budget

$8,000.

That’s what the typical American has in the bank, according to the Federal Reserve. Most people need to use the money in their bank accounts to cover everyday expenses. However, some people, particularly those with more than $8,000 in the bank, may be able to invest a portion of their savings as a way to grow their money.

Let’s examine two stocks that investors on a budget may want to consider.

Image source: Getty Images.

AT&T

First, there’s AT&T (T -1.12%).

The telecommunications giant fits the bill as a bargain stock for several reasons. Let’s start with the most obvious: Its stock recently cost less than $30 — meaning most investors can afford to own a decent number of AT&T shares.

However, it’s not just AT&T’s low stock price that makes it appealing for investors looking for a bargain. There’s also the fact that AT&T’s valuation is affordable. AT&T’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which compares its stock price to its earnings per share, is around 17x.

In comparison, the S&P 500 market index has a P/E ratio of about 30x. Moreover, many high-flying tech stocks sport P/E ratios north of 100x. Media-streaming veteran Spotify, for example, has a P/E ratio of 164x, as of this writing.

Finally, AT&T is a bargain buy for another reason: Its business model is solid, if not all that exciting. The company has refocused its efforts on delivering wireless and fiber service. It divested its media assets, spun off its WarnerMedia holdings, and sold its stake in DirecTV.

As a result, the company is better positioned to pay down debt — it still has more than $141 billion in net debt on its balance sheet — and return value to shareholders through dividend payments. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2775, which works out to an annual dividend amount of $1.11 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.75%.

AT&T offers a solid value, making it a name that investors on a budget should consider.

Alphabet

Next, there’s Alphabet (GOOG 1.04%) (GOOGL 1.06%).

At first blush, Alphabet might seem like a strange stock for bargain-seeking investors to consider. After all, shares of Alphabet recently were trading at around $249 each.

However, bargains aren’t only found in low-priced stocks. Indeed, with the widespread availability of fractional share trading, the market price of a stock no longer matters the way it did in the past.

What makes Alphabet a stock for bargain-seeking investors is its wonderful mix of business segments. Alphabet is no one-trick pony.

Let’s start with its most profitable and best-known operation: Google Search. The company’s search business is its crown jewel. It generates more than $200 billion in annual revenue. What’s more, this online behemoth is still growing like a weed. Search revenue increased 12% year over year in the recent second-quarter report, despite concerns that ChatGPT and other AI-powered chatbots would eat away at Google’s search engine dominance.

In addition to its powerful search segment, Alphabet has other powerful divisions. Its Google Cloud segment, the third-largest player in the red-hot field of cloud services, racked up $13.6 billion in revenue last quarter (the three months ended June 30, 2025). That’s a year-over-year growth rate of 32%. The company also recorded more than $17 billion in quarterly ad revenue from its YouTube division and its Google network (Gmail, etc.).

All in all, Alphabet’s mix of business segments and solid growth make it a stock that investors on a budget should strongly consider.

THE Chancellor has been dealt another setback after borrowing hit the highest level in five years, making Budget tax rises “inevitable”.

The Government borrowed more money than expected last month, at £18billion, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This was £3.5billion more than in August 2024.

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The interest on Government debt soared by £1.9billion to £8.4billion, which added to higher spending on benefits and public services.

This offset any boost from the National Insurance Contributions hike, the ONS said.

It marked the highest August borrowing since 2020, significantly overshooting the £12.8billion expected by economists.

The level of government borrowing was £5.5billion higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast in March.

Meanwhile, borrowing for the first five months of the financial year hit £83.8billion.

This was £16.2billion higher than the same period last year and well ahead of the OBR’s £72.4billion prediction.

Martin Beck, chief economist at WPI Strategy, said: “The £10billion buffer the Chancellor pencilled in against her key fiscal rule in March has almost certainly gone.

“That means tax rises in November look inevitable.”

James Murray, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, insisted the Government “has a plan to bring down borrowing because taxpayer money should be spent on the country’s priorities, not on debt interest”.

He added: “Our focus is on economic stability, fiscal responsibility, ripping up needless red tape, tearing out waste from our public services, driving forward reforms and putting more money in working people’s pockets.”

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

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A $2.7-billion plan to expand the Los Angeles Convention Center is in jeopardy after a narrowly divided City Council committee opted on Tuesday to recommend a much smaller package of repairs instead.

Amid mounting concerns that the expansion could siphon money away from basic city services, the Budget and Finance Committee voted 3 to 2 to begin work on a less expensive package of upgrades that would be completed in time for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said the expansion proposal — which would add an estimated 325,000 square feet to the facility, spanning both sides of Pico Boulevard — is too risky for the city, both in terms of the tight construction timeline and the overall cost.

“The risks to the city’s finances are too great — and risks us having to cut our city workforce to offset the costs of this project for years to come,” said Yaroslavsky, who heads the committee.

Yaroslavsky proposed the less expensive alternative plan, drawing “yes” votes from Councilmembers Bob Blumenfield and Eunisses Hernandez. Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Heather Hutt voted against the proposal, saying it was a sudden and huge departure from the original expansion plan.

“I’m not comfortable voting on these recommendations today,” Hutt said. “The substantive changes have not been circulated to the committee members, staff and public — and the public hasn’t been able to give public comment on these last-minute changes that are very significant.”

Both proposals — the expansion and the less expensive package of repairs and upgrades — are set to go before the full City Council on Friday.

Council members have spent the last year trying to find a way to expand the size of the Convention Center, doubling the amount of contiguous meeting space, without also creating an excessive burden on an already stretched city budget. They have received increasingly dire warnings as Friday’s deadline for making a decision approaches.

Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso, who advises the council on policy matters, told the committee Wednesday that she fears the project’s first phase won’t be done in time for the 2028 Games, when the Convention Center will host several competitions, including judo, wrestling and fencing.

Tso also warned that the ongoing cost of the project would make it much more difficult for the city to hire more firefighters, recruit more police officers and pay for such basic services as street repairs. Four months ago, the council approved a budget that closed a $1-billion financial gap, requiring cuts to city personnel.

“We just completed a budget process that was very brutal,” she said. “If you’re happy with the level of service that we have today, then this is the project for you.”

At City Hall, the Convention Center is widely viewed as a facility in need of serious repair, including new elevators and escalators, up-to-date restrooms and overall cosmetic upgrades. Expanding the Convention Center would allow the city to attract much larger national conferences, exhibitions and meetings.

The project, if approved, would connect the Convention Center’s South Hall — whose curving green exterior faces the 10 and 110 freeway interchange — with the West Hall, which is a faded blue.

The council has already pushed for several cost-cutting measures, including the removal of a plaza planned on Figueroa Street. Mayor Karen Bass and the council also have hoped to generate new revenue by installing digital billboards — two of them within view of drivers on the 10 and 110 freeways.

Even with the freeway-facing digital signs, the cost of expanding and operating the Convention Center could reach $160 million in 2031, according to City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, a high-level budget analyst.

The cost to taxpayers is expected to average about $100 million per year over three decades, according to updated figures prepared by Szabo.

The Convention Center expansion has become a top priority for business groups, labor leaders and community organizations who say that downtown L.A. desperately needs an economic catalyst — one that will creates thousands of construction jobs and spark new business activity.

After the pandemic, office workers never fully returned to downtown, and dozens of stores and restaurants shut their doors. Homelessness and drug addiction also continue to plague portions of downtown.

“We want to see downtown recover. We want it to be a place Angelenos can be proud of, and this is the solution,” Cassy Horton, co-founder of the DTLA Residents Assn., said at the committee hearing.

Labor and business leaders told the council members that the city has a long track record of developing plans for upgrading the Convention Center, only to shelve them once it’s time for a decision.

“For more than a decade, we’ve studied this project, we’ve debated it, we’ve delayed it,” said Nella McOsker, president and chief executive of the Central City Assn., a downtown-based business group. “We’ve been deciding whether or not we are a city that can maintain and invest in this essential asset, and every time we make that delay, the cost increases.”

McOsker is the daughter of Councilmember Tim McOsker, who voted “no” on the repair proposal. An outspoken supporter of the expansion, he argued that the city took on a similar financial burden 30 years ago when it financed the construction of the Convention Center’s South Hall.

Yaroslavsky, in turn, said she was concerned not just about the project’s cost but the potential for it to pull resources away from the Department of Water and Power.

Dave Hanson, senior assistant general manager for the DWP’s power system, told the committee that deploying his workers at the Convention Center could result in delays on utility work elsewhere, including a San Fernando Valley light rail project and the installation of underground power lines in the fire-devastated Pacific Palisades.

“DWP may — we don’t know for sure yet, because they don’t know for sure yet — may have to sideline other critically important projects, including reconstructing the Palisades and all these other projects,” said Yaroslavsky, who represents part of the Westside.

Yaroslavsky’s alternative proposal calls for the city to regroup in four months on strategies for requesting new proposals for expanding the Convention Center, as well as other strategies to “maximize the site’s positive economic impacts.”

Hernandez, whose district includes part of the Eastside, said council members remain open to the idea of the Convention Center expansion as the project heads to a final vote.

“So it’s not that we’ve ruled out any options,” she said. “We’ve added more options to the conversation.”

Our writer discovered that there’s plenty to do at this spectacular Bahamas resort, a destination that’s been visited by celebrities and royalty alike

If you’re a James Bond fan, Paradise Island in the Bahamas should definitely be on your travel wish list — it was a location in 1965’s Thunderball starring Sean Connery and Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale, where he famously emerged from the sea in his swimming trunks. It’s also home to the ocean-themed Atlantis resort, a stunning waterscape, casino and hotel that has been visited by the likes of Beyoncé, Cameron Diaz and Taylor Swift, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales.

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The rooms at Atlantis Paradise Island

After landing at Lynden Pindling International Airport, it’s a 30-minute drive along the coast of New Providence island to the Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge that takes you to Paradise Island.

Atlantis Paradise Island has more than 3,800 rooms spread over five hotels, each of which offers a different experience. The Cove, where Prince William and Kate stayed in the penthouse suite in 2022, is an all-suite, ultra- modern and achingly chic five-star tower that has a separate pool and beach for its residents.

There’s also The Reef, Harborside Resort and family-oriented The Coral, but we stayed at The Royal, the iconic pink-coloured pair of buildings closest to the casino, pools, water park and the restaurant and shopping area known as Marina Village. Our 15th-floor room was an oasis of calm, with a balcony and a view of the sea, palm trees and pools.

Atlantis’s Aquaventure water park

The jewel in the Atlantis crown has to be the Aquaventure water park and the surrounding marine life exhibits. We spent hours wandering through the caverns of the Dig, a themed aquarium featuring coral, jellyfish and tropical fish, and watching the sharks swimming above the Predator Tunnel. There’s also a dolphin habitat and a turtle hatching programme, part of Atlantis’s Blue Project to protect marine life.

Thrill-seekers will love the eight slides at the water park, entry to which is free for hotel guests. The Rapids River ride was a blast as we navigated the waters around the tropical gardens while trying not to fall out of inflatable tubes, while the Serpent Slide sent me on a corkscrew descent in the dark before taking me through a lagoon as bemused sharks swam past.

Those feeling extra brave can try out slides with names like The Abyss and The Surge, and there are also gentler options for younger kids, as well as 14 swimming pools.

The grounds include walking paths, a rope bridge and six beaches, where we dipped our toes in the clear warm water and watched the sun set behind a lone pine tree on the sand – the location for many a marriage proposal.

The food at Atlantis Paradise Island

There’s something for everyone at Atlantis, from foodies to fussy kids, but eating here isn’t cheap. The resort features celebrity chef restaurants including Fish by José Andrés, Nobu (William and Kate had sushi delivered to their suite from here) and Paranza by Michael White, but there are some cheaper options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

As Atlantis is extremely popular with Americans (it’s less than an hour’s flight from Miami), the portions are American-sized at all of the 40-plus snack bars, cafés and restaurants dotted around the resort.

Most days we skipped lunch as we were still full from our breakfast from grab-and-go café Plato’s. In the evening, we enjoyed jerk chicken with fried plantains at Bahamian restaurant Bimini Road, indulged in delicious rib eye steaks at Seafire Steakhouse, and visited the prettiest Shake Shack you’ll ever see, with windows looking into the aquarium so you can watch the fish go by while you eat your cheeseburgers and fries.

Best of all, however, was Carmine’s, a budget-friendly Italian restaurant that serves food ‘family size’, with each dish suitable for three to four people to share. The friendly staff reassure newcomers that one plate of spaghetti bolognese really will feed their whole party (trust me, it will).

What to do in the Bahamas

If you can drag yourself away from Atlantis, it’s worth taking a quick trip by taxi over the bridge from Paradise Island to Nassau. Here, there’s plenty to explore, including 18th-century Fort Fincastle, which was built to protect the town from pirates and can be accessed from Queen’s Staircase, a walkway of 66 limestone steps named after Queen Victoria.

You’ll also find Ardastra Gardens – a small zoo and conservation centre that’s home to the national bird of the Bahamas, the flamingo. Then, head to the busy straw market and port, where you can sit and marvel at the huge cruise ships that dock for the day or take your own boat trip to Rose Island, where you can swim with the pigs.

How much does it cost to stay at Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas?

Rooms at Atlantis Paradise Island’s The Coral start from approx £190 per night for a room that sleeps up to four adults. A luxury suite in The Cove costs from approx £340 per night. Prices vary depending on the time of year – November to March is the most expensive; June to late October tends to be cheaper. Follow Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas on social media for the latest offers.

For other hotels on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, check out Expedia and Booking.com’s selections.

This Lower East Side hotel is not only in the centre of one of the city’s most eclectic boroughs, but is home to a live music venue, a rooftop bar, and an underground nightclub.

They say New York is the city that never sleeps, and this downtown hotel proves that. I stayed at the Moxy Lower East Side hotel, a haven for eclectic travellers looking to ditch high-brow Manhattan for a taste of the urban boroughs.

Located on Bowery, the Moxy is in the centre of the Lower East Side, with SoHo and Chinatown within walking distance. However, the true draw of the area is its lively atmosphere, with crowds filling the streets in the evenings as they sit outside bars, restaurants, and music venues.

Graffiti-filled corners and event spaces pack the area, which is the birthplace of American punk rock and new wave music. Paying homage to this, the Moxy Lower East Side has so many venues that you don’t need to leave to experience some of the borough’s rich culture.

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“That’s where I go if I want a real night out with my wife,” a local tells me. “First, hitting the rooftop for a pre-drink, then dinner, before catching some live music, and then, if I’m up for it, I’ll go down to the club for a dance.”

It’s almost hard to believe all of that can be done in what’s known as Marriott’s budget-brand Moxy. But lo and behold, as you walk into the modern hotel, there is a piano lounge to the left. Silver Lining Lounge offers nightly acts, including bands, resident performers, and jazz acts in its soundproof location – where hotel guests have first dibs at reservations. BRIT Award winner Lola Young also performed at the venue earlier this year in what was her first NYC showcase, while chart topper Benson Boone has also graced the boards.

With a large stage at the front of the room, the venue – owned by Tao Group hospitality – has table service and offers specialty cocktails alongside light bites such as tacos, fries and oysters.

Across the lobby is The Fix, which is your typical hotel bar filled with families, professionals catching up on work, and friends grabbing drinks. When it hits 9pm, a DJ arrives to lift the mood of the lobby, meaning you get a lively entrance if you’ve got a late check-in time.

Because of its location and modern design, the hotel is a hotspot for Instagram events – something which is in full swing on the Friday night I’m staying. “We’ve got a pop-up jewellery making class for influencers going on,” the hotel manager tells me as we slide past glamorous social media stars on the way to the lifts.

On the top floor of the 303-room hotel is the Highlight Room rooftop bar, which is bustling as I head up for a drink around sunset. With a DJ booth in the corner, indoor and outdoor seating, and an atmosphere that screams glamorous New York City, this is clearly a popular gem for locals looking to let loose after a busy week.

While the hotel doesn’t have a typical restaurant to grab some buffet food, it does have a high-brow modern Japanese eatery, which is well-known in the area and popular amongst celebrities. From sushi platters to wagyu beef and crown melon, Sake No Hana is truly a dining experience and rivals famous friend Nobu, which is just a 30-minute walk away.

Just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be any more nightlife under one roof, I was taken down to the Moxy’s subterranean nightclub, Loosie’s. The small venue is decked out with VIP booths and a sizable dancefloor, meaning visitors can party until 4 am and not have too far to go back to their rooms.

The Highlight Room, Loosie’s, and Silver Lining lounge all have separate entrances from the main hotel, meaning they’re not just for guests to enjoy. In fact, most of the guests inside the Moxy venues were locals taking in the music, food, and cocktails.

Book it

Moxy Lower East Side has rates from $179 (£133) per night. Book at moxylowereastside.com

WITH the kids back in school and life just that bit calmer, could it be time for an indulgent parent pamper? On a budget, of course.

While a day spent lounging by the pool sipping a glass of prosecco might sound pricey, there’s some brilliant deals out there if you know where to look – with prices starting at just £9.50 and perks including two-course meals and extra treatments.

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This is the season for spa deals with some gorgeous retreats offering packages with big discounts for a post-summer chill. 

If you have a particular spa in mind, it’s always worth signing up to the newsletters of the spa you’d like to visit; you’ll get alerts about last minute deals, special offers, discounts and cheap off-peak slots. 

Offer websites such as Groupon often have cheap spa day deals, but check out the reviews first, as it can be a mixed bag.

While the kids are at school, you can also book in for a light afternoon slot or an evening chill – which gives you access to the facilities for a fraction of the price.

This means that from less than £10 per person a day, you can book yourself a bargain and unwind in some stunning spa resorts across the UK. 

Choose from a grand stately home with an outdoor pool, a cool Hackney hideaway or a truly tranquil spot in the Kent countryside, loved by celebrities like Kylie Minogue and Fern McCann.

This is our pick of the best UK spa days that you can book now for under £85 per person (prices correct at time of publishing):

Eden Spa at Down Hall in Essex for £20

This elegant stately home in Essex is set over a 110 acre estate and is a famous wedding venue as well as having two beautiful spas.

The Wet Spa is tucked away in the garden of the house and has a private, fenced area with relaxation beds, positioned under a Grand Fir tree. 

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You don’t need to be an overnight guest to book into the spa, which has a hydrotherapy pool, steam room and sauna.

Celebrities like Fern McCann and Vicky Pattison have also been spotted enjoying the facilities.

Two hours access to the Wet Spa on Monday to Thursday costs £30, or you can take advantage of a one-hour Twilight session at 6.15pm each night for only £20.

Book it: downhall.co.uk

The Netherwood Hotel in The Lake District for £15

Cheap spa deals in the Lake District are not easy to come by, which makes this even more of a bargain.

The boutique spa has a sleek thermal suite with hot and cold therapies and plunge pools, a salt room, ice fountain shower and a steam room with the uplifting scents of lemongrass, citrus, and cinnamon.

You can book into the day spa and use the thermal suite for 60 minutes for only £15 or 90 minutes for £20. Ideal if you’ve been out in the lakes boating, kayaking or hiking.

Book it: netherwood-hotel.co.uk

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Hackney Wick Community Sauna in London for £9.50

This simple spa is a not-for-profit Community Sauna,
is to make sauna and cold plunge affordable and accessible to everyone in London, even those on a lower income.

Set in a charming back garden in East London’s Hackney Wick, this micro spa feels like a hidden oasis.

There are six wood-fired saunas and a choice of trendy ice plunge pools inside old whisky barrels.

It’s fantastic value, with 90 minute sessions starting at only £12 off-peak, or if you’re an early riser, you can go to a one-hour morning drop-in for just £9.50.

Groups can also hire the 22-person sauna for the exclusive use, so why not get all the school mums together for a luxury afternoon and still have money left for a cheeky vino before school pick up?.

Book it: community-sauna.co.uk

Ocean Spa at Butlin’s, Bognor Regis for £25

If you didn’t already know, family-favourite Butlin’s at Bognor Regis has its own spa and – true to the brand – it’s great value too.

The catch here is that you already need access to the resort as an overnight guest or as a day guest (day passes start at £19 for adults and £1 for kids on selected days).

But, this boutique spa is fantastic for parents who have the opportunity to slip away for a few hours and have a much-needed pamper. Time to make the case to bring granny and grandad along with you?

A two-hour Spa Experience here starts at £25 per person and includes a Hydrospa, outdoor hot tub, sauna, relaxation pods, a crystal steam room and an outside sun terrace. You can also book individual treatments, but they are booked separately.

If you are visiting with teens, children aged 13+ -17 year olds are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. Ideal for older kids to have some quality time with mum or dad, while siblings go wild in the playground.

Book it: butlins.com

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Thorpe Park Hotel & Spa, Leeds for £39 with a two-course lunch

Deal club Travelzoo often have fantastic spa deals, so if you want to make a lovely spa visit a regular trip, it could be worth signing up to the club (membership is £30 for the year and you will have access to holiday, entertainment and transport deals too). 

Right now, Travelzoo Members can save 38% at six Daniel Thwaites spas across the country.

The Simple Ritual spa package offer includes three hours of spa access and a two-course lunch to recharge. Members pay just £39 per person. It’s £63 for regular guests.

As well as the stunning Leeds location, you can access the deal at five other locations across the country, including Aztec Hotel & Spa, Bristol, Cottons Hotel & Spa, Cheshire, Kettering Park, Northamptonshire, the North Lakes Hotel & Spa, Penrith and Solent Hotel & Spa, Fareham.

Book it: travelzoo.com

Crutherland House Spa in East Kilbride, Scotland with a glass of prosecco, £25

Crutherland House & Spa is a beautiful country house in East Kilbride, surrounded by peaceful gardens. The tranquil setting is a perfect antidote to the busy city of Glasgow, which is close by. 

The spa offers a full day experience, but if time and money are tight, book into the twilight spa experience in the evening for just £25 per person. 

This deal is excellent value and includes a glass of prosecco on arrival, ideal for mums who don’t have masses of spare time but do need a little R&R after the school holidays.

The spa has a huge pool with relaxation loungers, a hot tub, sauna and steam room. Plus, those visiting during Twilight sessions also get 20% of individual treatments (these are priced separately).

Also available at other Macdonald Properties across Scotland and also at Boatley Park in Hampshire. Book it: Crutherland House

Book it: Crutherland House

Bannatyne Health Clubs, £34.50 with a 20-minute treatment

Bannatyne Health Clubs are offering a September Spa Saver that is aimed at frazzled parents who have finally packed the kids back to school. 

Until the end of October, you can book packages that involve a full day use of the club facilities, including the gym and fitness classes, swimming pools, jacuzzi baths, sauna and steam room, plus relaxation rooms in some locations. 

Plus, you get a 20-minute treatment as part of the deal. Choose from a 20-minute Swedish Back, Neck & Shoulder Massage or a Tailored Facial Express. 

The Spa Saver (£34.50) is on until the 30th September and the Refresh Express Spa Day is an on-going offer for £39.50.

Book it: bannatyne.co.uk

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Porchester Spa in London for £30

This one has been an internet hit, and for good reason.

After an £800,000 refurbishment, London’s oldest Spa, The Porchester Spa, has reopened in an iconic Grade 2* listed building, beautifully returned to its 1920s splendour.

Despite being in the centre of London, the spa offers affordable prices and excellent package deals from £30 per person. 

Inside the spa, visitors you can get a look at the traditional baths and original art-deco features. The spa has two steam rooms, Turkish baths (Tepidarium, Caldarium and Laconium), a sauna, a plunge pool and relaxation lounge. 

You can also book in for a range of spa treatments here too, but these are priced separately here

If you are staying all day, there is a Café on site providing hot and cold beverages, sandwiches and snacks.

Top tip: Remember to bring 20p coins to use the lockers.

Book it: everyonespa.com

The Spa at Potters, Five Lakes Hertfordshire, £75 for the whole day with a 50-minute treatment and afternoon tea.

If you have a whole day to devote to some ‘me time’, the Blossom Spa Day deal with luxury holiday park, Potters, is worthy of a mention. 

You can book a whole day here, using facilities such as an expansive pool and hot tub, outdoor sun terrace, relaxation rooms, sauna and steam chambers. 

Even better, this deal includes a 50-minute luxury facial and afternoon tea, which is excellent value for money. 

Set in a serene location, surrounded by rolling hills, this is the ideal way to spend the afternoon with friends or as a peaceful solo adventure. 

Book it: thespafivelakes.com

Champneys Springs in Leicestershire for £59 with a 20-minute treatment and a glass of bubbly

Luxury spa chain Champneys are also running a choice of spa-tember deals.

The beautiful resorts, which are located in country houses and stately homes around the UK, are loved by celebrities, including Kylie Minogue, Naomi Campbell and even Brad Pitt!

Full spa days here, which have stunning indoor and outdoor pools, zen-like relaxation rooms, sauna, jacuzzi, hydropools, cold plunge pools and ice fountains, start from £120 per person. 

However, slip in for a bargain session but booking a Twilight Spa Evening from £59 per person, with a complimentary 20-minute treatment.

As part of the deal, you also get a welcome glass of bubbly, plus flips flops and a tote bag to take home with you. 

Available at most Champney’s locations, including Eastwell Manor in Kent and Forest Mere in Hampshire, but prices do vary depending on the individual spa. 

Book it: champneys.com

Sept. 5 (UPI) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s government has introduced a new tax reform bill in Congress to cover the $6.3 billion shortfall in the 2026 budget. It is the third tax reform of his administration and is intended to secure the $139 billion the state says it needs next year.

In 2022, Petro introduced his first tax reform, which was approved and raised $2.7 billion. In 2024, however, Congress rejected a similar proposal seeking $3 billion, leaving the 2025 budget unfunded and forcing the executive branch to issue it by decree.

The initiative, presented Sept. 1 by Finance Minister Germán Ávila, faces strong opposition in Congress and has become the center of a political battle over fiscal sustainability, public security and the finances of millions of Colombians.

The bill calls for higher taxes on high-income individuals and wealth, along with new levies on fuel, liquor and gambling. It would also tax foreign companies that provide digital services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO.

Petro contends the bill seeks greater equity and will not affect the middle class or the poor, but will instead target the “mega rich.”

However, opposition leaders have rejected the measure, calling it poorly timed and harmful to the economy.

They argue that higher fuel taxes would raise food prices, directly affecting household budgets. They also criticize the government for imposing new burdens on citizens instead of cutting public spending.

On one of the most criticized points of the reform, Óscar Darío Pérez, a representative of the Democratic Center Party, said raising the income tax surcharge already paid by financial institutions — including banks, insurers and brokerage firms — 50% from 40% — would lead to more expensive loans or less access to the formal credit market.

Bruce Mac Master, president of the National Business Association of Colombia (Andi), has warned of a domino effect from the reform. He said it could raise production and transportation costs, hurting the country’s competitiveness.

“This reform will probably be the one that most affects Colombian families of all the projects presented in recent years,” Mac Master told local media.

Opposition lawmakers in Congress have vowed to block the bill, underscoring the governing challenges facing Petro, who needs support from the economic committees for the reform to advance.

“The government presents this only to follow the same strategy as last year. It puts forward impossible proposals and then blames Congress because this has no chance of passing,” Darío Pérez said.

“Colombia has a long history of tax reforms, with more than 21 attempts since 1990 and at least 14 significant reforms since 2000,” political analyst Mauricio Morris noted.

He added that each administration has pursued changes with different aims, from broadening the tax base to encouraging investment or confronting fiscal crises.

WASHINGTON — More than half the deficit reduction that President Reagan will propose for fiscal 1987 will represent recycled proposals that Congress rejected last year, and about 40% will be such new ideas as selling government property and loans, White House Budget Director James C. Miller III told congressional leaders Tuesday.

But congressional leaders insisted that Reagan, if his spending cuts are to win approval this year, must drop his opposition to a tax increase.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) told reporters that higher taxes are needed to “glue the package together” and reach deficit-reduction targets spelled out by recently enacted balanced-budget legislation.

Some in Congress have predicted that Reagan’s budget, which he will submit formally next month, will be “dead on arrival” in Congress, particularly if he presses for cuts that Congress previously rejected. But Miller has argued that Congress will be more inclined to accept the proposals this year, when it faces the constraints of the new Gramm-Rudman law, which mandates a balanced budget by 1991.

Edwin L. Dale Jr., a spokesman for Miller, said that more than one-third of the new budget’s proposed deficit reduction would be accomplished by terminating government programs.

About one-fourth, he said, would result from selling government assets and charging new or increased fees for government services. The remainder of the savings would come from trimming government programs and making them more efficient.

However, there were few indications Tuesday that Congress, returning to Washington for the opening day of its new session, is likely to accept Reagan’s deficit-reduction formula. Instead, congressional leaders immediately squared off with Reagan for the budget battle that promises to dominate all other issues this year.

House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) bluntly labeled Reagan’s forthcoming budget proposal–which is expected to protect defense spending growth by cutting domestic programs–a “nonsensical, crazy budget.”

“The time for hard knocks has come for Mr. Reagan,” O’Neill insisted, adding that House Democrats will be trying to focus public attention on the severity of the domestic cuts proposed in the Administration’s budget.

Tax Cuts Blamed

O’Neill noted that Reagan has enjoyed public approval since 1981 for engineering deep tax cuts, which many economists cite as contributing to a record budget deficit that reached a record $212 billion last year. “He got credit for the tax reduction,” O’Neill said. “Now is he going to take credit for the cuts (required under the balanced-budget law)?”

Congressional Republicans were more restrained. Rep. Silvio O. Conte (R-Mass.), emerging from a White House meeting between Reagan and GOP congressional leaders, told reporters that only “a magician” could accomplish Reagan’s goal of cutting the deficit down to the Gramm-Rudman act’s target–a $144-billion 1987 deficit–without raising taxes or cutting defense spending.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes replied that Reagan remains committed to his budget strategy. “Some voices on Capitol Hill have been saying that the deficit could not be reduced unless taxes go up and military spending goes down,” Speakes said. “Well, they’re wrong, and the President says he is going to prove it.”

Law Mandates Cuts

The Gramm-Rudman law, named for sponsoring Sens. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) and Warren B. Rudman (R-N.H.), requires across-the-board cuts in many defense and domestic programs if Congress and the President cannot agree upon budgets that steadily hack away at the deficit.

Unless the two branches of government can settle their differences over taxes and spending, more than $50 billion in spending cuts will probably be required when fiscal 1987 begins on Oct. 1, just before November’s congressional elections.

The law faces a legal challenge of its constitutionality, but until the litigation is settled, the government is carrying it out.

The process of implementing automatic cuts to take effect March 1 already has begun, and it moved ahead another step Tuesday as the head of the General Accounting Office issued a slight revision of the $11.7 billion in reductions that were unveiled last week by the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office.

Although Miller has said that the first round of spending reductions will not be disruptive, officials in various agencies have forecast hiring freezes, employee furloughs, training cutbacks and other measures. Among the potential consequences, they have said, will be fewer children receiving vaccinations, shorter operating hours at national parks and fewer investigations by the Secret Service.

Jet2 has said it will cut the number of seats available on its flights by around 200,000 in the coming months after the budget travel giant warned shareholders about earnings forecasts

Holidaymakers who rely on Jet2’s bargain fares will find fewer seats available in the coming months, after the budget airline received disappointing earnings projections.

The low-cost travel company is set to pull around 200,000 seats from the market over the next few months, leaving 5.6 million on offer during the winter period.

Whilst this still marks a nine per cent rise compared to last year, Jet2 has chosen to scale back its growth plans following predictions that the travel giant’s profits would fall short of expectations.

The news triggered a sharp decline in the company’s share price on Thursday, with analysts forecasting earnings of approximately £449m for the year ending March 2026, up from £446.5m the previous year. Stock values plummeted by roughly 13 per cent following the announcement.

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Jet2 revealed that cost-conscious travellers are increasingly displaying a “later booking profile”, snapping up flights at short notice and leaving the airline with “limited visibility” over passenger numbers during the winter months when many seats remain “still to sell.”

The low-cost carrier witnessed package holiday reservations climb by 2 per cent over the summer, which ThisIsMoney reports as a decline from the eight per cent surge recorded last year.

Nevertheless, these statistics also highlight shifting consumer behaviour, with flight-only bookings soaring by a substantial 17 per cent.

Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy informed shareholders that the concerning figures stemmed from “operating in a difficult market,” though he emphasised that their expanding customer base would “provide the foundation for a solid financial result this year and for further profitable growth in the years to come.”

The budget airline, which conducted its annual general meeting on Thursday, revealed it had introduced a “modest increase” in package holiday prices this summer and noted it would be premature to release “definitive” figures regarding the company’s overall profitability.

Last month, Jet2 became the first carrier in Britain to provide complimentary plane tickets to certain passengers, aiming to make their service more accessible for additional customers. All families travelling with a child under the age of two will now avoid purchasing a ticket for their little one, whether booking a package holiday or an individual flight.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, explained to ThisIsMoney: “Millions of people prioritise experiences over material goods, with foreign holidays high up the list of things they scrimp and save for. Such a trend should be positive for airlines and holiday companies, yet countless individuals are leaving it to the last minute to make a booking.

“Jet2 has once again bemoaned this situation, leaving it with cloudy rather than crystal clear earnings visibility. Management cannot keep their fingers crossed that sales will eventually come through; they need certainty given the expense in running a fleet of aircraft and a complex accommodation chain.

“Guidance that full-year earnings will be at the lower end of market forecasts has wiped out Jet2’s share price gains so far this year. It’s a disappointing setback for the business and has dragged down shares in other airlines including EasyJet and Wizz Air.”

Can you really visit one of New York’s most upmarket borough’s on a budget? I visited this wallet-friendly hotel and felt like I was staying in a boutique haven.

When I arrived in upmarket New York City neighbourhood Chelsea to see the sprawling streets of flower markets, trendy art galleries and Madison Square Garden in eyeshot, I had a feeling this trip wasn’t going to be kind on my wallet.

But the hidden gem hotel I stayed in showed me that you don’t always have to choose between luxury and sticking to a budget. Nestled between the string of flower stalls gracing 28th St, the Moxy Chelsea hotel blends in almost too well—with greenery surrounding the entrance and a structure to match its neighbours. You would be forgiven for missing it despite its towering 35-floor height.

With rates from $189 (£141) per night, the four-star Moxy Chelsea – one of the brand’s five hotels across the city – sits right in the competitive price point for the city, which has an average of $300 per night for a hotel stay.

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The hotel doesn’t pretend to have all the bells and whistles, with a modern check-in area replacing a typical hotel lobby and a grab-and-go style café, Café d’Avignon, serving breakfast rather than a kitchen serving up full American fry-ups. However, guests do get a $25 voucher to spend at the café, which will get you a cappuccino or one of their fresh baked goods. The almond croissant and banana bread were personal favourites.

With a contemporary design and gorgeous interiors across the building, it was easy to forget I wasn’t in a luxury hotel, with a boutique feel throughout.

Stepping into our King View room certainly felt luxurious, with floor-to-ceiling windows allowing me to have a full view of Manhattan’s skyscrapers from the bed. New York isn’t known for its large hotel rooms, and the Moxy doubles down on this with more compact rooms than you’d usually find on holiday.

But what it lacks in size, the room makes up for in detail without feeling cramped. The rooms have a deconstructed bathroom design, which means the sink—doubling as a vanity—is in the main room, while the shower and toilet are side by side and separated by sliding doors.

Mitchell Hochberg, the architect who designed the hotel, told me that he refused to go budget on the small details. “The things we didn’t scrimp on were the shower, which we made sure was high pressure and good quality, and the beds. The bedding is the same quality used in the Ritz-Carlton,” he said.

With plenty of vibrant touches, such as a vintage telephone that tells bedtime stories and bottle openers attached to the doors, I doubt you’d find that at the Ritz.

While they offer comfort and hard-to-beat views, the hotel rooms aren’t somewhere you’d entertain and serve as more of a crash pad in the city. But the rest of the hotel has plenty going on to make sure you don’t need to leave.

I visited at the end of July, which meant the hotel was bustling with guests and summertime activities. With constant events such as drag bingo, paint and sip nights, pizza parties, and DJ performances, Moxy Chelsea has enough going on to keep you busy every night.

One thing I noticed while walking around the hotel was its popularity with locals, who pop in and out to use the several on-site bars. I headed up to The Fleur Room, Moxy Chelsea’s 360-rooftop, to find plenty of New Yorkers enjoying after-work drinks and cocktails. All with the Empire State Building in eyeshot.

Despite the hotel’s low price point, you can experience a touch of luxury at The Fleur Room, which offers upmarket cocktails, champagne, and well-known wines such as Whispering Angel. The venue, which has a separate entrance to the main hotel for non-guests, has even served the NFL and A-list guests for events.

Then there’s the first-floor bar, which doubles as a work-from-home space for nearby residents to come and work from, with meeting rooms and plug sockets all around the relaxed bar area.

After arriving at the hotel, I decided to take in my surroundings with a walk around the block, and was surprised to stumble across Madison Square Garden and foodie haven Chelsea Market less than 10 minutes after leaving, with Times Square less than 20 minutes away.

My jet lag meant that I was heading to the nearby Starbucks at 5am every morning, which turned into a positive as I managed to catch the flower wholesalers unpacking for the day on my doorstep. They transformed the whole street into a carpet of gorgeous blooms.

My stay at Moxy Chelsea left me with a newfound love for the borough and the realisation that you don’t need to spend your life savings to have a taste of the high life in the city that never sleeps.

Book it

Moxy Chelsea room rates start at $189 (£141) per night. Book at moxychelsea.com

It’s been said many times before.

In Los Angeles, for many people, the neighborhood park is their frontyard and backyard.

It’s where tables are staked out early and birthdays are celebrated.

It’s where kids learn how to swim and all ages play soccer, baseball and basketball.

It’s where neighbors gather to beat the heat, hike, catch a concert, slow down, escape the madness.

But as I said in my last column, L.A.’s roughly 500 parks and 100 rec centers, occupying 16,000 acres, are generally in bad shape and not easily accessible to many residents. In fact, in the latest annual ranking by the Trust for Public Land, they fell to 90th out of the 100 largest recreation and parks systems in the nation on the basis of access, acreage, amenities, investment and equity.

That’s shameful and inexcusable, especially for a city prepping to host World Cup soccer championships and the Olympics. But in every corner of Los Angeles, residents now have a chance to weigh in on what they like or don’t like about parks, what went wrong and what to do about it.

A months-long study, commissioned by the city and compiled by landscape design company OLIN with input from multiple urban planners, community groups and thousands of residents, was posted online Tuesday, explaining the long history of decline and laying out strategies for turning things around.

Residents have 45 days to weigh in online or at community meetings (details below). The final report will be delivered to the recreation and parks board of commissioners and then, in a perfect world, someone at City Hall will lead the way and restore pride in an essential but neglected community asset.

Among the key findings of the nearly 500-page needs-assessment study:

Fewer than half of survey respondents said there are enough parks and rec centers within walking distance of their homes.

Fewer than 40% said parks are in either excellent or good condition.

L.A. invests less per capita in parks ($92 annually) than many other large cities, including Chicago ($182), Dallas ($232), Washington, D.C. ($407) and San Francisco ($583).

The department’s maintenance and operations budget has been stagnant for years and its staff has been shrinking, with more trouble on the horizon as temporary funding sources dry up in the next few years.

Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents would support a bond, tax or levy for additional funding.

“I think it validated what we already knew,” Department of Recreation and Parks general manager Jimmy Kim said of the needs assessment study, adding that it provided a framework for making smarter use of existing resources while going after new sources of revenue. “My message to Los Angeles [is] please participate in this process.”

Kim told me last week that the current workforce is half what it once was, and basic park maintenance is like a “game of whack-a-mole.” The department’s budget has grown in the last 15 years, but lagged way behind growth of the citywide budget. In that time, it’s been hit by inflation, the citywide budget deficit and the rising cost of maintaining aging facilities (the deferred maintenance tab is greater than $2 billion).

The department is also hamstrung by a Charter-mandated, per-capita funding formula that hasn’t been tweaked since the 1930s. And because it’s a proprietary department, meaning that it raises some money through programs and concessions, it’s required to pay its own utility bills and reimburse the city for employee benefits, two expenses that swallow 40% of its budget.

“For the last century,” said Jessica Henson, of OLIN, “the same percentage of the city budget has been allocated to parks, but they’re doing a lot more today, and are on the front lines of so many critical public services like COVID response and fire response. They’re doing more with less over the last 15 years.”

In my last column, I laid out one of the easiest and quickest ways to add more park space — unlock the gates of L.A. Unified schoolyards. Ten have been opened so far, and a new agreement between the city and school district paves the way for more, although two major obstacles are funding and the need to replace blacktop with greenery.

To calculate how to make better use of existing resources, the study used an approach developed in part by UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The PerSquareMile tool broke the city into tiny grids and identified two dozen park sites where improved facilities could impact the largest number of people, and three dozen sites where conversion of schools and other public spaces into parks would serve hundreds of thousands of people.

“It’s the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the most efficient way,” said Jon Christensen, of the UCLA institute.

But transforming the system will take more than that, said Guillermo Rodriguez, a member of the study’s steering committee and California state director of the Trust for Public Land, the nonprofit that ranked L.A. near the bottom of the 100 largest park systems.

“Cities have made investments across the board, and L.A. is lagging,” Rodriguez said.

The study cited several revenue-generating options, including a charter amendment to increase the percentage of funding that goes to parks, expanded nonprofit partnerships, extending Proposition K, the 1996 park improvement measure that is about to expire, and putting a new fundraising initiative on the ballot in the fall of 2026.

“In every administration since [Mayor] Tom Bradley, the park system was taken for granted,” Rodriguez said. “There’s no more tape, no more paint, no more magic tricks that they can use to fix the parks. It really requires leadership and a significant investment, and I think Angelenos are ready to step up.”

That leadership is going to have to come from Mayor Karen Bass and each member of the City Council. So if you’d like to get their attention, two public meetings are coming up:

Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bellevue Recreation Center in Silver Lake, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Westwood Recreation Center.

For a schedule of future virtual meetings, and to read an online copy of the needs assessment study, go to needs.parks.lacity.gov.

[email protected]

CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves was warned she will hit tenants if the Treasury pursues plans to hike taxes on landlords.

She is considering putting National Insurance on rental income to fill a £50billion black hole at the autumn Budget.

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But housing experts blasted the move.

TV property show presenter Kirstie Allsopp, said: “This is tenant bashing under the guise of landlord bashing. It’s like having the economy run by Baldrick.”

Ben Beadle, of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “This will hit the very households the Government wants to protect.”

Earlier in the week, The Sun reported that firms were bracing themselves for a £2.5billion Labour tax double whammy.

They would be clobbered twice — first by an inflation rate increase in business rates in April, then by a Rachel Reeves surcharge, experts said.

Business rates are the property tax that companies must pay just to occupy their shops, pubs, factories and offices.

The Tories warned thousands of struggling firms would be crippled.

Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: “Once again, Labour is hammering the high street. Raising business rates for thousands of hard-working small businesses across England was one of Labour’s first acts in office.

“And despite our opposition to it, and clear evidence of the damaging impact it will have, they have pressed ahead — consequences be damned.”

The first squeeze would come in April when bills rise automatically with inflation.

The Bank of England expects the rate will hit four per cent next month.

Global tax firm Ryan said that would add £1.11billion to business rates across England.

The second blow would come when Chancellor Ms Reeves introduces a supplementary multiplier on larger premises next year.

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ARE you up for the Women’s Rugby World Cup?

It all kicked off at the weekend with a thumping 69 – 7 win for England over the USA.

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Whether you fancy catching a match live, soaking up the atmosphere in a fan zone or simply clinking pints with pals, there are plenty of ways to cheer on the tournament without blowing your budget.

Here are some ideas . . . 

NAB A TICKET: Want to see a match live? There are still tickets this week.

You can currently get them for Australia v USA on Saturday, with adult seats from £15 and kids for a fiver.

See rwc2025.rugbyworldcup.com/events to bag yours.

PUB PERK: If you’d rather watch with a pint in hand, Young’s Pubs are showing the action on big screens.

And they are offering one free round of Asahi for dining bookings of four–ten people on match days.

The deal is only at selected pubs, so check youngs.co.uk to see where’s in.

FAN FUN: Head to the fan zone at Power Station Park in London for free screenings, DJs, T1 Rugby coaching sessions and activities from tournament partners.

In Bristol, the harbourside Amphitheatre will be buzzing as the city hosts the semi-finals and two quarter-finals, with lots of pre and post-match fun on offer.

PLAY ON: Want to play or join in with the World Cup spirit?

Use the ‘Find Rugby’ tool on englandrugby.com to track down local clubs hosting World Cup events, sign up for family friendly rugby activities and explore opportunities for girls to get into the game with free taster sessions at rugby clubs across the country.

GET OUT ON THE PITCH: You can also grab a ball and practise your passing skills with the whole family in the garden.

The official Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Supporter Ball is now available, for £25, online at store.world.rugby.

• All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.

Deal of the day

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FOR easy, crease-free clothes, pick up the Philips PerfectCare 7000 Series pressurised steam generator iron, which has a recommeded retail price of £199.

It’s £95 for members at ao.com.

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Cheap treat

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TUCK into a Chicago Town tiger crust double pepperoni pizza, usually £3.50, now £1.75 at Iceland.

SAVE: £1.75

What’s new?

GET down to an Asda near you as the new autumn home edit has landed with toadstool duvet covers, pumpkin plates and more.

We love this pumpkin candle, £5.

Top swap

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TRY Chanel Coco Mademoiselle eau de parfum spray 35ml, £66.30 from Boots, or head to Marks & Spencer for Soft Iris eau de toilette 100ml, £10.

SAVE: £56.30 and get 65ml more

Little helper

FORGET high cafe prices and whip up a trendy drink at home instead with Aldi’s Asia Green Garden matcha latte, £1.49, available in original and strawberry flavour.

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JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle.

Every month we’re giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers – whether you’re saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered.

Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket.

The more codes you enter, the more tickets you’ll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!

Nearly 300 Los Angeles city employees were saved from being laid off after two major unions signed off on cost-cutting measures.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents more than 8,700 rank-and-file officers, agreed to create a voluntary program in which its members can take days off in exchange for some of the overtime hours they previously worked.

The layoffs would have affected 222 civilian LAPD employees, such as clerks and administrative support workers. No sworn LAPD officers were slated to be laid off, but some would have had to do the work of the civilians who departed.

“We are continuing to do everything we can to bring layoff numbers down and I want everyone to know that we are still working and anticipate this number to get even lower,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement. “These numbers are not final.”

Meanwhile, the Engineers and Architects Assn. authorized a deal for its 6,000 members to take as many as five unpaid vacation days — in effect furloughs — between Jan. 1 and June 30, which could amount to about a 2% pay cut.

The deal saved the jobs of 63 members who do not work for the Los Angeles Police Department, in roles such as city planner, analyst and civilian investigator.

Some of the LAPD civilian employees who had been in danger of being laid off are represented by the Engineers and Architects Assn., and others are represented by other unions. The Police Protective League represents only sworn officers.

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, who oversees labor negotiations at City Hall, said the money freed up by the agreements whittled the number of remaining layoffs to 75. He sent a memorandum to the city’s personnel department on Wednesday to “immediately hold in abeyance the layoff process” for employees represented by the Engineers and Architects Assn., as well as all LAPD employees.

In her proposed budget released in April, Bass called for about 1,600 layoffs as part of a strategy to eradicate a $1-billion shortfall. Weeks later, the City Council made a series of other cost-cutting moves, reducing the number of layoffs by half.

To close the budget shortfall, the council also decided to slow down police hiring — though the mayor and council president later announced that they are looking for money to avoid that outcome.

Since the budget was finalized, hundreds of workers have either left city employment or transferred to positions that are safe from the budget ax, leaving 360 positions targeted for layoff before this week’s agreements, according to a memorandum by Szabo on Aug. 15.

The Police Protective League’s Board of Directors called its agreement with the city a “win-win for all parties.”

“Officer safety is always top of mind for our union and the thought that any additional officers would be pulled away from enforcement duties and moved to non-enforcement duties compelled our union to act,” the board said in a statement. “We worked with the city to create a program that will save money to preserve civilian LAPD jobs while also providing a benefit to our members.”

Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who chairs the city’s budget committee, said that
“even in a tough budget year, we’ve ensured there will not be a single LAPD civilian layoff.”

“That was always our goal, but it was never guaranteed,” she said. “It was only possible because the Engineers and Architects Assn., the Police Department and City leadership worked in partnership to keep officers on the street and protect public safety.”

Roy Samaan, president of the Engineers and Architects Assn., said his union’s members authorized the agreement with the city in an online vote Sunday.

“We don’t want anyone to lose their jobs,” he said.

The former Los Angeles fire chief filed a legal claim against the city Wednesday, alleging that Mayor Karen Bass “orchestrated a campaign of misinformation, defamation, and retaliation” to protect her political image after the most destructive wildfire in city history.

Kristin Crowley and her lawyers accuse Bass of ousting her, and repeatedly defaming Crowley as Bass sought to shift blame for the way the city handled the catastrophic Palisades Fire “while concealing the extent to which she undermined public safety” with cuts to the fire department’s budget.

The legal claim alleges that Bass scapegoated Crowley amid mounting criticism of the mayor’s decision to attend a ceremony in Ghana on Jan. 7, when the fire erupted. Bass left Los Angeles despite her knowing of the potential severe winds and deadly fire danger, the claim alleges.

“As the Fire Chief, for nearly three years, I advocated for the proper funding, staffing and infrastructure upgrades to better support and protect our Firefighters, and by extension, our communities,” Crowley said in a statement to The Times. “The lies, deceit, exaggerations and misrepresentations need to be addressed with the only thing that can refute them — the true facts.”

Bass and the city had yet to respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Crowley’s lawyers say Bass “initially praised the department’s preparedness” and even portrayed the response positively. “But as criticism mounted over her absence, Bass reversed course,” the legal claim said. “She sought to shift blame to Crowley, falsely stating that Bass was not aware of the nationally anticipated weather event, that Crowley sent 1,000 firefighters home who could have fought the blaze, and misrepresenting the department’s budget…”

Bass removed Crowley on Feb. 21, six weeks after the firestorm that consumed Pacific Palisades, killing 12 people and destroying nearly 7,000 homes.

The mayor said she was demoting Crowley for failing to inform her about the dangerous conditions or to activate hundreds of firefighters ahead of the blaze. She also said Crowley rebuffed a request to prepare a report on the fires — a critical part of ongoing investigations into the cause of the fire and the city’s response.

According to her lawyers, Crowley had “repeatedly warned of the LAFD’s worsening resource and staffing crisis,” prior to the fire, and warned that “aging infrastructure, surging emergency calls, and shrinking staff left the city at risk.”

In the 23-page claim, Crowley said Bass cut the department’s operating budget by nearly $18 million that year and “eliminated positions critical to maintaining fire engines, trucks, and ambulances.”

After Crowley complained publicly that the budget cuts had “weakened the department’s readiness, Bass retaliated,” the lawyers allege. On Jan 10, after Crowley told FOX LA, “we are screaming to be properly funded,” Bass called her to the mayor’s office.

“I don’t know why you had to do that; normally we are on the same page, and I don’t know why you had to say stuff to the media,” the lawyers say Bass told the chief, but said she wasn’t fired.

The next day, retired Chief Deputy Ronnie Villanueva began working at the Emergency Operations Center, donning a Mayor’s office badge. Then Feb. 3, 2025, two weeks before Chief Crowley was removed from her position, Villanueva wrote a Report to the Board of Fire Commissioners identifying himself as Interim Fire Chief” — a position he now holds.

Crowley was eventually ousted and put on leave. Her lawyers allege Bass’s public accusation at the time that Crowley refused to participate in an after action report of the Palisades fire after being asked to by the Fire Commission President Genethia Hayes, a Bass appointee — was blatantly false and she was never asked.

A legal claim is a precursor to a civil lawsuit, and is required by California law when suing a government entity. In her claim, Crowley alleges Bass and her subordinates have conducted a “public smear campaign aimed at discrediting Crowley’s character and decades of service,” following her dismissal.

Crowley’s attorneys, Genie Harrison and Mia Munro, allege that Bass and others in her administration defamed Crowley, retaliated against her in violation of California’s labor code and violated Crowley’s First Amendment rights. Crowley is seeking unspecified damages above $25,000.

Harrison, who has represented numerous victims of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, said Crowley’s claim “presents her extensive advocacy efforts to obtain the funding and resources the LAFD needed to fulfill its public safety mission. It also shows Mayor Bass’ repeated refusals to provide those resources.”

Bass made the assertion about the failed deployment after an investigation by The Times found that Fire Department officials could have ordered about 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty as winds were building but opted against it. The move would have doubled the firefighting force on hand when fire broke out.

But Crowley and her lawyers say in the legal claim the “LAFD did not have sufficient operating emergency vehicles to safely and effectively pre-deploy 1,000 (or anywhere near 1,000) additional firefighters on January 7.” In simple terms, the department did not have the money or personnel “to repair and maintain emergency fire engines, fire trucks, and ambulances,” the claim alleges.

The Times investigation found the department had more than 40 engines available to battle wildfires, but fire officials staffed only five of them.

Crowley’s lawyers dispute that in the claim. They say “the LAFD staffed all its front-line fire engines (including all the 40 engines that Bass later falsely stated sat “idle.”

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Argentina’s scientific expedition “Talud Continental IV,” which live-streamed the Mar del Plata submarine canyon using the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian, became a cultural phenomenon.

The recently completed mission averaged 500,000 viewers per broadcast and drew more than 17.5 million views in three weeks.

The mission, led by scientists from Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (Conicet) in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcased the potential of Argentine science on the international stage.

However, that success contrasts sharply with the difficult situation facing scientific research in Argentina.

The country’s science and technology budget has dropped to 0.156% of gross domestic product, its lowest level since 2002, according to a July report from the EPC, a group of researchers, analysts and consultants specializing in science, technology and innovation policy.

The sector’s share of GDP fell 48% compared to 2023. Spending in the first half of 2025 was down 19% from the same period in 2024, marking a decline of more than 40% in two years.

This is the lowest level recorded since 2002, when the country was in the midst of one of its worst economic crises.

Although the figure stood at 0.30% of GDP when President Javier Milei took office, severe cuts to science and technology have been made over the past two years as part of broader austerity measures to fund social programs.

The Ministry of Science was downgraded to a secretariat, while major research agencies faced steep reductions. Conicet lost 41% of its funding compared with 2024, the I+D+I Agency saw its budget cut by 67%, the National Institute of Industrial Technology fell 46%, the National Institute of Agricultural Technology lost 39.6%, the National Commission on Space Activities dropped 40%, and the National Genetic Data Bank saw its resources reduced by 50.4%.

The adjustment marks an unprecedented cut in government investment in science. In 2024, the state financed 59.5% of the country’s research and development, while private companies contributed just 20.7% and universities 1.2%.

In research and development specifically, 61% of funding came from public agencies and universities.

The government, however, has prioritized other areas it considers key to development, including agribusiness, energy and mining, the knowledge economy and innovation, and health, while sidelining programs tied to climate change, the environment and social sciences.

The effects are already visible: insufficient resources for research, lack of equipment and supplies, suspended contracts, wage cuts and a growing brain drain of Argentine scientists abroad.

The effect on scientific employment is clear. An estimated 4,148 jobs have been lost in Argentina’s National Science, Technology and Innovation System, a third of them at Conicet, which now has only 11,868 researchers.

For Guillermo Durán, dean of the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, the problem goes beyond economics.

“There is a political decision to dismantle Argentina’s science and technology system and the high-quality public university system that has always set us apart as a country,” he said. His faculty lost 13% of its teaching staff in 2024 due to budget cuts and salary reductions.

“These people decided to end a series of very good programs for Argentina. The damage they are causing could take many years to recover from,” Durán warned.

Agustín Campero, president of the Alem Foundation and former secretary of Scientific and Technological Articulation under President Mauricio Macri, agreed on the seriousness of the situation.

“It is dire and will have severe consequences for Argentina’s development,” he said.

The Science System Financing Law, approved by Congress in 2021, set a schedule for the gradual growth of state investment in science and technology to reach 1% of GDP by 2032. That is what the scientific community and universities are now demanding.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg, with assists from Julia Wick, Seema Mehta and David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Days after the Trump administration’s mass immigration raids came to Los Angeles, City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado started looking for money to help the city’s undocumented residents.

In a June 10 motion, she asked City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo to detail options for finding at least $1 million for RepresentLA, which provides legal services for undocumented Angelenos facing deportation.

A week later, an official from Szabo’s office said they were “unable to identify eligible funding sources” for the $1 million, which would come on top of $1 million the city has already allocated to RepresentLA.

This summer in L.A., an immigration crisis is colliding with a budget crisis, leaving some councilmembers frustrated that the city cannot do more, as federal agents whisk thousands of immigrants away to detention centers and potential deportation.

The city has been active in court, joining an ACLU lawsuit that temporarily blocked federal agents from using racial profiling to carry out indiscriminate immigration arrests. Mayor Karen Bass also announced a program to provide immigrants with gift cards, funded by private philanthropy, when many were afraid to go to work.

But coming up with another $1 million for immigrant legal defense, after city officials closed a nearly $1-billion deficit through cuts and slated layoffs, has proved a slog.

“Why is it that we can’t find the money for this?” asked Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez during a Civil Rights, Equity, Immigration, Aging and Disability Committee meeting on Aug. 1. “It appears that level of urgency is not being transmitted through this report, because when we’re in other situations, we find the money.”

Jurado piggybacked off her colleague.

“This is an immigration legal crisis,” she said, adding that she felt “disappointment, frustration and, frankly, anger with the outcome here that we can’t find a single dollar to support immigrant communities and this legal defense fund.”

“I find it really hard to believe that the CAO couldn’t find any money for it,” she said in an interview.

RepresentLA, which is a public-private partnership with the county, the city, the California Community Foundation and the Weingart Foundation, has seen a surge in demand for legal services since the immigration raids began in June, said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, which manages RepresentLA.

“The need is higher than the needs being met,” Cabrera said.

The city has contributed funding for RepresentLA since its inception in 2021 — initially $2 million each fiscal year before dropping to $1 million in 2024-2025 and $1 million this year out of a total budget of $6.5 million, with the other $5.5 million coming from L.A. County.

RepresentLA, which has served nearly 10,000 people, provides free legal representation for undocumented immigrants facing removal proceedings, as well as other services such as help with asylum applications. Some attorneys are on staff, while others are outside counsel.

In April, Bass said in her State of the City speech that the city would “protect every Angeleno, no matter where you are from, no matter when you arrived in L.A … because we know how much immigrants contribute to our city in so many ways. We will always stand strong with you.”

But behind the scenes, the city’s financial struggles put even the initial $1 million for RepresentLA in jeopardy, with the mayor proposing to slash it to zero for this fiscal year.

“Getting the initial $1 million back was quite a battle,” said Angelica Salas, CHIRLA’s executive director. “It had been zeroed out. We were able to get just the money enough to continue the program for those who are currently in the program.”

The City Council managed to claw back the $1 million during budget negotiations by slowing down hiring at the LAPD, as well as “ending duplicative spending,” said Naomi Villagomez-Roochnik, a spokesperson for Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who sits on the budget committee. (The mayor and Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson have since said they are looking for money to reverse the hiring slowdown.)

“It’s a crumb when you compare it to the rest of the city budget,” Hernandez said.

RepresentLA has 23 attorneys working on deportation hearings, and Salas said each represents about 35 clients at any given time. An additional $1 million “would allow us to expand our capacity for the new people — the thousands of people who have now been picked up in this new sweep,” she said.

At the committee hearing earlier this month, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said the City Council should find savings in other areas to help pay for important programs like RepresentLA.

“Next time the city attorney comes asking us for outside counsel money, you could say ‘No’ and redirect those resources. … When the mayor comes for Inside Safe, for additional discretionary money that she is unaccountable for, you could say, ‘No, we’re taking $1 million and putting it for RepresentLA,’” she said. “Let’s effing go.”

The committee called on the city administrative officer’s staff to research options for funding RepresentLA, including grants or reallocating money from elsewhere.

Szabo confirmed to The Times that things will be different at the next committee meeting.

“Our next report will provide options to fund RepresentLA at the level requested,” he said in a text message.

State of play

BALLOT ROYALE: Labor unions and business groups have been locked in a heated battle of ballot measures for the last three months, after the City Council hiked the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers. Each side is trying to get measures on the ballot that would have far-reaching effects, including one that would put the minimum wage increase to a citywide vote. Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, has proposed four ballot measures that, according to critics, would wreak havoc on the city’s economy. Business leaders, in turn, have filed a ballot petition to repeal the city’s $800-million business tax — a move denounced by city officials, who say it would gut funding for police and other essential services.

— SAGE ADVICE: The Jurado staffer who was arrested during an anti-ICE demonstration in June gave a heads-up to her boss that she planned to take part, according to text messages obtained by The Times through a public records request.

“Going to the protest at [City Hall] fyi,” Luz Aguilar wrote to Chief of Staff Lauren Hodgins.

Hodgins responded with words of caution.

“To reiterate what we spoke about a few mins ago, if you choose to take part in any community action, please ensure that you approach the event with peace and care for those around you and stay safe,” Hodgins wrote. “This is not a city-sanctioned activity and you are participating on your own accord so want to ensure your safety along with the safety of those around you.”

Aguilar did not text back. She was later arrested at the demonstration and ultimately charged with resisting arrest after allegedly assaulting a police officer.

— BACK TO COURT: Prosecutors filed two new corruption charges against City Councilmember Curren Price this week. The charges were connected to two votes he cast on funding for the city housing authority and the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, both of which were paying Price’s wife, Del Richardson. Price’s attorney called the new charges “nothing more than an attempt to pile on to a weak case.”

Sources told The Times this week that prosecutors tried to get Richardson to testify in front of a grand jury as part of Price’s case. She did not ultimately do so.

— IT’S FUN TO STAY AT THE YMCA: Bass, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and City Councilmember Traci Park were all in the Palisades Thursday morning at a ceremony where Horvath pledged $10 million from her discretionary funds toward rebuilding the Palisades-Malibu YMCA.

— GIFT ECONOMY: Our public records request for all the gifts Bass received in the last year and a half came back, with the list largely composed of ceremonial gift exchanges with her foreign counterparts (chopsticks and a teacup from the mayor of Sejong, South Korea, estimated cost $32; a scarf and a hat from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, estimated cost $45).

There were a few interesting tidbits: Bass received flowers (~$72) from race and gender scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who coined the term intersectionality. There were also fancy Dodgers tickets and food (~$590, but marked as “paid down”) from her longtime lawyers at Kaufman Legal Group, along with flights and travel for two speaking engagements.

— NOT RULING IT OUT: When Bass appeared on the podcast “Lovett or Leave It,” host Jon Lovett gave her a “crazy pitch”: What if the city of Los Angeles broke off from the county, forming its own city-county? Bass said it “wasn’t that crazy” and asked (jokingly) whether Lovett would be taking on the messy ballot initiative … before reverting back to her standard line on the need for intergovernmental cooperation. Bass also told Lovett that the city is still looking at ways to carve out an exemption to Measure ULA taxes for Palisades fire survivors selling their lots. And, she said, the city is in the process of hiring its long-promised film liaison “as we speak.”

— HOT SEAT: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers launched a special election campaign on Thursday, urging California voters to approve new congressional districts to shrink the state’s Republican delegation, as Texas Republicans fight to redraw their own maps to favor the GOP. If the plan moves forward through the many hoops ahead, another district could be created in southeast Los Angeles County, which would undoubtedly kickstart frantic maneuvering ahead of 2026. (L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis’ name is already getting thrown around as a potential candidate, though her office didn’t respond to a half-dozen queries.)

— DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL: City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto came out swinging against SB 79, state Sen. Scott Wiener’s latest housing density bill, back in May. Now, both proponents and opponents are clamoring to know whether Bass will take a position on the controversial bill. The Times has been asking too, but so far the mayor and her team have not responded to questions.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program did not carry out any new operations this week. Her Shine LA initiative, which aims to clean up city streets and sidewalks, will be back Aug. 21.
• On the docket for next week: The Charter Reform Commission will meet at City Hall twice — yes, twice — to discuss planning and infrastructure on Monday and “government structure” on Friday.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

More than 40 years after L.A. produced the most financially successful Olympic Games in history, the 2028 Summer Olympics will feature a new advertising revenue path for the Games.

In an Olympic first, venues used for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will be allowed to have corporate sponsor names after LA28 and the International Olympic Committee came to a tradition-bucking agreement announced Thursday.

Historically, the IOC has sought to limit corporate influence by keeping venues free from advertising. Major sponsors are still ubiquitous at the Games, where only Visa credit cards are accepted and Coca-Cola products monopolize the concession stands, but venues and fields of play have remained commercial-free. The traditional clean venue policy has forced L.A. organizers to refer to SoFi Stadium, which will host Olympic swimming, officially as “2028 Stadium” or “the Stadium in Inglewood.”

Not only will the new agreement help logistically by not requiring well-known venues to adopt generic temporary nicknames, but it will ease costs as existing signage can remain in place outside of the venue.

“Our job is to push and our job is to do what’s best for the Olympics in Los Angeles,” LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman told The Times. “Our job in those conversations [with the IOC] was to explain why this was more than just about money. It was about experience and value and opportunity.”

The additional revenue opportunities from naming rights agreements will help cover what LA28 has promised will be a privately funded Games.

Wasserman said the private organizing committee has contracts for about 70% of the projected $2.5-billion domestic sponsorship goal. Any money that comes from the new naming opportunities are additions to the previously estimated revenue, Wasserman said. Needing to cover the budget of $7.1 billion, LA28 has added eight corporate sponsors this year, already surpassing the total from 2024.

“The momentum is meaningful and real,” Wasserman said. “We feel good about where we are, but we certainly don’t take that for granted.”

For venues that already have sponsorship names, such as Crypto.com Arena, BMO Stadium or the Intuit Dome, the existing company can sign on as a founding-level partner to retain its naming rights during the Games, the highest level of domestic sponsorship. Otherwise, the venue will be renamed without a sponsor.

The changes have already begun. LA28 announced that Honda Center will retain its name for the Olympic volleyball competition after the Japanese automaker established its deal with LA28 in June. Squash will make its Olympic debut at the newly named Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios as the company also holds U.S. broadcasting rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Broadcasters can now refer to the venues with their corporate sponsor names, providing a major global stage. Any signage outside of the venue will remain in place for existing structures. Naming rights are available for the 19 temporary facilities with first bidding opportunities going to members of The Olympic Partners (TOP) program.

But the field of play will remain free from visible sponsorships.

“The IOC is always looking to recognize and support the critical role and contributions of Olympic commercial partners, both TOP and domestic. We also want to support LA28 in their efforts to create new approaches and commercial opportunities, whilst maintaining the principles of the ‘clean venue policy’ that is unique to the Olympic Games,” an IOC spokesperson said in a statement to The Times. “It is a reality that many venues in L.A. and in the U.S. already have commercial naming rights and have become commonly recognized as such by the general public. Therefore, following discussions, the IOC is supporting the LA28 initiative that takes into account market realities of venue naming and generates critical revenue to stage the Games.”

With less than three years before the Olympics open on July 14, 2028, the Games delivery process has come with challenges. Soon after the IOC’s coordination commission left the city to glowing reviews of LA28’s planning progress in June, immigration raids and protests began in Los Angeles. This month, President Trump named himself the chair of a task force to oversee the federal government’s involvement in the Games, but concerns about safety and visas for would-be international visitors have persisted.

In L.A., where the city recently closed a nearly $1-billion budget deficit, transportation updates have lagged behind and leaders are in negotiations with Olympic organizers about services including security, trash removal and traffic control. Though LA28 has promised to cover all expenses related to the Games, taxpayers still face potential risk.

If the group goes over budget, L.A. would be responsible for the first $270 million of the deficit.

Blessed with a Mediterranean climate and summer temperatures soaring up to 30°C, it’s a paradise for sun worshippers. Jetting off to Albania won’t break the bank either.

Wizz Air has launched a new route, linking up the UK with a cheap and sunny European destination.

Albania has been dubbed “the Maldives of Europe” thanks to its unspoilt white sandy shores and crystal-clear waters that grace its spectacular Riviera. Whilst it’s not exactly a hidden gem – with growing numbers of holidaymakers discovering the region – it still offers remarkable value compared to other European hotspots. Travellers can indulge in luxury accommodation without emptying their bank accounts, with seafront flats available from just £20 per night.

Food is equally kind to the purse strings, with a hearty meal and drinks typically setting you back around £15. Thanks to a flurry of TikTok videos flaunting its crystal-clear waters and pristine white sands, Albania has become a hot topic for holidaymakers seeking a slice of the Maldives experience.

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Blessed with a Mediterranean climate and summer temperatures soaring up to 30°C, it’s a paradise for sun worshippers. Jetting off to Albania won’t break the bank either.

Wizz Air’s new route connects London Gatwick with Tirana, the capital of Albania. The cheapest tickets cost just £19.99, with five weekly flights running from October 26. If you’re not close to Gatwick, then Ryanair also offers flights to Tirana from Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh and London Stansted. The new fare has been launched after a family admitted that they arrived at the airport a year early for their flight.

Albania boasts the lowest living costs in Europe, with city-centre hotel rooms in Tirana going for less than £30, breakfast included. Beachside flats along the Adriatic coast are even more affordable.

Another wallet-friendly route to Albania’s glittering coastline is to fly into Corfu and then hop on a ferry for roughly £15 each way. If you set up camp in Dhërmi, you can explore a new beach every day. A delightful beachfront lunch in the area will only cost about £10 per person.

Laura Hewson, a Kiwi backpacker who explored the country last autumn, said: “We were planning to go Croatia. But one of our friends who’d been to Albania told us [we should go there]. They said it’s like Greece or Croatia but cheaper and a lot more beautiful because there are not as many tourists. We’re actually staying at a four-star hotel with breakfast included for the same price that we were staying in hostels with eight [strangers] in a room in Italy and Spain.”

Her travel companion, Farrell Modd, mentioned that social media influenced their decision to visit Albania, noting the impact of TikTok videos from travel accounts that highlighted the country’s stunning landscapes. She commented: “It’s beautiful, clear blue water, lots of swimming spots.”