Weekly News Recap: March 31, 2023

Weekly News Recap: March 31, 2023

Elyse Partridge (far left) and Bella Broadley (far right) raced into dangerous surf to save Chloe and Violet from drowning. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)

Courage is found in unlikely places. -- J.R.R. Tolkien

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Bravery medals for Ballina women who raced into 'rough, crazy' surf to save drowning girls (ABC) #Heroes I will leave it to you to find out what an pesky lid is. No matter, these young women are heroes. "When she heard the screams for help coming from the ocean, Bella Broadley looked around for something she could use and found an esky lid. Bella used an esky lid to help keep one of the girls afloat armed with the makeshift flotation device, Bella and her friend Elyse Partridge raced into dangerous surf to save two 11-year-old girls who were struggling."

  • She was accepted by 54 colleges and got $1.3 million in scholarship offers (Washington Post) She worked it. She applied to 70 schools during COVID-19. "Brown decided to accept a one-year financial aid scholarship from the top choice on her list, Duke University in Durham, N.C., where she said she plans to major in visual and media studies this fall. She is also a finalist for The Gates Scholarship that will be awarded to 300 outstanding minority high school students this summer. If she is awarded that scholarship, she won’t need to reapply for additional financial aid scholarships at Duke every year, she said."

  • A 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles just became a father of 3. It's a big 'dill' (NPR) #Dad "Nobody ever said turtles worked quickly. Though it took him nearly a century, the 90-year-old radiated tortoise known as Mr. Pickles is finally a dad. The Houston Zoo announced on Thursday that he and his partner, 53-year-old Mrs. Pickles, recently welcomed three tortoise hatchlings: Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeño."

  • Rescue underway for pod of dolphins stranded by ice in Dildo Cove (CBC) NEWFOUNDLAND STORY
    "A pod of hapless white-beaked dolphins has been stranded by sea ice in the shallow harbour outside Dildo, N.L. The dolphins could be seen swimming in circles just metres away from worried onlookers, trapped in an area about the size of a residential swimming pool. People in the area told CBC News they hadn't witnessed stranded dolphins in Dildo Cove for decades."

  • Lolita the orca is returning home to Puget Sound after more than 50 years in captivity (CBC)
    Best wishes Lolita! "Howard Garrett, president of the board for the Orca Network in Washington state, has been advocating for Lolita's release for almost 30 years and says Thursday's announcement is 'extremely exciting.' So far, the details on Lolita's relocation have been limited, but Garrett believes the whole relocation could cost up to $20 million US. He says the team will need to set up a rehabilitation pen where the killer whale will be provided with food, medical supervision and care. Inbreeding is hampering population growth for orcas, study finds Garrett predicts the transition back to the Salish Sea will be a smooth one."

  • VIDEO: A panda's bath turns into water aerobics (CBC) #PureJoy "Dou Ban the panda decided to turn her normal bathing routine into what viewers are calling 'aqua yoga'. The panda's water sport was captured on the 'iPanda' video and streaming platform, which offers live broadcasts of the nature reserves in southwest China and is supported by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda."

  • 'May the Force be with you': Star Wars's Mark Hamill lends voice to Ukraine air raid alerts (CBC) "'Attention. Air raid alert,' the voice says with a Jedi knight's gravitas. 'Proceed to the nearest shelter.' It's a surreal moment in an already surreal war: the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of Star Wars, urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine."

  • Once homeless and hungry herself, this retired nurse set up a low-cost meat shop to help those in need (CBC) FRASER VALLEY STORY #Brilliant "Ten years ago, Brigida Crosbie was homeless and eating out of the dumpster at the back of a KFC restaurant, but now she runs her own meat shop and goes out of her way to feed everyone who comes through her doors. In 2020, Crosbie started Tydel Foods, a store staffed by volunteers in Chilliwack, a small city 90 kilometres east of Vancouver in B.C.'s Fraser Valley, that sells quality food cheaper than the big box stores. A rib-eye steak, for instance, goes for $8 less than at the supermarket. Striploin is $6 cheaper."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Nanton’s grain elevators being digitally preserved (Nanton News) NANTON STORY Digital never replaces the real thing but this is pretty cool. "Nanton’s grain elevators are being digitally preserved. On March 15, civil engineering students from Calgary’s Southern Alberta Institute of Technology used 3D scanners inside the Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre Society’s orange elevator. SAIT students had already completed a scan of the outside of the entire site using drone technology."

  2. Indigenous leaders hope Vatican's repudiation of oppressive colonial concepts leads to real change (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "The Vatican's formal repudiation of colonial-era concepts that legitimized the seizure of Indigenous lands marked a symbolic step forward on Thursday, but its impact on modern policy will be the true measure of change, say Indigenous leaders. The Doctrine of Discovery, a set of theories backed by 15th-century papal bulls, continues to form the foundation of some property law today."

  3. Dick Haskayne is the Canadian oilpatch's powerhouse pioneer (National Post) CALGARY STORY Some very interesting comments on naming as well. Thanks to Christine Fraser for sharing this story with me. "For anyone who wants to understand the DNA of Alberta’s oil-patch fraternity, 88-year-old Dick Haskayne is your guy. The list of blue-chip companies he presided over, either as president or board chair, includes Hudson’s Bay Oil and Gas, Home Oil, Interhome Energy, TransAlta Corporation, MacMillan Bloedel, TransCanada Pipelines (now TC Energy), NOVA Corporation and Fording Inc. His office suite in downtown Calgary is stuffed to the brim with corporate memorabilia — a shrine to the days when he and others struggled to build a Canadian oil sector capable of withstanding foreign takeovers — including a life-sized plush toy tiger reclining on a bench against the Calgary skyline."

  4. AI can write essays now — what that means for Calgary universities and colleges (CBC) CALGARY STORY "A University of Calgary researcher studying the role of AI in education says she's never encountered anything else like it in her career. That comes as post-secondary schools in the city — U of C, SAIT and Mount Royal University — look at how to address artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT, which can be used for content creation, and AI image-generator Midjourney." RELATED: U of C research group investigates the ethics of AI tools in higher learning.

  5. Searching for spring: Winnipeg likely to go through 1st March without a day above freezing since 1899 (CBC) WINNIPEG STORY #Brrr #WinterPeg "Southern Manitobans still have that walk. The quick-paced one, with shoulders shrugged to the ears, heads down and hands driven deep into the pockets of their down-filled coats. It's a walk they've performed since November, to stiffen against the brisk winds of the coldest months — months that should have since passed, coats that should have since been sent back into storage. Wouldn't it be nice to just open a window and let in some fresh air — without the furnace firing up? But here we are."

  6. Sacred Indigenous site opens in Edmonton's river valley (CBC) EDMONTON STORY Can't wait to visit. "Hundreds of years ago, it was a place where Indigenous people collected ochre and precious medicines growing in the river valley. This week, 10 young students walked those same lands at Whitemud Park — one of the first groups to visit Edmonton's newly opened urban Indigenous cultural site, kihcihkaw askî. In Cree, kihcihkaw askî means 'this place here is sacred land.'"

  7. Statistics Canada says February marks the seventh consecutive month of double-digit food inflation (Rebel News) CANADIAN STORY "According to the Statistics Canada Monthly Average Retail Prices report, the price of the cheapest grocery items has doubled since 2020, including potatoes (19%), chicken thighs (23%), white bread (25%), stewing beef (26%), canned beans (32%) and spaghetti (up 54%)."

  8. Millennial Canadians dealt generational losing hand, layered in debt: insolvency trustee (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Insolvency trustee Doug Hoyes encounters a lot of Canadians with money troubles, but he's become particularly sympathetic to the plight of young people who find themselves financially underwater. For more than a decade, his Ontario-based firm Hoyes Michalos has been crunching bankruptcy and insolvency numbers for its annual 'Joe Debtor' analysis, with its latest results released last month ahead of tax season. He's concluded that millennial Canadians have been dealt a generational losing hand as they face student loans layered with bad debts from credit cards, high-interest loans, and post-pandemic tax debt from collecting CERB."

  9. Scientists now know how beetles absorb water from the air through their butt. Here's why it's important (CBC) I knew you would want to know. "You're probably familiar with the old saying about how cockroaches could survive an apocalypse. Well it turns out, they may have some company when everything else is gone: beetles. 'Beetles survive in places where few other organisms can survive, including the deserts,' biologist Kenneth Veland Halberg told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "And to my knowledge, cockroaches still need to drink water." Scientists have long known that beetles can survive in extremely dry conditions — thanks to their unusual ability to suck water from the air through their rear ends."

  10. At 40, the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market is looking to renovate and expand (CBC) EDMONTON STORY I love this market. "The Old Strathcona Farmers' Market, a staple of Edmonton's Saturday shopping scene for 40 years, is looking to renovate and expand. 'What we're going to do is turn the building into a hub,' says Keith Persaud, manager of the market that opened in 1983. The expansion and renovations would allow the market to operate on Fridays, instead of just on Saturdays, with some areas of the building open even more. 'We want to put a café up front so that people can come in anytime during the week, on the weekends, in the evenings, and have a meal, have a glass of wine,' Persaud says. The renovated and expanded space would offer things like multicultural markets, cooking shows and art classes."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. The Difference Between Being Busy and Being Productive (Vansh Rastogi) When I monitor this difference regularly, I am significantly more productive.

  2. 20 Life-Saving Tools for Content Creators and Knowledge Workers (Better Advice) I don't normally include gear in the recap but this list is really good.

  3. 30 minutes of exercise a day improves gut microbiome “richness and diversity” (Lifestyle) We don't talk about it much but GI issues are as much a bane to our lives as weight gain and lack of fitness. This study shows that you can address all three with exercise.

  4. I was an avid traveller, but I stopped flying 20 years ago. You can too (CBC) An interesting challenge. What are your thoughts? Could you still travel without flying?

  5. How I Give Design Feedback to My Team as a Lead Designer (Edwerd Nishanth) This is great advice for any manager.

  6. How to impress your boss and collegues as a new employee (Nafatalif) Such a smart article.

  7. Navigating Negative Feedback: Product Launches (Buzz Usborne) For anyone who has ever done a brand launch, this is for you.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Atlanta receives $5.5 million charitable donation from East Lake golf event (ALIVE) "The city of Atlanta's quest to develop affordable housing received a shot in the arm Wednesday, thanks to the TOUR Championship. The annual event at East Lake Golf Club, which brings together the top 30 golfers in the world to compete for the FedEx Cup Championship, is announcing a record $5.5 million charitable donation from the 2022 tournament."

  2. 3rd Thonis Endowed Professorship Announced: The Multiplier Effect in Philanthropy (Syracuse University) "Thonis and his wife, Susan, recently gifted $1.34 million to establish the Thonis Family Professorship III of Earth Science."

  3. $1 million donation by London, Ont. couple aims to expand unconventional cancer treatment (Global News) LONDON STORY "A $1-million donation by London, Ont.’s, Andy and Helen Spriet will help expand an unconventional form of cancer treatment, the London Health Sciences Foundation announced Thursday. The seven-digit donation will be used to establish an immuno-oncology research program at London Health Sciences Centre’s regional cancer program."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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