Latest news with #MichaelWarren
The Guardian
18-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
The Cuckoo's Lea by Michael Warren review – a magical ornithological history of Britain
Old place names recall old ways of belonging. They often reference characteristics of the land or its use, the people who lived there, or the non-human lives they were enmeshed with. A great many of these vivifying genii loci are birds, although their identities aren't always obvious because language evolves over time. We need a guide. Enter Michael Warren: teacher of English, amateur ornithologist and a man who lives in a Britain different to the one most of us inhabit: a medieval one, which by some magic has 'survived in another dimension parallel to our own'. The gift he bestows in this gorgeous book is that, by the end, we live there too, newly able to read the growth rings of place, and to perceive an alternative land shimmering over the one we already know. The secrets lie in plain sight and plain speech, spelled out on maps, road signs and along urban streets: toponyms invoking cranes and crows, hawks and geese, eagles and owls, swallows and the geac – an old name whose plural geacs became the Ex of Exbourne (Devon) and the Yax of Yaxley (Cambridgeshire). That bird, unlikely as it may seem, is the cuckoo. I've just spent a week in the species' stronghold of Dartmoor, hearing them close to our tent and recognising for the first time, thanks to this book, their neurotic yikker and throat-clearing 'gowk', which is still the bird's northern and Scots name. Some may already know that the eco of ecology and economy is from the Greek oikos, meaning 'home'. But go back further, explains Warren, and we reach a proto-Indo-European root word ueik, which via the Old English wic also gives us wick, a word relating to settlement: literally, a place where life happens. For our forebears, birds often were that life, a presence that turned space into place: the cuckoo clearing (Yaxley), owl valley (Ousden), buzzard stone (Wroxton), jackdaw stream (Cabourne); woodpecker pool (Finmere), cranes' brook (Cranbrook). Warren's wordcraft is sublime. His description of a perching tawny owl, for example: 'In the monochromatic shades of night, sharpened to high contrast by the glare of intrusive light [its] eyes are sunless planets … two gaping bores, as though someone blew the night clean through the back of its skull.' If there is something of The Peregrine author JA Baker in that example, Warren's style is more textured and generous, weaving fascination, family life, and lightly carried expertise. There are other voices too: those of naturalists, writers and a gamekeeper-turned-goose-guardian who accompany him on some of his quests, plus the time-worn words of poets, scribes, monks and scholars. Of particular importance are 131 sheets of bound vellum held by Exeter Cathedral since at least AD1072. The Exeter Book contains almost all we have of Old English poetry and the earliest written mention of many of our birds. The bird most often invoked in English toponyms is not the cuckoo, nor the ubiquitous crow. It is the crane – a species we lost for a few centuries and whose persona now seems hitched to ideas of unpeopled wilderness. It was not always so, suggests Warren. While cranes have been elevated by rarity, gulls were once quasi-angelic, their clinging to inhospitable coastal rocks evoking the monks who established their cells at the extreme edges of these islands. Now diminished in popular perception, they are seen as gutter-life, scavengers on the trash-tides of our consumerism. Given the loss of many of the birds Warren references from the places named after them, this book comes to seem like a long-form prayer of sorts, a eulogy – or, to put it another way, a recalling of fire from embers. No journey in Britain will be quite the same again. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion The Cuckoo's Lea: The Forgotten History of Birds and Place by Michael Warren is published by Bloomsbury Wildlife (£20). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Santa Clara VTA nears completion of San Jose affordable apartments
The Brief Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority is nearing completion on a 135-unit apartment complex near the Tamien Light Rail Station in San Jose. Of those units, 67 will be allocated for rapid rehousing, to move individuals and families out of homelessness. The project is one of 10 housing developments being overseen by the VTA. SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced on Monday that it is nearing completion of 135 affordably-priced apartments located near the Tamien Light Rail Station in San Jose. The development features one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Of the 135 units, 67 are allocated for rapid rehousing, to move individuals and families out of homelessness. Residents are expected to move in starting in August of this year. The project marks the first transit-oriented development to be completed on VTA property in 25 years. The apartments are priced for families earning between 30% and 60% of the Area Median Income. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development lists the Santa Clara median income for a single person in 2024 as $129,000, meaning the Tamien apartments will be priced for renters earning between $38,700 and $77,400. "This is a significant milestone for VTA, marking the completion of a development that contributes to addressing the housing crisis in Silicon Valley," VTA General Manager and CEO Carolyn Gonot said in a press release. "VTA is moving quickly to make land available for hundreds of affordable housing units across Santa Clara County." Big picture view The Tamien apartments are one of 10 housing projects the VTA is developing near light rail stations throughout the county. Each of the developments is required by VTA's Transit Oriented Development Policy to provide a minimum of 25% of units at affordable prices, and half of those must be targeted toward extremely-low and very low income households — those earning a maximum of 50% of the area median income, or $64,500. The projects bring in up to $5 million revenue annually for the organization, through ground lease arrangements with housing developers. That amount could potentially reach $30 million a year, as the eligible properties are leased. "Affordable housing is the solution to ending homelessness," Michael Warren, Board Chair of Family Supportive Housing said in a press release. "At Family Supportive Housing's shelter alone, we serve nearly 200 families per year who simply could not keep up with rising rents. These families are doing everything right — working hard and contributing meaningfully to our community — but they still can't afford to live in Santa Clara County."
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
North GA man arrested, charged with sexual assault
A Blairsville man was arrested last week and is now facing several charges. On Sunday, Feb. 16, the Union County Sheriff's Office received a report that Michael Warren, 34, had sexually assaulted someone. The Union County Sheriff's Office requested help from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). After investigating the claims, GBI agents arrested Warren on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Warren was working with Union County as an HVAC technician at the time of his arrest. Warren was booked into the Union County Jail where he remains pending a court hearing. The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information about him is urged to contact the GBI at 706-348-4866 or call the GBI tipline at 800-597-8477. Once the investigation is completed, the case file will be given to the Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office for prosecution. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: 'Scary, honestly': Neighbors want answers after woman found dead inside Cobb County home Apartment complex where 3 kids died in fire has been cited nearly 20 times by city Rudy Giuliani has 'fully satisfied' $148M judgment won by Fulton County election workers [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
