Latest news with #Embry
Calgary Herald
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Power points: Calgary director Mathew Embry tackles energy poverty in Peru, Nunavat in new documentary
Not long after Mathew Embry posted his documentary Help Is On The Way on YouTube, he received two 'scathing' comments on the same day. Article content They were from opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the debate over fossil fuels and the response to climate change. One was clearly from supporters of the 'renewable side of the argument,' and one from people on the 'conventional energy side.' Article content Article content No one wishes for scathing reviews, of course. But, in a strange way, it did make the Calgary filmmaker feel like he had done his job. Article content Article content 'I thought, 'Wow, we made a movie that both sides are really paying attention to',' says Embry. 'I'm politically agnostic. I try to make my films as politically agnostic as possible and talk about the facts.' Article content Help Is On The Way is about energy poverty and features Embry and his team embarking on an often perilous trek to the Peruvian Andes to talk to community members who live without easy access to heat, light and power. The film follows a group that includes Calgary students Kalista McNabb and Pavneet Cheema and Light Up the World executive director Aaron Cohen to a remote village in Peru called Huarcaya, where they oversee an ambitious project to bring solar power to a community that includes the area's only school. That portion of the film is overseen by Mykola Pelikov, a Ukrainian filmmaker who works for Embry's Muster Point Productions and had his own experiences with energy poverty in his home country. Embry and a separate crew head up the mountains to a village called Ancallachi to interview community members about the impact of not having access to heat, light and power. Article content Article content Still, while Embry maintains that the film 'isn't about politics,' it does eventually touch on contentious issues such as the building of pipelines and the manner and speed in which governments are battling climate change. Article content But he didn't want a film made up of talking heads, and the trip to Peru and all its inherent difficulties is a major part of Help Is On The Way. Article content 'With all my films, I try to give people access to places and people they could never have in day-to-day life,' says Embry. 'I love adventure. That's what I want for audiences, to bring them with us. Energy issues can be challenging to share in an entertaining way. What I try to find is storylines about people are doing things in the energy space that are compelling. Light Up the World, for me, was an organization that was doing the work and actually having real tangible, hopeful results — which was key because I don't like making movies that don't have solutions, or at least try to suggest possible solutions we can discuss.' Article content The trip to Peru, which took place last February, didn't lack in adventure. The two film crews travel along perilously thin mountain roads. At one point, the bus one crew is travelling in gets stuck in a remote area. There's a flat tire on another trip. At one point, a woman asks the filmmaker to take her and her baby to the hospital. Article content The biggest drama unfolds when Embry is en route to Ancallachi they learn that a landslide has wiped out the roads leading to the village. Article content 'As a documentary filmmaker, you can only predict maybe 25 per cent of what is going to happen,' Embry says. 'For me, it's about making sure we're safe and making sure we are surrounded by the right people, the experts, and we're going to be pointing the camera at the story we are trying to cover and I just allow the story and the scenes to unfold. There is no question there are moments where you wonder if we are able to keep filming or keep going. But I just trust the process. There are so many times, like a flat tire or having a road washed out, where it opens it up to a whole different part of the story and a character who can show us something different. Article content Article content 'The day we had the washed-out road was a scary one,' Embry adds. 'Our camera operator and me, to a certain extent, were struggling with the altitude and not feeling that great to be able to walk in there; plus the rain, plus the washed-out road. There was terrain I'm not familiar with. So I would ask simple questions. If something happened, could we get a helicopter in here? The answer was no because there was too much fog. So your mind starts to do the calculus: What situation are we in? But you're trying your absolute best to tell the story and there are some dangers involved. But, again, when it comes to energy poverty, this is a life and death situation.' Article content The film includes some of those sad life-and-death stories from the Peruvian people in the areas the film visits. Key to the film is Kevin Quillahuaman, a Peruvian guide who is particularly adept at getting the crews access to remote areas and people but also has a backstory about the perils of living without stable access to energy. Article content Article content To show that energy poverty also happens in our own country, Embry also visits Blaine Chislett in a remote area of Nunavut. Chiselett is an Inuk activist working to reduce diesel dependency in his community. Article content Embry has mixed personal stories into his films before, including his own. In 2017's award-winning Living Proof, he chronicled his experiences with multiple sclerosis and promoted the methods he has used to combat it, which mostly involved diet and exercise. It wasn't without controversy, as Embry targeted not only the pharmaceutical companies but also charities such as Multiple Sclerosis of Canada. Article content But Help Is On The Way is a follow-up to Embry's 2019 documentary Global Warning, which was essentially an oil industry-boosting film that argued, among other things, that the science behind man-made climate change has yet to be settled. The film featured Patrick Moore, the controversial former president of Greenpeace Canada, who now criticizes the environmental movement and has become a corporate consultant. Article content Future Alberta premier Danielle Smith, who was a conservative radio host at the time and anything but 'politically agnostic,' was also consulted for Global Warning. Article content Moore again appears in Help Is On The Way, as does Bjorn Lomborg. The Danish political scientist and author is an equally polarizing figure known for his controversial 2001 book The Skeptical Environmentalist, which challenged the scientific consensus on climate change and questioned the widely held belief that the global environment is getting progressively worse. Article content Embry says landing Lomborg, whom he calls 'a huge international name,' was a significant coup for the film. The film embraces his idea that conventional energy is still vital, particularly when it comes to addressing energy poverty around the globe. Article content 'In the film I tried my absolute best to walk both sides and show how a blend of conventional energy and renewables is the path forward today and we can actually do something about it,' Embry says. Article content Article content Viewers will make up their own minds, of course, and can watch Help Is On the Way for free on YouTube. Embry, who has made documentaries in the past about Theo Fleury, Ian Tyson and Jann Arden, says he made the film through public donations and was adamant about keeping it independent.
Indianapolis Star
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indianapolis City-County Council Democrat accused of physical and sexual abuse
Keith Graves, a Democratic member of the Indianapolis City-County Council that's been tasked with improving how the city handles allegations of sexual harassment and abuse, is facing and denying allegations of domestic violence. Laurin Embry, 29, alleges that she experienced physical and sexual assault committed by Graves, 59, between 2020 and 2022, during their relationship and its aftermath. Meanwhile, Embry's claim is not the first time Graves, who was first elected in 2019, has been accused of domestic abuse. Last spring a Marion County judicial official granted a civil protective order to another woman after she alleged domestic violence committed by Graves. That claim was eventually dismissed. No criminal charges were filed in either case, and in a statement Graves denied the claims, saying he never "jeopardized anyone's safety, comfort, or dignity." Embry, a social worker and Democratic campaign volunteer and vice-precinct committee member, is coming forward as Indianapolis Democrats are grappling over how they've responded to past abuse and harassment allegations that have come to light over the last year, ensnaring prominent current and former party members. "I don't think I'll ever have peace or justice," Embry said. "I'm not asking for his resignation. I'm not even asking for the party to hold him accountable because obviously that is just too much to ask of our elected officials. All I'm doing is telling the truth about what happened to me so I can help other people." The Indianapolis City-County Council has come under intense scrutiny as the legislative body has sought to provide oversight over Mayor Joe Hogsett's administration, including investigating how the mayor responded to claims of harassment and assault against his former chief of staff Thomas Cook. Cook last year apologized for past relationships that he said "violated a trust placed in me." Graves has been largely silent publicly during the frequent council debate over the issues, even as three members of his own party on the council have called for Hogsett to resign. The 2024 protective order against Graves was known about by local political insiders, but it wasn't formally discussed among council Democrats or leadership last year, Democratic City-County Council members and a person close to the caucus told IndyStar. Graves continues to serve as chairman of the council's education committee. Graves, in a statement to IndyStar, said Embry's claims were false but did not directly answer many detailed questions sent by IndyStar about the allegations from Embry or the 2024 protective order filed by the other woman. "I am deeply disappointed by the allegations being made against me," Graves said. "These claims do not reflect the values I hold as a father, a brother, a mentor, and a public servant. What was once a mutual and respectful relationship is now being portrayed in a drastically different and troubling way. I want to be absolutely clear: I have never acted in a way that jeopardized anyone's safety, comfort, or dignity. I unequivocally deny the false and hurtful claims that are now being shared." When Embry and Graves met at a local political event in late 2019, she was 24 and starting to become more involved in local Democratic politics. Graves was 53, and had just been elected to a seat on the City-County Council, while Embry had dreams of running for office one day. She said she trusted him because he was an elected official. "He told me he was 42," she said. "Had I known the truth, I could have acted accordingly. My choice was taken away from me." After they met and started talking, Graves said he welcomed becoming "close friends," according to 1 a.m. text messages between the two of them provided by Embry to IndyStar. "What is a close friend to you?" Embry asked in one message. "Trusted person that you get to see and spend time with from time to time," Graves responded. "There's more.. we can identify over time." From there, Embry said, the relationship progressed quickly. Graves invited her to his home a few days later. She said he pressured her to drink alcohol when she arrived. "I had a couple sips of it," she said. "When I drank enough, he was like 'OK, we can go upstairs.' Things were moving a little fast." She woke up in his bed the next morning despite not planning to stay over. They were in nearly constant contact after that, she said. She believed they were in an exclusive relationship and was invested in making it work, ignoring red flags along the way, she said. "Taking myself out of it, if I were a third person, what it would look like to me is an older elected official taking advantage of a younger person," she said. "I always thought I was smarter than average, but I was freshly 24. I was naive." Embry alleged physical and sexual assault by Graves. In one instance, shortly after the relationship began in 2020, she said he became angry that she hadn't responded to his text messages or calls one night when she was asleep. He grabbed her neck, applied pressure, and threatened her, she said. "He accused me of cheating on him," she said. "He stands up and with his hand around my neck, walks me back until my back hit the wall. He told me that he better not find out that I'm seeing anyone else." Embry said the situation eventually de-escalated once she reassured him that she was being faithful to him. Indianapolis resident Paul Alvies, who is Embry's uncle, said Embry told him about that instance shortly after it occurred. "She said something like, 'It won't happen again, she's not going to let no one do that to her,'" Alvies said. "I was like, 'It shouldn't happen in the first place.' I was really angry. I don't care if he's a councilor or not." She also alleged that Graves sexually assaulted her on one occasion in summer 2022, after showing up at her home unannounced. The two were already broken up by that point. "I got that knock on the door in the evening," Embry said. "I'm like, you know what? I'm at least going to confront him about the mental games that I knew about because they had serious consequences." He initially made small talk with her by complimenting a nearby photo of Embry's late father and the urn that contained his remains, she said. She said he eventually tried to persuade her to "continue on with him" but she wasn't interested. She was sitting on the couch when he leaned over her and started to kiss and touch her body, applying the weight of his body against her. She repeatedly asked him to stop, she said. "He used his body to kind of lean over me … and to keep me from pushing him off of me," she said. "I am saying 'No. Stop. Get up.' Eventually, he does get up, but it's important for me to point out that before he did, I really did try to, with all of my might, to get him off of me." Once he got up, she said Graves faced her and rubbed his genitals. She said she found the incident deeply disturbing and disrespectful. "This was not the person that I thought that I loved," she said. She said she didn't go to the police after either incident. Graves, in his statement, said "at no point during that time (of the relationship) did she express feeling unsafe or mistreated. It is disturbing and disheartening that more than three years later, our relationship is being recast in this way." "Abuse is a serious matter, one that I do not take lightly," Graves said. "These accusations are not only false but deeply alarming in their intent and timing." The relationship with Graves deeply impacted Embry's mental health, leading to depression and multiple suicide attempts in recent years, she said. "It had a major toll," she said. "What he describes as healthy and consensual had me contemplating jumping off of an overpass. I actually held a loaded gun to my head." She says it also had a monetary cost. She's paid thousands of dollars for treatment for the resulting trauma and emotional distress, medical bills she shared with IndyStar show. She also has paid out of her own pocket for security when she's in public, Cash App payments show, because she's afraid of being approached by Graves, who she said has appeared at her workplace and home unexpectedly in the past. Beyond the time when she alleges sexual assault occurred, she said there have been other late-night knocks on the door that she believes were from Graves because those occurrences would sometimes coincide with her receiving phone calls from him. A longtime friend of Embry's, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retribution, told IndyStar she heard knocks when she would stay at Embry's house overnight in 2022. Embry also provided IndyStar screenshots of text messages, repeated phone calls, an email and a Cash App payment made by Graves to her in 2022. "I love you," he texted her on Jan. 12, 2022. She didn't reply, she said and screenshots show. Hours later he followed up again, texting simply, "Laurin." Between Feb. 9 and 11, 2022, he called her six times. She didn't answer. He's also tried to interact with her in professional settings, Embry said. On Feb. 13, 2023, for example, she said he approached her at a housing event she was hosting at the Indiana Statehouse. "I went into fight or flight," she said. "All I could think to do is get my purse and leave. I just got the hell out of Dodge." She once got a notification at 3:58 a.m. one morning in September of 2023 that he started following her workplace's Instagram account. In 2024, she was asked to serve on a panel on housing stability by the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. She agreed, then later learned he would also be on the panel. He walked up to her before the panel started and touched her arm, she said, which made her uncomfortable. "He hovered over me," she said. "It was consistent, despite me backing up or putting space in between us." This isn't the first allegation of domestic abuse against Graves during his time serving on the council. Last year, another woman filed and was granted a protective order against Graves by a Marion County Superior Court magistrate. The civil protective order, signed in spring of 2024, states that the woman showed, by a preponderance of evidence, that "domestic or family violence has occurred sufficient to justify the issuance of this order." It found Graves "represents a credible threat" to the safety of the woman. IndyStar is not naming the woman as it typically does not name victims of assault without their consent. The day before the protective order, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to Graves' home because of a domestic disturbance, according to a police report. The offense is listed as a "simple assault" and the woman is listed as the victim in the report. No criminal charges were ever filed. A few days later, Graves filed a petition for a protective order against the woman, alleging she committed "repeated acts of harassment against me," including destruction of property. That petition was denied after the magistrate found Graves hadn't shown enough evidence that violence or harassment occurred sufficient to justify the issuance of a protective order. The woman asked a few weeks later that the protective order she was granted be dismissed, which ended the matter. The woman declined to comment to IndyStar. Graves, in his statement, said "while a protective order was once filed, it was voluntarily dismissed without me ever appearing in court. No criminal charges were filed. That chapter is closed, and to this day, we maintain a cordial relationship." The 2024 filing of the protective order was reported on at the time in local political blog and whispered about among some local politicos, but it was never widely reported on by mainstream outlets or publicly addressed by council leaders. At the time, Graves and the woman declined to comment to the political blog. The protective order didn't come up among council Democrats in caucus last year, multiple Democratic City-County Council members and a person close to the caucus told IndyStar, even though some people knew about the claim. Jesse Brown, an outspoken critic of how both council leadership and Hogsett's administration have handled abuse allegations, became aware of Embry's allegation a few months ago when Embry confided in him, he said. Brown said Embry described to him "very clearly nonconsensual and abusive" behavior. He encouraged council leadership to censure Graves and remove his committee chairmanship position. "Why don't we have a plan on how to deal with behavior like that? There's no consistency," Brown said. "In the caucus we see that abuse is tolerated and there's never anything the powerful are forced to reckon with." Council President Vop Osili and Vice President Ali Brown declined to comment on the matter and referred questions to Caucus leader Maggie Lewis, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Embry said it's ironic that Graves is serving on a body that the public expects to provide leadership to reform city policies to protect women. She said she was dismayed after watching other councilors fail to intervene when former Hogsett campaign staffer Lauren Roberts was dragged out of the Council chambers by sheriffs at Osili's command last month as Roberts tried to relay her concerns about experiencing abuse as a Hogsett campaign staffer. "I see victim blaming, I see elected officials quickly trying to put this issue to bed while protecting predators," Embry said. "As a victim, I am seeing the person that perpetrated violence against me silent while all of this is happening." Graves said he was "committed to transparency and accountability." "I reject any attempt to equate my situation with any unrelated matters involving other past or present public officials or city employees," Graves said. "I believe in creating a harassment-free work environment and protecting the physical and mental well-being of every city-county employee. I will continue to serve the people of District 9 with integrity and purpose, as I have always done." Embry said she is skeptical that her story will result in accountability, but she wanted to make a difference for women who want to advance in local politics by sharing her story. "Being able to help others would be the only justice," Embry said.
Saba Yemen
22-05-2025
- Saba Yemen
Iranian Navy Denies Reports of Hijacking Oil Tanker
Tehran – Saba: The Iranian Navy denied on Thursday reports alleging that it had hijacked a UAE-owned, Panamanian-flagged oil tanker near Iran's Jask port. In a statement, the Iranian Navy said that the report by the security firm Embry about the ship's hijacking was baseless, stressing that no similar incident had occurred in waters under its jurisdiction. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Memorial Day weekend travel: What to expect
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — More Ohioans will be traveling this Memorial Day Weekend, but higher prices are keeping a lot of people closer to home for a vacation. AAA predicts that 45 million people in the United States, including 1.7 million Ohioans, will travel 50 or more miles over the Memorial Day weekend, but not all necessarily to go on vacations. According to Bankrate, only 46% of American adults plan on taking a vacation this summer, with 65% of those citing affordability for not traveling, but that doesn't mean you can't getaway to a place closer this summer. 'A lot of times we have to prioritize what's important for a family. You know, gas prices, grocery prices, education, utility bills, property taxes, all those play a part with what we have available to utilize for trips or doing things for ourselves,' said Richard Embry, AAA Dayton South general manager. 'So I think a lot of families have to really look at the importance of traveling the distance, how much money they're willing to spend to travel.' While you won't see as many people at the airport, there is an expected record amount of 1.54 million people on the roadways in the Buckeye State. The one thing that is cheaper than last year is gas. 'Now, the good news is our gas prices right now is around $3 a gallon where this time last year was over $3.59,' said Embry. 'Make sure that you're prepared and your vehicle's prepared if you're taking a road trip, tire pressure, tire tread, make sure your fluids, make sure everything mechanically is correct.' To avoid peak traffic, it is advised to leave earlier in the day. 'Leave early because you're going to see significant increases, amount of traffic flow on the roads in the late mornings, early afternoons into the late afternoons, because everyone's going to be traveling at that same time, and you basically want to want to beat the line,' said Embry. Real ID Is needed to fly, but there are other acceptable forms of identification, such as a passport. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amid flurry of parole reform measures are two that tackle the parole process itself
Two aging inmates in a prison in San Luis Obispo, California. Maryland lawmakers are considering several parole reform bills this year, including two little-noticed bills that would reform the parole process itself. (Photo by) Amid high-profile proposals to make it easier for long-serving inmates to seek sentence reductions and to make work safer for parole agents are two largely overlooked efforts that supporters say are no less important: Reforming the parole process itself. 'Looking at the process of parole may seem, you know, not as big, but it is, especially for those incarcerated. Just trying to increase … a little bit more transparency and predictability,' said Del. Elizabeth Embry (D-Baltimore City). 'I'm just saying [there's] room for improvement, and we hope this bill will advance us toward that improvement.' Embry is the sponsor of House Bill 1147, which calls for an annual report by the Maryland Parole Commission breaking down the number of cases it has heard and approved in a year, broken down by race, and requiring that inmates who are rejected for parole get a report detailing the reasons why. Currently, they have to ask for that information. Del. N. Scott Phillips' (D-Baltimore County) House Bill 1156 would increase the number of Parole Commission members from the current 1o to at least 15 but no more than 20. More importantly, those members, currently nominated by the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, would be nominated instead by the governor, from a list of candidates drawn up by a new commission made up of law enforcement officials, public defenders, health and education officials and more. The Parole Commission nominees would still need to be confirmed by the Senate. Both Phillips' and Embry's bills are scheduled to be heard March 4 before the House Judiciary Committee. 'Parole [reform] will be something we will definitely take a look at,' Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), chair of the committee, said in an interview earlier this month. Clippinger said the two bills 'generally, but not specifically' resemble legislative priorities from Campaign Zero, a national social justice organization led by a Maryland native DeRay Mckesson. Mckesson, one of the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, served on a Maryland task force in 2023 to evaluate data collection and policies within Maryland's state's attorneys' offices, and to assess whether prosecutors' practices are fair and equitable. Mckesson said attempts to reform of the Parole Commission are welcome. 'We need to modernize the structure of the Parole Commission. So few people understand the parole process. We just want fairness in the parole system,' he said in an interview earlier this month. The Parole Commission, a part of the department within correctional services, is a full-time body that holds parole hearings on a case-by-case basis to determine whether those serving six months or longer should be granted parole. The commission chair draws a $132,000 salary and commissioners are paid $117,000, according to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The 10-member board is scheduled to meet every other Wednesday but currently it has three vacancies. The department declined comment on the two latest bills, except to say that it 'recognizes the critical role legislation plays in building a more just and effective correctional system in Maryland.' Embry's bill calls for additional data that is not currently required in the commission's annual report of its work to the governor, such as figures 'disaggregated by race of relevant incarcerated individuals.' Some of the other information must highlight the number of cases in which the commission granted or denied parole; the number of people granted administrative release; the number of parole hearings and purpose of each hearing; and the number of people eligible for parole but never granted it. Hearing examiners who review each incarcerated individual's case and make a recommendation to the commission for or against parole would have one week, instead of the current three, to deliver a report the to the inmate, the commission and the Department of Corrections, spelling out the reasons for the recommendation. In addition to including the 'reasoning and justifications for the recommendation,' an individual denied parole would have to get another hearing scheduled 'not later than two years' from the denial. Currently, there's no requirement to when a subsequent parole hearing must be scheduled. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The bill also specifies that, 'The Commission does not have the authority to permanently deny parole.' 'There's a need for [parole] improvement and we hope this bill will advance us toward that,' Embry said in a recent interview. Phillips' bill would take hearing examiners out of the process of recommending parole approval or denial. Under the current law, the commission can skip a hearing on a parole case if there are no objections from the inmate or the department, in which case the hearing examiner's recommendation become the final decision. Phillips' bill would also alter not only who serves on the Parole Commission, but how members are appointed for a six-year term. When there's a vacancy on the commission, a 12-member panel would submit at least three nominees to the governor. Those panel members would include the public defender, president of the Maryland State's Attorney's Association, the executive director of the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission and four appointees of the governor – three from the general public and a prisoners' rights advocate. Some advocates noted the Parole Commission should diversify its panel. DPSCS confirmed that three former department employees are now parole commissioners: Chair Ernest Eley, Robyn Lyles and Lisa Vronch. Second Look Act draws hours of testimony in House Judiciary Committee Maryland is currently one of just four states, along with Kansas, Michigan and Ohio, that do not allow the governor to directly choose person to serve on a parole commission. 'This is to start a conversation about really looking at how the Parole Commission operates, particularly who's on the Parole Commission and what workload do they have right now,' Phillips said in a recent interview. 'Really having people to be a little more accountable in the process.' Clippinger said he wants to see action this year on one parole measure that has been reviewed for several years — removing the governor from the medical parole process. That bill, sponsored since 2022 by Del. J. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel), vice chair of the Judiciary committee, will be heard Tuesday by Judiciary. A companion Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George's), was held Feb. 13. The measure passed the Senate last year, but did not get out of Judiciary. 'We want to get the medical piece done this year. We're going to try and make that happen,' Clippinger said, standing near Bartlett. 'We're going to get it done,' Bartlett said.
