Latest news with #CarolSmith
ABC News
23-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Meet the breast cancer survivors on a 'slightly unhinged' but growing support mission
When Carol Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she found solace in her connection online with a woman going through the same treatment. As well as shock, confusion and a search for answers, the diagnosis and new friendship set off a chain of events that led to a "slightly unhinged" development — she joined the "Shitty Titty Committee" in her now home city of Busselton, Western Australia, a movement to make sure women don't struggle alone. Ms Smith was 36 when she discovered a lump on her left breast. "When they sat me down and said, 'You have breast cancer,' my reaction was just shock," she said. "I was just completely numb. Within two weeks, she had her first round of chemotherapy. She turned to the internet to find advice and support from women experiencing the same thing. "I had a lot of friends around me [but] just being able to reassure yourself that this symptom is normal, that this medication is meant to make you feel the way you're feeling, and anything like that that non-cancer people wouldn't be able to understand." Ms Smith threw herself into fundraising after her successful treatment. On the fifth anniversary of her diagnosis in 2023 she held the first Big Boobie Ball in Busselton, which brought local breast cancer survivors and patients together. From there, the Shitty Titty Committee was formed. The support group has grown its membership to about 17 women around the Busselton area. Kate Grainger gave the group its "slightly unhinged" name in 2024. Ms Grainger's breast cancer journey began in 2023 when she travelled from WA's Pilbara region to Busselton Hospital to give birth to her son. There, the expecting mother was given a life-changing diagnosis. "They said, 'You're baby is being born tomorrow' … I started chemo when he was nine days old," she said. She was 1,400 kilometres from home and staying in an Airbnb. But she was overwhelmed by the support of her new community, including another cancer patient who set up a "meal train" of food deliveries. "It was just like giving my heart a hug because I knew I couldn't get up and make my family a meal and I couldn't carry my baby and couldn't hold my two or four-year-old," she said. "I was very unwell for a very long time." Ms Grainger, now 33, had a clear scan in October after long treatment. She said she had turned her attention to helping others via the committee. "I went to my oncologist a couple of months ago and there was this gorgeous woman sitting in the chair having her chemo infusion … she said, 'What's this Shitty Titty Committee?' and I said, 'Oh, it's just a group of us locals who have had the c-bomb dropped on us and we're just stumbling through it together,'" she said. The Cancer Council estimates about 38 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every day in Western Australia. Cancer Council WA supportive care director Melanie Marsh said she was pleased to see country people come together during a "scary" time in their lives. "These support groups in regional areas are just fabulous to be able to bring that face-to-face support for people who need it."
BBC News
22-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Tributes to popular trader Mike's Carpets after his death aged 79
Tributes have been paid to a popular carpet salesman known for his 1980s TV adverts following his death aged Mike Smith, the driving force behind the Mike's Carpets chain of businesses, became a household name across Yorkshire with his colourful TV at his carpet stall in Kirkgate Market and shop in Armley, the adverts led to him becoming one of the most recognisable faces on Yorkshire Television. Tony Hale, a friend of Mr Smith's for more than 25 years, said the "shrewd businessman" would be remembered for his laugh and his jokes. "His jokes were horrific - only he found them amusing," Mr Hale recalled pair were initially business rivals before becoming friends and working Hale said people would remember him for the "daisy carpet" he sold which "really took off in the 80s and 90s"."He used to sell rolls of it. It was a common carpet at the time, just like a little floral design." Mr Hale remembered seeing his friend performing at pubs and clubs in West Yorkshire during the 1990s, telling jokes and playing songs on his Billy Pearce also paid tribute and said in a social media post that he had "lost a true friend"."I'm in shock at the passing of my good friend Mike Smith, founder of Mike's Carpets in Leeds."Mike helped me so much over the years and the advice he gave was the best."Mr Smith's wife Carol told ITV Calendar he suffered heart failure - a condition he had been living with for six months - and had died earlier this businessman first started selling carpets at Leeds Market in 1970 and later moved into a former church in Armley, which was emblazoned with large signs advertising Mike's opened a number of other stores including shops in Bradford, Brighouse and the key to his success last year, he said the art of a sale included "giving good service" to customers, and "a product at the right price"."Don't give them any porky pies," he added. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
April showers in Southern California? Here's the latest forecast
A cool, wet weather pattern will probably bring some April showers to Southern California over the next few days. The dreary trend is forecast to kick off Friday morning, with the possibility of a "patchy drizzle" developing from a deep marine layer over much of the region, according to National Weather Service forecasts. The Los Angeles area could see more significant rainfall Saturday as a low-pressure system moves in. "It's going to be cooler, cloudy and wet on Saturday," said Carol Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Oxnard. "It's a late-season storm." Rainfall across L.A. County could amount to a quarter-inch Saturday, with around a half-inch in the mountains, she said. While the likely showers are coming late in the rainy season, they are not unprecedented for this time of year. Downtown Los Angeles typically sees about three-quarters of an inch of rain throughout April. So far, that monthly total sits at 0.09 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Much of Southern California remains in drought conditions after a below-average rainy season. The incoming pattern will also bring significant cooling. Across the region, highs are expected to be in the low- to mid-60s on Friday, Smith said, while Saturday will be a few degrees cooler. "Sunday it's going to warm up a little bit again," Smith said, returning more to springlike weather. By Monday, L.A. County valleys are forecast to see highs back into the 70s. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Guardian
14-02-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Southern California roads submerged in sludge as heavy rains batter region
Debris flows brought on by the strongest atmospheric river of the season swept a car off a southern California highway and into the ocean and left roads submerged in sludge. While the heavy rains from the storm hitting the region began to ease on Thursday night, the risk of rock and mudslides on wildfire-scarred hillsides continued on Friday since dangerous slides can strike even after rain stops, particularly in scorched areas where vegetation that helps keep soil anchored has burned away. One member of the Los Angeles fire department was in the vehicle when it went into the water in Malibu and was able to exit with minor injuries, a department spokesperson, Erik Scott, said on the social platform X. In Pacific Palisades on Thursday, one intersection of the highway was submerged in at least 3ft (about 1 meter) of sludge, with some drivers trying to force their way through and police officers pushing one vehicle through the muck. Bulldozers worked to clear the roads not far from where just weeks ago they moved abandoned cars after people fleeing last month's wildfires got stuck in traffic and fled on foot. In north Altadena, a road near the Eaton fire burn scar was also covered in several feet of mud, vegetation and trees as a flood of water overcame concrete blocks put in place to prevent such debris flows. The area was mostly deserted. In neighboring Sierra Madre, the city issued evacuation orders for areas affected by the Eaton fire, warning in a social media post that fire, police and public works personnel would not enter areas experiencing active mud and debris flows and anyone who remained in a home under evacuation orders would need to shelter in place until areas are deemed safe for city personnel to enter. Azusa police said the roof of a grocery store partially collapsed while shoppers were inside the store on Thursday evening, but everyone got out safely, KABC-TV reported. The weather service was expected to survey damage on Friday at a mobile home park in Oxnard that was hit by 60mph (96km/h) wind gusts on Thursday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported. They would determine whether there was a weak tornado at the park, the meteorologist Carol Smith said. To the north, snow and ice contributed to major pileups on highways in Oregon and Washington, injuring at least 10 people, as a winter storm descended on the Pacific north-west. The west coast storms are just the latest in a week of bad weather across the US that cut power to tens of thousands. Meanwhile, meteorologists warn that the United States is about to get its 10th and coldest polar vortex stretching event this season. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the United States and Europe. The latest projected cold outbreak should first hit the northern Rockies and northern Plains on Saturday and then stick around all next week. As the downpour intensified on Thursday, the National Weather Service issued flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings for a swath of eastern Los Angeles county. The rain caused a rockslide and pushed mud onto the road in Malibu Canyon, and a large debris flow left about 8in (20cm) of mud across a road in the Hollywood Hills. Southern California reported 1 to 2in (2.5 to 5cm) of rain in coastal areas and valleys and 3 to 6in (7.6 to 15.2cm) across the coastal slopes on Thursday, according to the weather service. More than 30,000 people in California were without electricity, according to Evacuation orders and warnings were issued in areas where hillsides were scarred by the Palisades fire, the most destructive in LA history. In addition to burning the vegetation that keeps soil in place, the fires also added loose debris to the landscape, including ash, soil and rocks. Before the storm, officials distributed sandbags, positioned rescue swimmers and told residents to have go-bags ready. Sandbags and temporary concrete barriers were in place across Altadena, where the Eaton fire destroyed thousands of homes. Despite recent storms, much of southern California remains in extreme or severe drought, according to the US Drought Monitor. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that while the area is desperate for rain, this storm might bring too much too quickly. In Altadena, Mehran Daoudian prepared by laying tarp over a hole in his home's roof where fire burned through it last month. Daoudian said he was grateful that city workers arranged sandbags and concrete barriers in his neighborhood over the past few weeks. 'I did not leave the cars on the street because with the mudslide, [they] might go down,' he said. Near the burn scar for the Airport fire in Orange county, Trabuco Canyon Road was overtaken by mud and debris, Orange county public works posted on social media. In the San Francisco Bay area, there were blackouts, small landslides and inundated roadways. Authorities urged people to evacuate Felton Grove, a small community along the central coast, as the San Lorenzo River threatened to top its banks. In neighboring Nevada, the weather service said it recorded a measurable amount of rain in Las Vegas, ending a streak of 214 days without precipitation. And in northern Utah, rain and snow created dangerous conditions on mountain roads leading to ski resorts. The state department of transportation issued a road safety alert warning of a mix of heavy snow and rain through Friday. First responders searched every vehicle in a pileup Thursday near Multnomah Falls, about 25 miles (40km) east of Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah county sheriff's office said. The office initially said more than 100 cars were involved, but the state transportation department later said the number was 20 to 30 vehicles. Oregon state police said four people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. The pileup happened during near-whiteout conditions in the westbound lanes of Interstate 84, authorities said. An SUV caught fire, but its occupants escaped. Multnomah county officials extended a state of emergency through at least Friday and said eight shelters would be open. Officials said 489 people went to the shelters on Wednesday night. Wind chills could dip to 10F (-12C) in Portland, the weather service said. In southern Washington, six people were taken to hospitals with injuries in another pileup of 22 vehicles on Interstate 5 near the Cowlitz River, a state patrol spokesperson, Will Finn, said. There were 95 crashes on Thursday in five counties in the state's south-west.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Extreme wind event, possibly a tornado, tears roofs off homes at Oxnard mobile home park
A mobile home park in Oxnard was hit by an extreme wind event that meteorologists were describing as a "possible weak tornado," which tore roofs off homes and ripped power cables to the ground Thursday afternoon, authorities said. The damage took place while wide swaths of Ventura and Los Angeles counties were under flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings amid a powerful atmospheric river storm. The Ocean-Aire Mobile Home Estates in Oxnard was hit by fearsome 60-mph wind gusts shortly after 3:30 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Around a dozen properties were damaged as well as carports, awnings and power lines. The park is at 2250 Butler Road, near Oxnard Boulevard and Pleasant Valley Road, and provides a valuable source of affordable housing for families and seniors. No injuries were reported at the park, but the area remained without electricity around 6 p.m., according to reporting from the Ventura County Star. Meteorologist Carol Smith said the weather service intended to assess the damage Friday and determine whether there was indeed a weak tornado at the park. She said this was probably what happened based on the weather patterns seen on radar and the fact that roofs were ripped off buildings, which typically doesn't happen from strong winds alone. "Sometimes when you have really strong [wind] uplift and there's strong thunderstorms or a collection of storms, you can get this [wind] rotation," she said, describing how the tornado may have formed. The weather service had warned about the possibility of tornadoes when issuing a severe thunderstorm warning for L.A. County on Thursday afternoon. Mobile home parks have been hard hit during the extreme weather events Southern California has experienced this year. Read more: 'We're all freaking out.' For mobile home residents, few answers after Palisades fire More than 300 mobile homes were destroyed in the Palisades fire in January, which wiped out a rare pocket of affordable housing by the beach in Pacific Palisades. Many former residents of the Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates and Tahitian Terrace mobile home park are now struggling to find housing within their budgets. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
