Tag: Director (business)

One of congressman-elect Joe Cunningham’s new staffers may be a familiar face to constituents in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. The incoming Charleston Democrat told The Post and Courier he has hired April Derr, a longtime aide for Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford, as his constituent services director. Derr most recently served as district director for Sanford, R-Charleston. She was his chief of staff during his first stint in Congress. Before joining Sanford’s staff at the outset of his political career in 1995, she worked for two of his Republican predecessors, former U.S. Reps. Arthur Ravenel and Floyd Spence. In addition to Derr, Cunningham has hired Hollis Infanzon as his district director. After working as a staffer in the Obama administration, Infanzon started an event consulting company before moving back to her home state of South Carolina and becoming chief operating officer at Speak Strategic, Cunningham spokesman Tyler Jones’ firm. “Helping resolve things like a delayed VA claim, Social Security payments, or even processing a passport on short notice can help make a real difference in South Carolinian’s lives, and helping people is one of the central reasons why I ran for Congress in the first place,” he said. Earlier this month, Cunningham tapped Mississippi-native Lane Lofton to be his chief of staff. Lofton last worked on Capitol Hill as an aide to ex-congressman Bobby Bright of Alabama from 2009 to 2010 and spent the past eight years as a lobbyist for a national television and internet trade association.

Director Guillermo del Toro warned that his remake of “Pinocchio” will be a politically-driven parable and not the family-friendly story portrayed in the famous Disney film. “It's not a ‘Pinocchio’ for all the family,” he said of his story, which is set in 1930s Italy. ‘Pinocchio’ during the rise of Mussolini, do the math. A puppet during the rise of fascism, yes, it is [political].” While the star admits that his version of the story, about a puppet that longs to be a real boy, is not going to be one for children, he also stopped short of saying he’ll politicize the story any more than it, or any fantasy story, already is. “There’s no fable without politics,” the Oscar-winner said, noting gender and class struggles in stories like “Cinderella” and “Snow White.” “Rarely can you get in productive discussions in real life right now it’s so tense. It’s much easier for you to listen to me if I tell you ‘Once upon a time…” As previously reported, it was announced that del Toro would direct an animated “Pinocchio” movie in late October. “No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio,” he said in a statement at the time. “He embarks on an extraordinary journey that leaves him with a deep understanding of his father and the real world.” The move comes as part of an ongoing partnership between the “Pan’s Labyrinth” director and the streaming giant. He created the children’s series “Trollhunters” for the platform with two other installments called “3Below” and “Wizards” set to premiere in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Fox News’ Zoe Szathmary contributed to this report.

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta convinced Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney to overrule the nation’s regulatory czar and release a controversial tip pooling rule despite data showing workers could lose billions in gratuities, according to a new report. Bloomberg Law, citing three current and former executive branch officials, reported that Mulvaney sided with Acosta over the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which is led by Administrator Neomi Rao. The rule would change the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow employers to pool the tips of workers who make at least the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. Employees who make less than the federal minimum wage and earn tips to supplement their pay were not part of the proposal. But progressive groups like the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the National Employment Law Project say the rule lacks a safeguard to stop an employer from stealing a percentage of the workers' tips. In a statement to The Hill, a Department of Labor (DOL) spokesperson said the department does not comment on deliberative processes. "We will make an exception now, as the premise of this reporting is false: there is zero daylight between Director Mulvaney and Administrator Rao on regulatory policy," he said. "Acosta should withdraw DOL’s proposal that would make it legal for employers to take workers’ tips," she said in a statement. "He should focus on things that promote DOL’s mission of serving working people, not undermining their earnings." --This report was updated at 1:06 p.m.