Weekly News Recap: March 24, 2023

Weekly News Recap: March 24, 2023

Devin Edmiston was reluctant to seek help from charities after a few years in Steinbach without steady housing. He changed his mind earlier this year, and now he not only lives in an apartment but volunteers for Steinbach Community Organization, the organization that helped turn his life around. (Ian Froese/CBC)

Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting. -- Brian Tracy

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Best printer 2023: just buy this Brother laser printer everyone has, it’s fine (The Verge) #Bingo "The Brother whatever-it-is will print return labels for online shopping, never run out of toner, and generally be a printer instead of the physical instantiation of a business model."

  • Why these central Queensland seniors love hitting up the gym (ABC) #Inspiring "Three times a week Debbie Craig, 60, ties on her gym shoes and for one hour sweats her way through a crossfit workout with about 30 other gym junkies all over the age of 55. Ms Craig said the challenging class is something not many women of the generation before her would think possible."

  • Man Hires $600-Per-Hour National Security Lawyer to Fight a $60 Traffic Ticket (Jalopnik) #FairyTaleEnding "Getting a traffic ticket can be a pain. More often than not, most people believe that they didn’t do anything wrong. They’ll try to contest it but they usually end up paying. Rarely, though, does that fight end in someone hiring a high-dollar, high-powered Washington attorney to fight the ticket. But as The Washington Post reports, that’s exactly what one man did when he received a $60 traffic ticket."

  • A million small steps for a Saskatoon woman, one giant leap for mental health (CTV) "Frances Sreedhar has been logging some serious mileage in her goal to help others. The Saskatoon woman is walking towards her goal of one million steps around the Meewasin trail system to raise awareness for mental health."

  • After months of backlogs, Canadians can now check their passport application status online (CBC) #Yay "Canadians waiting anxiously for their passports to arrive before a trip abroad now have a new option to check the status of their applications. The federal government launched a new online portal on Tuesday that allows recent applicants to see where their applications stand. Passport offices became overwhelmed with applications last year as the government began to ease pandemic-related travel restrictions. The result was a backlog that hobbled the application system. Karina Gould, the minister responsible for government services, announced in January that the backlog had been virtually eliminated."

  • Calgary-based animator ready to walk red carpet as his MONSTR premieres on HBO Max (CBC) "After his wife died of a brain aneurysm, Tank Standing Buffalo was lost. He decided to start walking until he couldn't anymore. Leaving Calgary, he went west and eventually came across a carving shed. Although that's where his walk ended, it's really where his journey toward healing began. 'They gave me an apprenticeship. I stayed with them for those two and a half years … working through my grief through this physical work that my mentors were putting me through. And then just facing myself really,' he said in an interview on The Homestretch. Standing Buffalo's story is the inspiration for his third short feature cartoon, MONSTR. It's one of eight short films being shown at a premiere Wednesday in Los Angeles as part of a program run by Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max."

  • Giant sandpiper made of steel, fibreglass, epoxy — and a dash of controversy (CBC) #BigBird "For the last two months, artist Robin Hanson has been creating what he believes to be the world's largest semipalmated sandpiper. At 2.4 metres tall and weighing around 135 kilograms, or 300 pounds, the big statue of a tiny shorebird dwarfs the 75-year-old man who made it. The sculpture is constructed of steel, fibreglass, epoxy — along with a dash of controversy. It was crafted to replace another giant semipalmated sandpiper that once stood in Dorchester, a small village around 42 kilometres southeast of Moncton, near the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border."

  • Bless the sports bra, but can we lose that uncomfortable padding? (CBC) #NotMinutiae "As a sports columnist I get to dive into some of the deeper issues in the sports world. I have written extensively on discrimination and exclusion and have also championed and celebrated successes in sports. One issue I wanted to write about is something that frequently comes up in many women's circles — not just professional athletes, but women with breasts who engage in physical or leisure activities and want to live healthy lives: the function of removable pads in sports bras. 'Sports bras?' you must be thinking. Why spend a week in Women's History Month reflecting on sports bras? Why use an important platform to gripe about minutiae?"

  • Longboard club turning the tide for women surfers in Nova Scotia (CBC) #Smart "A Halifax-area surfing club is fostering a community of women in the sport, providing opportunities to improve their skills and share their knowledge. The Trim Collective: A Ladies Longboard Club was established last summer. It holds 'board meetings' and progression sessions a few times a year at Martinique Beach on the Eastern Shore, 50 kilometres east of Halifax. 'We all get together, we bring our surfboards onto the beach and we can just hang out,' Sarah Zollinger, one of the collective's founders, told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia. 'It is really nice to talk with other women about gear or equipment or just be able to talk to other women without fear of mansplaining, if I may.'"

  • Gitxsan artist blends Indigenous culture and heritage with traditional playing card designs (CBC) I bought eight decks! "For years, Gitxsan artist Michelle Stoney has created art inspired by her culture and heritage, including jewelry, drums, graphic design, paintings and murals. Now, she's released a deck of cards featuring Gitxsan imagery. In 2021, she was working on another project — a colouring page for each day in December. Stoney said she was finding inspiration in everyday items."

  • Rival teams 'band' together at state basketball championships in Kentucky (CBC) "It was the regional semifinals of a high school men's basketball game in Eastern Kentucky, and the game was tied 64-64. One side of the court at the Appalachian Wireless Arena was exploding with music, but the other side was silent. Due to a bus driver shortage, the Martin County Cardinals had no band to cheer them on in the tense match against the Lawrence County Bulldogs. But as the fourth quarter drew to a close, music suddenly erupted from Martin County's side of the court. Their rival team, Pike Central High School, was waiting to play in the next game of the tournament when Martin County fans and cheerleaders started chanting for their band to join in and play. Pike Central Band was already set up in the band pit and couldn't resist the call, said their director, Jason Johnson. 'It was just students cheering on the students at that moment,' Johnson told As It Happens host Nil Köksal."

  • Millarville blacksmith invites front-line workers to release stress while forging community sculpture (CBC) #Grateful "A group gathers around James Greisinger, the blacksmith at the Forge and Farm in Millarville, Alta., about 30 kilometres southwest of Calgary. They listen as he explains the proper way to swing a hammer when striking a hot piece of steel. Anvils should be at the appropriate height, he says, so backs don't become sore. Strike hard, he adds, because the material will boss you around if you don't. 'You've gotta lean over top of it, strike it and tell the steel that you're in control,' he said. 'And have fun.' It's a message that's resonated with the participants of these blacksmith classes. They're all front-line workers, from firefighters to police officers to nurses."

  • Artist turns a desert solar farm into a canvas (CBC) #SoCool "Swiss-French artist Saype worked through heat and wind to create a huge one hectare painting in an Oman desert near a solar farm to get people thinking about the future of sustainable energy."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Saskatoon high school student who fled Afghanistan wins $100,000 scholarship (CBC) #WeAreProud "Banin Arjmand never shies away from a challenge. The 20-year-old refugee made a treacherous journey out of Afghanistan with her parents and classmates after the Taliban seized control in August 2021. Now living in Saskatoon, she's finishing her high school diploma at Nutana Collegiate and working part-time at Fuddruckers to help support herself and her parents, who aren't working. Looking to her future, she didn't think she could afford university tuition. So when a teacher suggested that she apply for the prestigious Loran Award, a scholarship valued at more than $100,000 over four years, she figured she didn't have anything to lose."

  2. What made Beethoven sick? DNA from his hair offers clues (CBC) "Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him. They weren't able to crack the case of the German composer's deafness or severe stomach ailments. But they did find a genetic risk for liver disease, plus a liver-damaging hepatitis B infection in the last months of his life. These factors, along with his chronic drinking, were probably enough to cause the liver failure that is widely believed to have killed him, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology."

  3. A culture of giving: Steinbach, Man., recognized for leading the country in generosity (CBC) #MennonitesRock "Generosity is impossible to quantify. No organization keeps track of how often somebody volunteers or offers their friend a ride, but a telling sign of charitableness is the donations claimed on residents' taxes. People in Steinbach donate 4.31 per cent of their income to charity, which far exceeds the national average of 0.62 per cent, according to an analysis of tax filing data by Charitable Impact. The only city that ranks anywhere close is Winkler, also in southeastern Manitoba, where an average of 3.3 per cent of people's incomes is donated to registered charities. Steinbach is also the country's standout for the highest median donation — $2,270 — in 2021 among metropolitan areas with at least 10,000 citizens, Statistics Canada said." RELATED: The 'real Steinbach' isn't as Mennonite as it once was. How the city is surprising people .

  4. Banks are in turmoil. Here's how Canadians might be affected (CBC) #Eeek "All eyes are on the global banking sector after sudden turmoil brought down or threatened a handful of U.S. banks and one major European bank this month. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), followed by the near death of two other regional institutions — First Republic and Signature Bank — left market-watchers jittery and fearful of a domino effect like the one that led to the global financial crisis of 2008. And that was before Credit Suisse — one of the biggest banks in the world, safely housed in Switzerland, of all places — came crashing down last week. What do these financial tremors mean for Canadians? "

  5. Regina's tourism campaign gone wrong | About That (CBC) #Ummm "Last week Tourism Regina rebranded to Experience Regina and unveiled several new slogans like ‘Show us your Regina’ and ‘The city that rhymes with fun.’ The campaign prompted heavy criticism and backlash. Andrew Chang looks at what went wrong."

  6. Overconsumption of water 'draining humanity's lifeblood,' UN chief says (CBC) #AWarning "The United Nations opened its first conference on water security in almost half a century on Wednesday, with a plea to governments to better manage one of humanity's shared resources. A quarter of the world's population relies on unsafe drinking water while half lacks basic sanitation, the UN said. Meanwhile, nearly three quarters of recent disasters have been related to water. 'We are draining humanity's lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating,' said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres."

  7. Woman told she shouldn't serve on Ottawa health board because of her weight (CBC) #WhatTheHeck "A member of the Ottawa Board of Health is speaking out against body shaming after she received a letter from a resident telling her she shouldn't be on the board because of her weight. Elyse Banham said the letter, dated Jan. 12, sat unopened for weeks on her desk at the Ottawa Birth and Wellness Centre, where she's executive director. Banham figured it was simply more hate mail protesting the centre's vaccine clinics. She finally opened the envelope March 18, and realized it was a response to an Ottawa Citizen article in which Banham called for more diversity on city boards."

  8. Reflecting on the U of A's partnership with the Aga Khan University on their 40th anniversary (The Quad) "As a global university, the University of Alberta has hundreds of partnerships with institutions and organizations worldwide. Among these is our long-standing engagement with the Aga Khan University (AKU), dating back to 2006. This week, our friends at AKU celebrate their 40th anniversary, and it is the perfect time to reflect on how much we have accomplished together. From training medical staff in East Africa to collaborating on research in women’s reproductive health and social determinants of women’s health in Pakistan, our partnership has created, and continues to create, a local and global impact."

  9. Ryan Reynolds sells Mint Mobile to wireless giant T-Mobile (Fast Company) #Wow "Mint Mobile, partly owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, is being acquired by T-Mobile as part of a cash-and-stock deal worth as much as $1.35 billion. T-Mobile’s purchase of Ka’ena Corp. will give it access to the budget wireless provider Mint, along with Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum. The brands, which already use T-Mobile for their network, will be run as a separate business unit."

  10. Researchers have calculated how much dog poop is left behind in Calgary parks — it's a lot (CBC) #NotCool "How often are Calgarians not picking up after their pets? A group of researchers mucked through several parks and came up with an educated guess. About 127 grams of dog poop, per hectare, per week, is left behind in Calgary parks — that's the equivalent of 169 poops per hectare over six months. According to the city, there are more than 8,500 hectares of parkland and natural areas in Calgary. In randomly selected places within city parks, Alessandro Massolo and other researchers would put a stake in the ground and use a 10-metre length of rope to plot out sites."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Executive Function Disorder (Learner by Writing) I have some personal experience with this disorder. It's a deal.

  2. The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: How AI is Taking Over the Corporate Industry (Brand Swamy) And...in a good way. For now.

  3. The Art of Simplifying Complex Information with UI Design: Tips and Best Practices (Judith Lopez) User interfaces are super important.

  4. Sleepless Nights with Alcohol: The Truth Behind Nightcaps (Owen) I struggle with this myself. Less is more.

  5. The Power of Delegation: How to Delegate Effectively and Maximize Your Productivity (John Crestani) So many of our clients ask for help in this area.

  6. How Belonging Uncertainty Is Affecting Your Performance (Alex HL Taylor) This is why inclusion is so important.

  7. NOAM CHOMSKY: AI ISN'T COMING FOR US ALL, YOU IDIOTS (The Byte) Ah...Noam. You are so great.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Millions donated to expand Medal of Honor Museum on USS Yorktown (Live5News) "The National Medal of Honor Leadership and Education Center is donating over $3.5 million to expand and enhance the current museum’s footprint on the USS Yorktown on Patriots Point. Telling the story of 3,500 members of the military who have received the Medal of Honor, with only 65 of the recipients still alive today, the museum wants to highlight the important role the Medal of Honor plays in the community and state of South Carolina."

  2. Comic Relief 2023 raises huge £31million as donation total revealed on air (Mirror) "Comic Relief 2023 announced the public had raised a whopping £31,952,141.00 for Red Nose Day, during the live BBC broadcast on Friday night. While donations will still be coming in, the final donation total on the night hit more than £30million. It was a little lower than last year's total, which saw £42,790,147.00 raised to support some of the most vulnerable people in both the UK and the rest of the world, as well as Ukraine. A number of challenges were carried it out during the show as well as in the lead-up, by the public and some very famous faces. The episode itself was once again full of laughter, while it also flagged the importance of the charity and the donations made - showing viewers how the money makes a difference."

  3. Innisfil, Ont. farmer makes $1M donation to RVH campaign to expand regional services (Global News) "The Royal Victoria Health Foundation’s Keep Life Wild campaign is $1 million closer to its plans to expand health care in the Simcoe Muskoka region, thanks to the help of an Innisfil, Ont., farm. On Tuesday, at Horodynsky Farms in Innisfil, Boris Horodynsky made a $1-million commitment to RVH Foundation’s Keep Life Wild campaign, to expand regional services, including building a new health-care facility in Innisfil. 'Without our health, we have nothing,” Horodynsky said."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

Welcome to our recap of the week's news, articles, and information of note. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo President & CEO Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by ViTreo Group Inc. of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. ViTreo Group does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the ViTreo Group Inc. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate.

Vincent DuckworthComment