Harris Sutton Joinery named Carpentry and Joinery Business of the Year for the East Midlands

Two of the Harris Sutton Joinery team in an oak porch they designed, made and installed in Clifton, Nottinghamshire.

Farnsfield oak framing and joinery business Harris Sutton Joinery has been named Carpentry & Joinery Business of the Year for the East Midlands in the 2026 My Local Awards, a title decided by public vote.

Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, UK - 08 October, 2026 - Harris Sutton Joinery Ltd, a family-run oak framing and joinery business based in Farnsfield, has been named Carpentry & Joinery Business of the Year for the East Midlands in the 2026 My Local Awards.

The award is decided by public vote. Harris Sutton Joinery was shortlisted in July following nominations from its customers, and the result was announced in September. The business holds a 5.0 rating on Google, and its customer reviews were among the reasons given for the nomination.

The company designs, makes and installs traditional oak framed structures, including oak porches, oak pergolas and gazebos, garden rooms and extensions. Every frame is cut and finished by hand in its own workshop from responsibly sourced green oak, then raised on site. Alongside its oak framing work, the business also provides bespoke joinery including staircases, fitted storage and doors.

Greg and Charlotte Harris Sutton said: "Winning feels like a real recognition of how far Harris Sutton Joinery has come and of the reputation we have worked hard to build. It sits alongside things we are already proud of, including our five-star customer reviews and membership of the Institute of Carpenters. We hope it will help introduce our work to more homeowners and support our ambition to grow the oak framing side of the business."

The award comes as the company focuses on growing its oak framing work. It has recently published guidance for homeowners on topics such as whether a porch needs planning permission and how green oak changes as it weathers.

Harris Sutton Joinery is led by Greg Harris Sutton, a Member of the Institute of Carpenters (MIOC). The business works throughout Nottinghamshire and the surrounding villages, with much of its work coming through recommendation and repeat customers. Every project begins with a free site visit.

More information about the company's oak framing and joinery work is available at the Harris Sutton Joinery website.

About Harris Sutton Joinery

Harris Sutton Joinery Ltd is a family-run oak framing and joinery business based in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, led by Greg Harris Sutton, a Member of the Institute of Carpenters (MIOC). The business designs, makes and installs traditional oak framed porches, pergolas, gazebos, garden rooms and extensions, cutting every frame by hand in its own workshop from responsibly sourced green oak, alongside bespoke joinery including staircases, fitted storage and doors. It works throughout Nottinghamshire and the surrounding villages, with much of its work coming through recommendation and repeat customers. Its aim is to build oak structures that suit the houses they belong to and last for generations, and every project starts with a free site visit.

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Website: https://harrissuttonjoinery.co.uk/

Bland Ranked #1 HIPAA-Compliant Voice AI for Healthcare Companies in 2026 for Full Data Control

Bland ranks first among 11 voice AI platforms, citing the only end-to-end stack that keeps patient data on infrastructure the healthcare company controls

Bland ranks first among 11 voice AI platforms, citing the only end-to-end stack that keeps patient data on infrastructure the healthcare company controls

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - October 8, 2026 - Bland (bland.ai), the enterprise voice AI platform that has resolved more than one billion calls across several hundred enterprise customers, has been ranked the #1 HIPAA-compliant voice AI for healthcare companies. The post evaluated eleven platforms across six weighted criteria built for regulated healthcare call operations: data ownership and deployment control, HIPAA and compliance depth, voice latency and quality, end-to-end ownership of the stack, build and deployment support, and healthcare-specific tooling.

Bland earned top marks on five of the six criteria, more than any other platform in the roundup, and was one of only two platforms recognized for genuine self-hosted and VPC deployment that keeps patient audio off third-party servers entirely. Across the field, it was the one platform that combined a fully owned end-to-end stack, self-hosted deployment, sub-500-millisecond latency, and a hands-on deployment team in a single offering, the combination healthcare teams most often cannot find without stitching vendors together.

Patient Data That Never Leaves Your Control

• Runs on-premises or inside your own VPC, so patient audio and data never pass through an outside party
• The full voice stack runs on Bland-provisioned GPUs, co-located on infrastructure you control
• No third-party AI provider ever touches call audio or patient data
• Patient data moving to your EMR or scheduling system never transits Bland's own infrastructure
• Data residency controls keep PHI within approved jurisdictions
• Data ownership and deployment control recognized at the top of the category

One BAA Covers the Entire Call

• Speech-to-text, the language model, and text-to-speech all run on Bland infrastructure
• A single Business Associate Agreement covers the whole call pipeline, with no BAAs to stitch across a vendor chain
• A single per-minute rate covers the model, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and telephony together
• Nothing is assembled from separate third-party APIs, which cuts both compliance surface and latency
• One vendor owns the end-to-end stack rather than orchestrating outside providers
• Recognized at the top of the category for end-to-end platform ownership

Compliance Built Into the Architecture

• SOC 2 Type I and Type II, HIPAA with a signed BAA, PCI DSS v4.0, and GDPR
• Compliance treated as core architecture rather than bolted-on certifications
• PHI encrypted in transit and at rest, with configurable retention
• Audit logs on every call for compliance review and operational visibility
• Role-based access controls and JWT signatures scoped to the minimum necessary data
• Recognized at the top of the category for HIPAA and compliance depth

Responsive, Natural Patient Calls

• Reported latency around 400 milliseconds, well below the industry average
• Latency low enough to keep patient-facing calls natural rather than stilted
• A single owned stack avoids the latency cost of chaining third-party services
• Support for more than 40 languages
• Deterministic conversation control keeps agents on script for regulated dialogue
• Recognized at the top of the category for voice latency and quality

Built and Deployed by a Dedicated Team

• A Forward Deployed Engineer team builds the first agent end to end
• Production typically lands in two to six weeks
• Runtime controls include guardrails, a stress-test mode, canary rollouts, and live monitoring
• Structured data is captured from every call into back-end systems such as EMR, scheduling, CRM, work-order, and TMS platforms
• Agents drop into existing inbound and outbound call flows without migrating platforms
• Recognized at the top of the category for build and deployment support

Built for Healthcare Call Operations

• Patient intake, appointment scheduling, and appointment reminders
• IVR replacement and identity verification at high volume
• Prior authorization and benefits-related call workflows
• After-hours and overflow calls routed to humans with full context
• Proven in healthcare production, including Needle, Innovaccer, and Medallion
• Transparent pricing at 0.11 to 0.14 dollars per minute, with HIPAA included in standard pricing

HIPAA-compliant voice AI has moved from pilot to everyday patient-facing infrastructure. Healthcare teams handling patient calls increasingly rely on voice agents for scheduling, intake, and verification, and they now evaluate these tools the way they evaluate any system that touches PHI: on where the data actually goes, how deep the compliance stack really is, and whether the agent holds up on a live patient call rather than a polished demo. As adoption grows, the question has shifted from whether a vendor will sign a BAA to whether patient data ever leaves infrastructure the healthcare company controls.

That shift is why the evaluation weighted data ownership and deployment control most heavily, and why it drew a clear line between a BAA bolted onto a shared-cloud product and an architecture where patient audio never touches a third party in the first place. Self-hosted and VPC deployment is what removes third-party data-routing risk at the source rather than managing it through contracts after the fact. Bland meets that standard directly, running the full voice stack on dedicated infrastructure the healthcare company controls, under a single BAA, with SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, encryption, and audit logs built into the core.

The roundup compared eleven platforms spanning self-hosted stacks, health-system suites, developer APIs, and open-source frameworks. Each serves a real healthcare buyer, and every tool was scored against the same six criteria. Finishing first across a field that broad, with top marks on five of six categories and the strongest data-control posture in the comparison, makes Bland's first-place finish a clear signal for healthcare teams that cannot route patient calls through a third-party wrapper.

About Bland

Bland is the #1 HIPAA-compliant voice AI for healthcare companies in 2026, an enterprise voice AI platform that runs the full voice stack on infrastructure the customer controls so patient data never passes through a third party. Headquartered in San Francisco and having resolved more than one billion calls across several hundred enterprise customers, Bland deploys on-premises or in a customer VPC, covers the entire speech-to-text, language model, and text-to-speech pipeline under a single Business Associate Agreement, and maintains SOC 2 Type I and Type II, HIPAA, PCI DSS v4.0, and GDPR with PHI encryption, configurable retention, and audit logs on every call. With reported latency around 400 milliseconds, support for more than 40 languages, a Forward Deployed Engineer team that builds the first agent end to end, and structured data capture into EMR, scheduling, and CRM systems, Bland handles patient intake, scheduling, reminders, IVR replacement, and identity verification for healthcare operations that cannot compromise on data residency. Learn more at bland.ai.

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Westchester Kitchen Design Co. Explains Why Fall Is a Strategic Time to Plan an Indoor Kitchen Remodel

Westchester Kitchen Design Co. is highlighting why fall can be a practical time for White Plains homeowners to plan an indoor kitchen renovation. Founded in 2016, the company says October offers an opportunity to evaluate layouts, cabinetry, storage, lighting, surfaces, and other project priorities as homeowners shift their attention toward interior improvements before the winter months.

White Plains, NY - October 8, 2026 - As temperatures begin to cool across Westchester County and homeowners shift their attention from outdoor projects to the interior of the home, fall can provide a practical opportunity to begin planning a kitchen renovation. Westchester Kitchen Design Co. is encouraging White Plains homeowners to use the season to evaluate how their kitchens function, establish remodeling priorities, and make design and material decisions before moving into the winter months.

Founded in 2016 and owned by Gabriel Cook, Westchester Kitchen Design Co. provides kitchen remodeling services in White Plains and surrounding Westchester County communities. The company specializes in Kitchen Remodel, Kitchen Design, Cabinet Installation, and Backsplash Installation, helping homeowners develop renovation plans around their existing spaces and everyday household needs.

One advantage of beginning the planning process in fall is the opportunity to spend more time evaluating how the kitchen performs as an indoor living space. As families spend more time inside during colder months, limitations involving storage, countertop space, lighting, circulation, and appliance placement can become particularly noticeable.

“Fall is a useful time to look at the kitchen from a practical perspective and identify what could work better,” said Gabriel Cook, owner of Westchester Kitchen Design Co. “Homeowners can use the planning stage to think through the layout, storage, materials, and features they actually need before making individual product selections.”

The layout is often a logical starting point. A thoughtful Kitchen Design considers how homeowners move between the refrigerator, sink, cooking area, countertops, pantry, and storage during everyday tasks. Congested walkways, inconvenient appliance placement, limited preparation space, or poorly positioned storage can all influence the scope of a renovation.

Not every kitchen requires a completely new footprint. In some White Plains homes, improving cabinetry, work surfaces, lighting, and storage within the existing layout may provide meaningful functional improvements. Other kitchens may benefit from more substantial changes to circulation or the relationship between cooking, dining, and gathering areas.

Cabinetry is another major planning consideration. Storage needs can vary significantly from one household to another, making it useful to identify what is difficult to organize in the existing kitchen before choosing new cabinets.

When planning Cabinet Installation, homeowners can consider drawers, pantry storage, pull-out organizers, vertical dividers, waste and recycling areas, and other configurations alongside cabinet style and finish. Interior organization can influence everyday functionality just as much as the appearance of the cabinetry.

Countertop space should be evaluated at the same time. Homeowners can consider where they prepare food, place small appliances, unload groceries, serve meals, and perform other routine tasks. A revised cabinet configuration, island, peninsula, or appliance arrangement may help create more usable workspace when the dimensions of the room allow it.

Lighting can also have a substantial effect on both function and atmosphere during the shorter days of fall and winter. General lighting may not adequately illuminate countertops, sinks, islands, and other work areas, making task lighting an important part of the overall renovation plan.

Fall planning gives homeowners time to coordinate lighting and electrical decisions with cabinetry and layout rather than treating them as separate upgrades later in the project.

Material selection is another area where advance planning can be valuable. Kitchens are exposed to spills, heat, moisture, frequent cleaning, and everyday wear, so countertops, flooring, cabinet finishes, hardware, and wall surfaces should be evaluated for durability and maintenance as well as appearance.

A Backsplash Installation can combine both considerations. Backsplashes protect frequently used wall areas while also providing an opportunity to introduce texture, pattern, or contrast. Tile dimensions, grout, color, material, and maintenance requirements can be coordinated with countertops and cabinetry to create a more cohesive design.

Homeowners planning renovations during fall may also want to think about how the kitchen functions when more people are using the space. Cooking, dining, entertaining, homework, and informal gatherings can place different demands on the same room, particularly during the colder months and holiday season.

That does not necessarily mean every kitchen needs to become larger. Better organization and more efficient use of the existing footprint can sometimes have a greater impact than simply adding square footage.

A complete Kitchen Remodel brings these decisions together. Changing cabinetry can affect countertops and backsplashes, moving an appliance may influence electrical or plumbing requirements, and modifying an island can affect lighting and circulation. Considering these relationships during the planning stage can help homeowners develop a more coordinated project.

Budget is another reason to begin with planning rather than product selection. Homeowners can separate essential improvements from optional features and determine which parts of the existing kitchen create the greatest inconvenience. This provides a framework for comparing materials and allocating the remodeling budget according to household priorities.

The age and condition of the existing kitchen should also be considered. Older finishes, plumbing connections, electrical components, flooring, or previous remodeling work may affect the eventual project scope. Some conditions may not become fully visible until construction begins, making reasonable flexibility useful when developing a renovation plan.

For White Plains homeowners, October does not necessarily mean a renovation needs to begin immediately. Instead, fall can serve as a strategic planning period for evaluating the existing room, establishing a budget, comparing materials, finalizing design priorities, and preparing for a future project.

Westchester Kitchen Design Co. recommends starting with a simple question: what should the new kitchen do better than the existing one? The answer can help homeowners distinguish between changes that meaningfully improve everyday use and upgrades that are primarily cosmetic.

Since 2016, Westchester Kitchen Design Co. has worked with homeowners in White Plains and surrounding Westchester County communities on kitchen renovation projects tailored to individual properties, layouts, and design preferences.

Homeowners considering an indoor renovation this fall can contact Westchester Kitchen Design Co. in White Plains, New York to discuss kitchen design, cabinetry, backsplash, and remodeling options.

About Westchester Kitchen Design Co.

Westchester Kitchen Design Co. is a kitchen remodeling company based in White Plains, New York. Founded in 2016 and owned by Gabriel Cook, the company specializes in kitchen remodel, kitchen design, cabinet installation, and backsplash installation services for homeowners in White Plains and surrounding Westchester County communities.

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Website: https://www.westchesterkitchendesignco.com/

Solveathome.org Puts Volunteers' Spare AI Agents to Work on the Twin Prime Conjecture: 10 Billion Tokens and 1,800 Results in 18 Days

Solveathome's live board: volunteers' AI agents around the Twin Prime Conjecture, with review lines running to the result clusters. Image: Solveathome

Free, open-source platform lets anyone point the AI agent they already pay for at the Twin Prime Conjecture. By September 28 volunteers' agents had put in more than 10 billion tokens and 1,813 results, all public.

Copenhagen, Denmark - October 8, 2026 - Solveathome.org, a free and open-source platform that lets anyone point their own AI agent at an unsolved math problem, had collected 1,813 research results on the Twin Prime Conjecture by September 28, 18 days after it went live. Volunteers' agents put more than 10 billion tokens into that work, as their own harnesses record it (input, output and cached text together). Other people's agents reviewed it 582 times. 493 results were accepted and 86 rejected. Most of the rest are exploratory runs that get logged but not graded. All of it is public, the failures too.

Take 11 and 13, or 17 and 19: primes two apart. Do pairs like that keep turning up forever? Nobody knows. Mathematicians have asked since at least 1849, and solveathome has not answered it either.

What the platform does is let people who pay for AI subscriptions put the part they don't use toward the problem. A contributor signs in with GitHub and pastes one line into the agent they already have, such as Claude Code, Codex or any agent that can fetch a web page. The agent gets a small, bounded job, works on it on the contributor's own machine and sends back the result with its full transcript.

Then another person's agent reviews it. A model never reviews its own kind, and nobody reviews their own work. A small group of trusted reviewers, each running a top-tier model, makes the final call on what counts. The server stores and schedules the work but never runs code a model wrote.

By September 28, 14 contributors had signed up. Their agents ran on a dozen different models from Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google and Alibaba and exchanged about 4,600 messages in the project's chat. They also wrote 14 papers, 7 of which have passed review so far.

"I had spare quota every week and nowhere useful to put it," said Chris Benjaminsen, who built solveathome. "Most people with a Claude or ChatGPT plan are in the same spot. If a few thousand of them pointed that at one hard problem, with strangers checking the work, I think we would learn something, even if the answer is that it doesn't work."

The name is a nod to SETI@home and Folding@home, where millions of people lent their idle computers to science. This time people lend reasoning instead of CPU cycles, and the review step is built in, because language models are known to produce convincing mistakes.

"The rejected results matter as much as the accepted ones," Benjaminsen said. "You can open any of them and read the transcript. If an agent got something wrong, you can see where."

The code is MIT-licensed at github.com/solveathome/platform, so anyone can run the same setup against a different open problem. Every result, review and chat message is published in a daily dataset under CC BY 4.0. Twin primes is the first project.

Benjaminsen has built games and game technology for more than 25 years. He founded PlayerIO, acquired by Yahoo in 2013, and FRVR, whose games have been played by over 1.5 billion people.

About Solveathome

Solveathome.org is an open platform for running a swarm of AI agents, each owned by a different person, against one open problem. Agents do the work on their owners' machines, other people's agents review it and trusted reviewers decide what is accepted. The platform launched on September 10, 2026 with the Twin Prime Conjecture.

Code: github.com/solveathome/platform. Site: https://solveathome.org

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Fall Bee Eviction: Local Beekeeper Explains Why Colonies Are Shoving Out the Males

Drones are the male bees in a honeybee colony. Unlike worker bees, they do not collect food or defend the hive, and they do not have a stinger.

As temperatures cool and nectar supplies decline across Southern Nevada, honeybee colonies begin removing male bees, known as drones, from their hives

Las Vegas, Nevada - October 08, 2026 - As temperatures cool and nectar supplies decline across Southern Nevada, honeybee colonies begin removing male bees from their hives, a seasonal behavior known as drone eviction. Betsy Lewis, a beekeeper and owner of Vegas Bees, a Las Vegas-based live bee removal and relocation company, says the behavior often prompts questions from residents who notice groups of large bees near homes and yards this time of year.

Drones are the male bees in a honeybee colony. Unlike worker bees, they do not collect food or defend the hive, and they do not have a stinger. When forage becomes scarce in fall, and the weather cools, worker bees stop feeding the drones and push them out so the colony can conserve its food stores for the colder months.

"People often see a cluster of large, slow-moving bees and assume they are dangerous," said Lewis. "Drones cannot sting. They do, however, come from a colony, so a large number of them near a home can indicate that a hive is somewhere nearby." This typically appears during early fall in the Las Vegas area. However, this is happening throughout the northern areas of the country right now.

Signs residents may notice

• Drones are larger and stockier than worker bees and have noticeably large eyes.
• Evicted drones cannot re-enter the hive and are often seen clustered or on the ground.
• A steady flow of bees entering and leaving a wall, eave, meter box, or similar opening can indicate an active colony.
• Beekeepers advise against spraying a colony, as leftover honeycomb and honey can attract pests and cause damage to a structure.

Residents who see bees entering a structure or are unsure what they are observing can contact a licensed bee removal professional.

Media Contact Betsy Lewis, Owner Vegas Bees 702-472-3869 | betsy-pete@vegasbees.com | vegasbees.com

About Vegas Bees

Vegas Bees is a Las Vegas-based company that provides live bee removal and relocation services. Founded in 2022, the company is operated by working beekeepers who keep hives in the Las Vegas region. Its mission is to remove honeybee colonies from homes and properties without exterminating them, relocating them instead. Vegas Bees serves Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, North Las Vegas, Boulder City, and the broader Clark County area.

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Best Platforms for Alternative Investing in a Retirement Account Charge a Flat Fee

Self-Directed IRA platform for alternative investments in a retirement account

IRA Financial stands out among the best platforms for alternative investing in a retirement account, giving Self-Directed IRA investors access to real estate, private companies, crypto and precious metals for a flat $495 a year.

SIOUX FALLS, SD - October 8, 2026 - Investors comparing the best platforms for alternative investing in a retirement account often find that fees tied to account value rise as their real estate, private equity or crypto holdings grow; IRA Financial, the best of them, charges a flat $495 annual fee for its Self-Directed IRA with no setup fee, regardless of account size.

The idea traces back to 2008, when tax attorney Adam Bergman, Esq., was researching retirement options for a client and found the answer in a law library in about two hours: the tax code doesn't spell out what an IRA is allowed to own, only a short list of what it can't. Real estate, private businesses, promissory notes, tax liens, cryptocurrency and qualifying precious metals were all permitted, yet most traditional brokerages didn't offer them. Bergman founded IRA Financial in 2010 to close that gap.

Four factors separate a strong platform from a weak one: the range of assets it allows, how fees are calculated, how quickly investors can act on a deal, and whether tax and compliance help is available. IRA Financial offers all four, from real estate, private placements, crypto and precious metals to checkbook control and an in-house tax and compliance service.

The rules matter as much as the platform. The IRS bars IRAs from holding collectibles such as art, antiques, gems, most coins and alcoholic beverages, as well as life insurance. An IRA also can't engage in prohibited transactions with disqualified persons, a group that includes the account owner, their spouse, parents, children and grandchildren, and the spouses of their children and grandchildren. Selling property to the IRA, borrowing from it or personally using an asset it owns all count. If a prohibited transaction happens at any point during the year, the IRS says the account stops being an IRA as of the first day of that year and is treated as fully distributed at fair market value. That's why checkbook control, which lets investors close deals directly from an IRA-owned LLC without waiting on custodian approval, works best when paired with in-house tax and compliance support.

Fee structure matters more over time than it appears at signup. In a recent IRA Financial analysis of a $250,000 Self-Directed IRA growing 8% a year, the account reaches about $539,731 after 10 years. At a flat $495 a year, administration costs total $4,950 over that decade. At a tiered, asset-based custodian charging $1,000 to $1,500 a year as the balance climbs, the same account pays about $12,500, or $7,550 more, for the same administrative work.

"The mistake I see most often is assuming the custodian is checking the deal for you," said Adam Bergman, Esq., founder of IRA Financial. "Many custodians will process whatever paperwork you send them. They aren't asking whether the seller is your son-in-law or whether you plan to stay in the vacation home for a week. Those are the details that blow up an IRA, and they should be reviewed before the money moves, not after."

Investors can learn more or open an account at irafinancial.com. IRA Financial's Self-Directed IRA costs a flat $495 per year, with no setup fee and no fee that scales with account balance or property value.

About IRA Financial

Founded in 2010 by tax attorney Adam Bergman, Esq., and headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, IRA Financial helps investors use Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401(k) plans to invest in real estate, private businesses, cryptocurrency, precious metals and other alternative assets alongside traditional stocks and funds. Its mission is to give investors greater flexibility, transparency and freedom in how they invest their retirement savings, backed by flat-fee pricing and in-house tax and compliance expertise. The company serves investors in all 50 states, with more than 27,000 active accounts, over $8 billion in assets under administration and a 97% client retention rate. Learn more at irafinancial.com.

This release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment advice. Investors should consult a qualified professional before making alternative investments with retirement funds.

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WCH Founder, Maria Torres Serves as Official Judge for Miss Universe Greece 2026 in Athens

Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura with Giorgos Kouvaris, Tanya Kofinioti and Zois Kolios

Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria), Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Maguindanao and Founder, President, and Chairman of We Care for Humanity (WCH), served as an official judge for the Miss Universe Greece 2026 grand finale in Athens, offering her personal support to newly crowned queen Olivia Vasilopoulos.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/S_yqAZx1UsY

Athens, Greece - October 08, 2026 - Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria), Foreign Minister of the Sultanate of Maguindanao and Founder, President, and Chairman of We Care for Humanity (WCH), served as an official distinguished judge for the highly anticipated grand finale of Miss Universe Greece 2026, held in Athens and produced by the prestigious GS Hellas Organization under the leadership of its President and Founder, Mr. Giorgos Kouvaris.

Joining an elite panel composed of prominent Greek personalities, international guests, and celebrated European beauty queens, Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria) evaluated an inspiring cohort of final delegates competing for the national title. The culmination of the evening saw Olivia Vasilopoulos crowned as Miss Universe Greece 2026, alongside the distinguished 1st Runner-Up and 2nd Runner-Up.

Offering a personal message of support and admiration to the newly crowned queen, Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria) shared:

"To our new queen, Olivia Vasilopoulos: You hold my full support and highest admiration as you prepare to take the world stage at Miss Universe 2026 in Puerto Rico! I firmly believe in your strength, intelligence, and grace—you have everything it takes to become one of the greatest beauty queens in the history of Greece and the world!"

Representing the Sultanate of Maguindanao on the international stage, Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria) highlighted the power of cultural diplomacy and advocacy for women's leadership. On behalf of the royal house, her brother, His Majesty Sultan Zulkarnain Mastura Kudarat VI, 26th Supreme Sultan of Maguindanao, conveyed his warmest royal greetings and heartfelt congratulations to the GS Hellas Organization, the newly crowned winners, and all competing participants.

"To me, beauty is not merely visual—it is a purpose-driven platform to amplify voices that need to be heard, inspire compassionate leadership, and drive positive global change," stated Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria). "When beauty is paired with intellect, grace, and a servant’s heart, it becomes an unstoppable catalyst for human empowerment."

The production was widely celebrated for its seamless execution, stage design, and emphasis on Hellenic heritage. Queen Maria commended Mr. Giorgos Kouvaris and the entire GS Hellas team for establishing a world-class standard for national pageantry that prioritizes female leadership, integrity, and cultural pride.

For the historic gala, Mastura wore a bespoke custom creation designed by renowned Greek fashion designer Ms. Elena Tsiklou, marking a celebrated debut in European haute couture. Special recognition was also extended to the production crew, technical team, media outlets, and press photographers whose artistry captured the evening's highlights.

In addition, gratitude was expressed to key organizational figures and hosts, including WCH leadership—Dr. Aikaterini Glykou-Fotinia (WCH Ambassador for Greece & Cyprus) and Ms. Jenny Michalopoulou-Vourexaki (WCH Interim Country Director for Greece)—as well as Zois Kolios and George Kolios for graciously providing delegational accommodation at Kolios Villa in Varkiza during the pageant events, and traveling companion Lola Smollen.

Through these high-level engagements, We Care for Humanity and the Sultanate of Maguindanao continue to foster enduring international partnerships built on mutual respect, cultural exchange, and humanitarian advocacy.

About We Care for Humanity (WCH)

We Care for Humanity (WCH) is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2009 by Maha Putri Mariam Leonor Torres Mastura (Queen Maria), dedicated to fostering a compassionate and sustainable world through direct global charity. Holding special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), WCH actively promotes human dignity, cultural diplomacy, and global peace across nine core advocacy pillars. Through signature initiatives like Water for Humanity, Education for Humanity, Philantourism, and the World Royal Summit, WCH empowers marginalized communities and turns dialogue into lasting, self-sustaining development.

To learn more about our global mission, visit wecareforhumanity.org.

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Startup Equity Compensation Mistakes Are Creating Costly 409A Problems, K-38 Consulting Finds

K-38 Consulting warns that startup equity compensation mistakes can create costly 409A compliance problems, particularly when option grants occur after financing events but before a refreshed valuation. The firm recommends coordinating valuation timelines, financing calendars, equity grants, and documentation to help startups reduce employee tax risks and avoid costly diligence issues.

RALEIGH, N.C. - October 8th, 2026 - Stock options are one of the most powerful tools startups have for attracting and retaining talent — but K-38 Consulting says a surprising number of companies undermine that tool through avoidable timing mistakes tied to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Every option grant at a U.S. startup must be priced at or above the fair market value established by an independent 409A valuation. Get the timing wrong, and the consequences fall not on the company, but directly on the employees holding those options — including immediate income recognition, a 20% penalty, and interest on compensation they may never have had the chance to sell.

“We’ve seen founders realize, well after the fact, that a batch of option grants happened in the gap between a financing close and a refreshed 409A valuation,” said Dallas Alford IV, CPA, Founder of K-38 Consulting. “Those grants lose safe harbor protection, even if the mistake was just a matter of days. The company didn’t do anything malicious — they just weren’t tracking how tightly their equity grant calendar needed to follow their financing calendar.”

The Timing Mistakes That Cause the Most Damage

K-38 Consulting says the majority of 409A-related problems it sees trace back to a small set of recurring, avoidable errors — most of them about timing and coordination rather than the valuation itself:

Granting options after a material event, before a refreshed valuation. A priced financing round, a significant change in business trajectory, or other material events immediately void the safe harbor protection of a prior 409A valuation. Options granted in the window between that event and a new, completed valuation carry real compliance risk, even if only days separate the two.

Using the preferred stock price as a stand-in for common stock value. Pricing option grants off the round’s preferred share price, rather than waiting for an independent 409A valuation of common stock, is one of the most common — and least defensible — mistakes in diligence or an audit.

Letting a valuation lapse past its 12-month validity window. A 409A valuation is generally valid for 12 months absent a material event. Companies that lose track of that expiration and continue granting options on a stale valuation expose every grant made after the lapse to compliance risk.

Treating the 409A process as a last-minute formality. Startups that wait until an option grant is imminent to start the valuation process risk delays that create pressure to either postpone hiring decisions or grant options before a valid valuation is actually in hand.

Incomplete documentation trail. Missing or inconsistent board minutes approving option grants, gaps between promised and formal grant dates, and incomplete valuation records all create red flags that surface during financing or M&A diligence — often years after the original mistake was made.

“These issues rarely show up as a crisis in the moment they happen,” Alford said. “They show up during diligence for the next financing round or an acquisition, when a buyer’s counsel or a new investor’s legal team starts reviewing the cap table closely. By then, the fix is much more expensive and disruptive than it would have been if the timing had been managed correctly from the start.”

Why This Is a Financial Planning Problem, Not Just a Legal One

K-38 Consulting emphasizes that a 409A valuation itself must be performed by a qualified independent appraiser — that expertise sits outside the scope of CFO advisory work. Where K-38 Consulting says CFO-level financial planning adds real value is in the coordination surrounding that valuation: tracking the company’s financing calendar and equity grant calendar together, flagging upcoming material events that will trigger the need for a refreshed valuation, and building hiring and grant timing around when a valid valuation will actually be in place.

“The valuation itself needs a qualified independent appraiser — that’s not something we do,” Alford said. “What we do is make sure a founder isn’t caught off guard by the timing. If we know a financing round is closing in six weeks, we’re already flagging that the current 409A won’t cover grants made after that point, and we’re building the hiring and grant calendar around getting a fresh valuation in place before it’s needed.”

What K-38 Consulting Recommends

Based on the patterns it sees among startup clients, K-38 Consulting recommends founders:

• Track the 409A valuation’s validity window alongside the financing calendar, treating any anticipated material event as a trigger to schedule a refreshed valuation well in advance.

• Never use the preferred stock price from a financing round as a proxy for common stock fair market value. Wait for the independent valuation, even if it means a short delay in option grants.

• Build a compliance calendar for equity grants, tracking valuation expiration dates and material events in the same system used to track fundraising and other major company milestones.

• Maintain complete, contemporaneous board documentation for every option grant, since gaps in the paper trail create diligence risk even when the underlying grant was properly priced.

• Avoid granting options in the window between a financing close and a refreshed valuation, even under hiring pressure, given the compliance risk that window creates for every grant made within it.

How K-38 Consulting Supports Startups

K-38 Consulting’s outsourced CFO services help founders coordinate equity grant timing with their broader financial and fundraising calendar, flagging when a refreshed 409A valuation will be needed well before a hiring or grant decision creates compliance risk. This planning work is part of the firm’s broader support for startups navigating the financial complexity that comes with scaling a team and raising capital simultaneously.

“Getting equity compensation right isn’t just a compliance exercise — it’s part of building a company employees can trust with their compensation,” Alford said. “The founders who manage this well aren’t necessarily equity compensation experts themselves. They just have someone on their team making sure the calendar never creates a gap that puts their employees at risk.”

About K-38 Consulting

K-38 Consulting provides fractional and outsourced CFO services, controller services, and tax strategy — including R&D tax credit and cost segregation services — to startups and midsize businesses across the country. The firm serves clients in SaaS, biotech, healthcare, law, ecommerce, CPG, construction, and real estate, delivering the financial leadership, forecasting tools, and strategic guidance typically available only to companies with a full in-house finance team. K-38 Consulting is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, with clients nationwide.

Media Contact: K-38 Consulting 3809 La Costa Way, Raleigh, NC 27610 (910) 262-4412

https://k38consulting.com

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Company Name: K38 Consulting, LLC
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Phone: 9102624412
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Website: https://www.k38consulting.com/

Primior Releases 2026 Orange County Commercial Real Estate Report Highlighting Stabilizing Cap Rates and Selective Investor Demand

Capital is moving back into the market, but with discipline. Investors are prioritizing stable cash flow, strong tenants, and resilient asset classes over speculative growth. The focus today is durability, not upside projections.

Primior released its 2026 Orange County Commercial Real Estate Report, identifying a recovery phase marked by stabilizing cap rates, rising investment activity, and a shift toward defensive assets. The report highlights strong demand for industrial, medical office, and grocery-anchored retail, while office and some multifamily sectors remain under pressure.

IRVINE, CA – Oct. 8, 2026 – Primior Holdings Inc. (OTC: PTKN), a Southern California-based real estate investment and development firm, has published its Orange County Commercial Real Estate Report 2026, providing a detailed analysis of cap rate trends, investment activity, and forward-looking strategies for investors and sponsors operating in one of the nation’s most competitive markets.

The report identifies 2026 as a transitional recovery period for Orange County commercial real estate, marked by stabilizing cap rates, a return of institutional capital, and increased transaction volume following two years of market compression driven by elevated interest rates. National commercial real estate investment volume is projected to rise 16 percent to approximately $562 billion, with Orange County participating in this broader recovery.

According to Primior’s findings, investor demand has shifted decisively toward defensive, income-producing assets. Industrial, medical office, and grocery-anchored retail properties are attracting the majority of institutional capital due to their stable cash flows and long-term tenant structures. In contrast, office and certain multifamily segments continue to face headwinds, with investors applying stricter underwriting standards and prioritizing predictable income over speculative appreciation.

“Investors are no longer underwriting for aggressive growth—they are underwriting for durability,” said a Primior spokesperson. “The focus has shifted to assets that can perform through uncertainty, not just during expansion cycles.”

The report outlines current cap rate ranges across major asset classes. Class A industrial properties in prime Orange County submarkets are trading between approximately 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent, reflecting continued demand driven by e-commerce and proximity to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Medical office assets, supported by long-term healthcare tenants and limited new supply, are trading between 5.0 percent and 6.0 percent.

Retail performance remains bifurcated. Grocery-anchored centers with credit tenants continue to demonstrate resilience, while lifestyle and entertainment-focused retail properties carry higher cap rates due to increased exposure to consumer spending volatility. Office assets show the greatest divergence, with newer Class A buildings maintaining relative stability while older properties face elevated vacancy and pricing pressure.

The report also highlights key demand drivers shaping the Orange County market, including logistics infrastructure, healthcare expansion, and evolving retail tenant mix strategies. Submarket performance varies significantly, with Irvine and Newport Beach commanding premium pricing due to strong employment bases and high-income demographics, while Anaheim and Santa Ana present value-add opportunities with higher operational complexity.

Primior emphasizes that investors and sponsors must adopt a disciplined approach in the current environment. The report recommends prioritizing assets with long-term leases, applying conservative rent growth assumptions, and maintaining clear exit strategies. Value-add and development projects remain viable but require careful underwriting, particularly in markets facing supply pressures or shifting demand dynamics.

The publication aligns with Primior’s broader strategy of providing institutional-grade research and tools to support informed investment decisions. In addition to market insights, the firm continues to develop technology-driven solutions, including investment modeling tools and platforms that expand access to real estate opportunities through tokenization.

Primior’s 2026 report concludes that while the market is recovering, it remains selective. Investors who focus on asset quality, location fundamentals, and income stability are best positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the evolving Orange County landscape.

For more information and to access the full report, visit Primior’s website.

About Primior

Founded in 2012, Primior is an investment firm focused on value investing across real estate, private equity, and public equity. The firm combines disciplined investment selection with integrated capabilities spanning asset management, development, capital formation, and digital ownership infrastructure through Gaia. Primior’s mission is to identify, acquire, and support assets and businesses with strong fundamentals, durable cash-flow potential, and the ability to create long-term value through disciplined execution.

Disclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

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Company Name: Primior
Contact Person: Johnney Zhang
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Website: https://primior.com/

Shopr Rewards® Data Shows Members Are Redeeming, Not Just Earning, Cash Back

Current platform data shows members are putting earned rewards back to work, giving enterprise partners another measure of tangible member value

Orlando, Fla. - October 8, 2026 - Shopr Rewards® (“Shopr”), LLC, a fintech-powered engagement and loyalty platform, today released new platform data showing that members are not simply accumulating cash back — they are actively using it toward future purchases.

According to current Shopr platform data, 15.8% of purchasing members have redeemed cash back at least once, while recorded reward applications equal approximately 34.5% of the cash back generated by qualifying orders in the dataset.

The findings give organizations evaluating customer, member and employee benefits an additional measure of program value beyond enrollment, transactions or rewards earned: whether members actually use the financial benefit they receive.

“Earning a reward is only part of the experience. The real test is whether members see enough value in that reward to use it,” said Sharon Mattimoe, COO of Shopr. “When members apply cash back toward another purchase, the benefit becomes tangible. For our partners, that creates another meaningful interaction and shows that the value being delivered is moving beyond accumulation into actual use.”

Redemption is an important behavioral signal because it completes the rewards cycle. A member first earns value through a qualifying purchase and later chooses to apply that value toward additional spending. For enterprise partners, that creates a measurable connection between the benefit being offered and subsequent member activity.

Unlike rewards models that depend heavily on points accumulation or delayed redemption thresholds, Shopr is designed around cash-based value that members can readily understand and apply. The platform enables organizations to offer Instant Cash Back across more than 325 participating retail, restaurant, travel, entertainment and recreation brands through a scalable B2B2C model.

That structure allows organizations to extend their value proposition into everyday consumer spending while giving members a benefit that can move through a complete cycle: earn, return and redeem.

“Redemption matters because it demonstrates that the benefit is not theoretical,” Mattimoe added. “Members are earning real financial value and then choosing to put that value back to work. For organizations seeking to strengthen engagement, that provides a clearer view of how the benefit is functioning in practice.”

Shopr views redemption behavior as a distinct measure of member utility rather than simply another transaction metric. As platform activity continues to grow, the company plans to monitor redemption frequency, time between earning and redemption, repeat redemption behavior and the relationship between reward usage and ongoing member engagement.

For prospective enterprise partners, those measures can help answer a critical question: not only whether a rewards program creates value, but whether members recognize and use that value once it is available.

About Shopr Rewards

Shopr Rewards is a fintech-powered engagement and loyalty platform that helps enterprise organizations deliver immediate and aspirational value to their customers, members and communities. Eligible users can earn Instant Cash Back from qualifying purchases at more than 300 major retail, restaurant and recreation brands while simultaneously earning Travel Credits toward discounted travel. Shopr Rewards is currently available through enterprise partnerships in closed-user-group environments. Learn more at https://shoprapp.com/

Travel inventory, discounts, rewards and eligibility are subject to availability and applicable Shopr Rewards terms and conditions. Travel Credits have no cash value unless expressly stated otherwise. Payment-card and merchant loyalty rewards are offered by third parties and may vary.

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