state-backed 50 per cent discount on meals and soft drinks up to £10 each on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays during August.The Treasury said restaurants have so far made 130,000 claims worth £522 million, with figures likely to rise as outlets have until the end of September to claim.Across Scotland, more

Lloyd Cafe Cadena‘s cause of death has been revealed by his family in a post on Facebook.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterThere are 377 registered sex offenders living in Ayrshire residential areas- latest Police Scotland figures show. Another 123 sex criminals are in custody or hospital - according to statistics released at the end of July.South Ayrshire Council said it has a legal obligation to consider housing applications for them.Ayrshire has the fifth highest number of registered sex offenders in the community

Cuba Gooding, Jr. saved a man set on fire during a party over the weekend.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Telepool finds its new CEO in Jan Frouman, Edinburgh TV Festival recognizes freelance advocate Adeel Amini, Fantasia announces its winners, Spain’s Weird Market goes hybrid and Noah Media Group provides a first look at its upcoming documentary “Finding Jack Charlton.”German licensing, distribution and production company Telepool has appointed Jan Frouman as the company’s new CEO and managing director effective immediately, replacing André Druskeit, who

East Kilbride News   today it is one of up to 15 supermarkets which will go. Workers faced an anxious wait when the company announced last year that they intended to close stores, with the town centre shop due to shut its doors in January.The firm have not confirmed how many jobs will go but it is feared that up to 250 could be at risk.They say work is ongoing to relocate staff to alternative stores - including the superstore at Kingsgate Retail Park.

Get the stories that interest you straight to your inbox every day with our personalised newsletterNorth Ayrshire Council is facing a significant gap in its funding following the Covid-19 pandemic.The net financial impact of the pandemic lockdown on the Council is currently expected to be approximately £15.475m for the financial year 2020/21.The pandemic has had a major impact on public services across the UK and further afield and the Council has been monitoring its financial position to help

East Ayrshire Council’s chief executive has expressed her concern as the UK hurtles towards the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31 this year.Fiona Lees anticipates that unemployment and Universal Credit numbers could also increase in the event of a no-deal scenario later this year.Unemployment in the area is currently sitting at 8.2 per cent with Universal Credit also up by 100 per cent.“I’m very concerned about the departure from the EU in so far as the preparations are being

East Ayrshire Council in the region of £11 million this year alone.Initial projections suggested that the COVID-19 crisis had cost around £6.3 million between April and June.But the unprecedented cost of the health crisis could almost double before the end of the year.The local authority has forked out around £2m on personal protective equipment (PPE), the council’s chief executive said this week.Fiona Lees also warned that the council would have to “accelerate” plans to downsize the