Latest news with #LeeJohnson
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
After two months, this Upstate Democrat drops out of SC US Senate race
An Upstate Democrat who entered the U.S. Senate race hoping to oust Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, is now out after two months of campaigning. Lee Johnson, an engineer, dropped out of the race Wednesday. He was unable to gain traction and only raised $67,000 in his two months on the trail after putting in $500,000 of his own cash to kick off his campaign. Johnson was an underdog for the nomination, let alone winning a general election. The favorite in the Democratic race, Dr. Annie Andrews, reported raising $1.2 million in her first month of running. 'As the Democratic primary has taken shape, it has become clear that now is the time for unity. I've had honest conversations with supporters, community leaders, friends and family,' Johnson said. Johnson said at the beginning of the campaign he would not take any political action committee money and would only serve two terms if elected.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Advance bookings plea to protect local theatres
Theatre goers are being asked to purchase their tickets further in advance to help keep performances running. The Corn Hall theatre in Diss, Norfolk, say they have had to cancel or postpone performances due to a low number of advanced sales. Lee Johnson, general manager at the theatre, said that as a charity, they needed people to book further in advance to work out if a show is financially viable. He said: "Booking your tickets early helps us to ensure that the event can go ahead. I can say to the producer that we've sold 100 tickets... Then they're happy, and I'm happy." Three performances have been cancelled at the Corn Hall this year because of low sales, and other have been postponed to a later date. The change in habit to favour late bookings is something that Mr Johnson said became more "prominent" after the COVID 19 pandemic. "I think people became so used to events getting cancelled during that difficult time," he said. "You'd book a ticket, and the show would be cancelled, or it would get shunted forwards by six months, then something else would happen." Mr Johnson said the cancellations had an "immense" effect on both the theatre's finances and reputation. "It's not just the impact on the charity when we need to refund people, but people also think, 'well if they've cancelled that, what else are they going to cancel'. "I really don't want to cancel any shows, but when you're talking to producers who say we are not going to make any money out of this, we are left with no other option." Adam Taylor, chief executive of Norfolk charity The Garage Trust, said he has also noticed a shift in consumer habits. He runs both The Garage theatre in Norwich, and The Workshop performing arts venue in King's Lynn. "We are seeing the same trends that are being reported by a number of other theatres across the county in terms of ticket sales being much, much later than they were before," he said. 'Rising costs' Mr Taylor said this meant more unpredictability with box office sales, and changes to programme to reflect it. "Our programmes might now be more risk averse than they were three or four years ago, presenting less of a broad stroke in programmes," he said. "Coming out of the pandemic we assumed that things were going to reset, and they very much haven't... Behaviours have changed quite substantially." UK Theatre, which supports theatres and practitioners, said they were beginning to see audiences returning to advance bookings. Hannah Essex, co-chief executive, said: "Encouragingly, there has been a marked return to earlier booking habits among regional audiences. "While theatre is more popular than ever, many venues are facing rising costs with flat or declining public investment – a situation that is increasingly unsustainable. "If we are to secure the future of regional theatres for the next generation of audiences and creatives, we must ensure there is a strategy for sustainable long-term investment." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Big drop in plays staged by theatres over past decade 'I want to promote small theatres' - Suranne Jones Gavin & Stacey star pops in to friend's show
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Advance bookings plea to protect Norfolk theatres
Theatre goers are being asked to purchase their tickets further in advance to help keep performances Corn Hall theatre in Diss, Norfolk, say they have had to cancel or postpone performances due to a low number of advanced Johnson, general manager at the theatre, said that as a charity, they needed people to book further in advance to work out if a show is financially said: "Booking your tickets early helps us to ensure that the event can go ahead. I can say to the producer that we've sold 100 tickets... Then they're happy, and I'm happy." Three performances have been cancelled at the Corn Hall this year because of low sales, and other have been postponed to a later date. The change in habit to favour late bookings is something that Mr Johnson said became more "prominent" after the COVID 19 pandemic. "I think people became so used to events getting cancelled during that difficult time," he said."You'd book a ticket, and the show would be cancelled, or it would get shunted forwards by six months, then something else would happen." Mr Johnson said the cancellations had an "immense" effect on both the theatre's finances and reputation. "It's not just the impact on the charity when we need to refund people, but people also think, 'well if they've cancelled that, what else are they going to cancel'."I really don't want to cancel any shows, but when you're talking to producers who say we are not going to make any money out of this, we are left with no other option." Adam Taylor, chief executive of Norfolk charity The Garage Trust, said he has also noticed a shift in consumer runs both The Garage theatre in Norwich, and The Workshop performing arts venue in King's Lynn."We are seeing the same trends that are being reported by a number of other theatres across the county in terms of ticket sales being much, much later than they were before," he said. 'Rising costs' Mr Taylor said this meant more unpredictability with box office sales, and changes to programme to reflect it."Our programmes might now be more risk averse than they were three or four years ago, presenting less of a broad stroke in programmes," he said. "Coming out of the pandemic we assumed that things were going to reset, and they very much haven't... Behaviours have changed quite substantially."UK Theatre, which supports theatres and practitioners, said they were beginning to see audiences returning to advance bookings. Hannah Essex, co-chief executive, said: "Encouragingly, there has been a marked return to earlier booking habits among regional audiences."While theatre is more popular than ever, many venues are facing rising costs with flat or declining public investment – a situation that is increasingly unsustainable."If we are to secure the future of regional theatres for the next generation of audiences and creatives, we must ensure there is a strategy for sustainable long-term investment." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lee Johnson of Greenville drops out Senate race, cites need for Democratic Party unity
Greenville resident Lee Johnson suspended his political campaign for U.S. Senate after two months, citing a need for more unity in the Democratic Party as it fights to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Johnson built his career as an engineer and businessman. He more recently stepped into the political scene when he announced his campaign for Graham's Senate seat on May 14. More: Greenville engineer joins 2026 race for Lindsey Graham's U.S. Senate seat 'Lindsey Graham built a career for himself,' Johnson said in his campaign announcement. 'I've spent my life building for others. His initial campaign called for the protection of benefits such as Social Security and Medicaid. He also ran on a platform of low prescription drug costs and accessible healthcare. Johnson said in a July 16 press release that he has spent the past two months campaigning across the state and has heard concerns about the future and worries about access to healthcare. "Every conversation reminded me why I entered this race," Johnson stated, "I care deeply about the people of this state and believe in a future where we are more united, more decent, and more compassionate." He said it was "not an easy decision" to suspend his Senate campaign, but thinks the best thing he can do to help defeat Graham is to support the candidate the state's Democratic Party sees fit. A filing deadline and primary contest dates have not yet been set in the 2026 U.S. Senate race. Five Democrats are vying for Graham's seat, including Greenville-native Brandon Brown, who announced his campaign on July 10. Other Democrats in the race are Catherine Flemming Bruce and Annie Andrews, both previously ran unsuccessful congressional campaigns, Christopher Giracello and Kyle Freeman. More: Former SC Lt. Governor hopes to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham: 'Proven conservative fighter' There are three Republican candidates running for the seat: Graham, former South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, and businessman Mark Lynch. Independents Jack Ellison and Reece Wright-McDonald and Libertarian Kasie Whitener are also running. Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@ This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville Democrat suspends campaign for U.S. Senate, calls for unity
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Former Hibs & Hearts managers link up in Belgium
Who had Lee Johnson and Robbie Neilson working together in Belgium on their 2025 bingo card?Former Hibs boss Johnson is now head coach of Belgian second-tier side Lommel, part of the City Football Group, and ex-Hearts manager Neilson has joined his this summer, Neilson expressed interest in the vacant roles at Dundee and Motherwell before both Scottish Premiership clubs appointed new former Hearts right-back was sacked by Tampa Bay Rowdies in meanwhile, had a short stint at Fleetwood following his Hibs exit and was appointed Lommel boss in March.
