Community News

The number of four and five-year-olds regularly borrowing books from Sandwell libraries has more than doubled, thanks to a council scheme that introduces them to reading early in life. The number of reception age children regularly borrowing books topped 3,280 in 2014/15, compared with just 1,620 the previous year. The government has now announced that it wants to roll out similar schemes across the whole country.

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Out of seven billion world population, Six billion people have cell phones and it is projected that by the end of 2016 there will be 18.9 billion network connections; almost 2.5 connections per person on earth. This was revealed by Chief Information Security Officer, Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited Syed Hassan Aslam while giving his presentation on “Current Trends in Information Technology” at a seminar organized by Computer Science Society of Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Karachi.

Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park is helping to safeguard the future of the Waldrapp Ibis, one of the top ten endangered birds supported by zoos and aquariums. The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), which promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums, has compiled a list of the top ten birds benefitting from the work of zoos and aquariums in the UK and Ireland.

With time ticking until the opening of Wolverhampton’s new Youth Zone, General Manager, Alice Davey, has been busy recruiting the first team members, who are to help deliver The Way’s high quality provision come opening in January 2016. The Way Youth Zone will enable positive relationships with young people to develop providing them with inspiring role models. A mixture of 40 full and part-time staff will be recruited as well as 100 volunteers by the time of opening.

Eighteen years after a surreal idea – Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank -was pitched to TV execs by the fictitious TV presenter, Alan Partridge, a creation of comedian Steve Coogan, it has been brought to life by YHA (England and Wales) and Hostelworld. A 55 second YouTube film 'Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank' has become an overnight Internet sensation. The film follows Twitter confusion last week after users kept asking him about Youth Hostels, with Chris' confused responses soon going viral.

A new hit squad of enforcers have taken to the streets of Wolverhampton to issue on the spot fines to people caught dropping litter in the city. City of Wolverhampton Council has appointed Kingdom Security Ltd to hand out £75 fines to litter critters. The team of uniformed enforcers spent last week training on their new patch and have now commenced working full time out and about in the city.

Her Majesty the Queen will become the longest-reigning British monarch in history next month and 50 lucky Wolverhampton children have the chance to attend a special party to mark the momentous occasion. The Queen will reach the milestone on September 9 and the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Ian Brookfield, is to host a party for city youngsters aged 11 and under who share their birthday with the milestone date.

Relatives of a man who recently passed away are being asked to get in touch with the City of Wolverhampton Council so that his funeral can be arranged. James Forbus Watt, who was 57, had been living in the Pendeford area of Wolverhampton but it is believed he previously came from Birmingham.

With Mayoral and London elections – and even a possible European Union in/out referendum – set for next year, would-be voters in Haringey are being urged to make sure they’re registered to vote or risk missing out. As changes to the voter registration system enter their second phase, Haringey Council is leading a drive to get as many people as possible signed up to the electoral roll. Official household enquiry forms will be landing on doormats across the borough from this week.

Former Mayor of Wolverhampton Mike Heap has handed over £15,000 to local charities – the proceeds of fundraising events held during his time in office. Mike, who was Mayor in 2014-15, organised a series of events in aid of good causes, from coffee mornings and auctions to charity dinners and quiz nights. And the £15,000 they raised has been split equally between his chosen charities, Breast Care Nurses Trust Fund, Interfaith Wolverhampton and Mencap’s Wolverhampton Branch.

National Allotments Week highlighted the benefits of growing your own produce regardless of gender and age – but it’s not just people who benefit.  At Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park on Pershore Road, the animals tuck into home-grown fruit, veg and herbs all year round. From lemon balm, lovage and lettuce to blackberries and bamboo, the meerkats, monkeys, lemurs and lynx all enjoy a healthy diet with food grown just whiskers away in the park’s Eco-Garden!

Dedicated services designed to eradicate homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying from the classroom to the playground are up and running in Midlands. Three schemes will be run by Educate and Celebrate, the Anne Frank Trust and The National Children’s Bureau after being awarded money from a £2 million government fund specifically aimed at finding innovative ways to help prevent and eradicate the problem in schools across the country.

How do you get a tech loving child to step away from the game consoles and tablets and start making memories this summer? Get a dog! A survey by Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, found that parents cite** the family dog as a distraction for kids that are ordinarily glued to tech, 42% say the family take more exercise thanks to the pet dog and (44%) think their dog is their child’s best friend.

John Smith's is launching a campaign that is truly out of this world. The best selling ale brand has acquired the first ever pint shaped constellation, made up from 100 stars in the night sky, and is giving ordinary British blokes with extraordinary talents the chance to own one of them.