Weekly News Recap: May 3, 2024

Weekly News Recap: May 3, 2024

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, left, Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen, Calgary Airport Authority CEO Chris Dinsdale, and Rail for Alberta Society president Justin Simaluk at the announcement of plans for Alberta passenger rail in a news conference at Heritage Park in Calgary on Monday, April 29, 2024. PHOTO BY BRENT CALVER /Postmedia

Justice is like a train that is nearly always late. -- Yevgeny Yevtushenko

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Utahns reunited with pet cat they accidentally shipped with Amazon return (NBC) #NineLives "A cat may have used a couple of its nine lives when it was accidentally shipped with an Amazon return from Utah to California. [...] Imagine Clark’s surprise when she received a call from a vet — in California. 'I didn’t believe her at first and thought it was a prank,' Clark said. The vet told Clark she had her beloved cat, Galena, who was found inside of an Amazon box alongside five pairs of work boots."

  • We might be closer to changing course on climate change than we realized (Vox) Wouldn't this be great news. "Earth is coming out of the hottest year on record, amplifying the destruction from hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves, and drought. The oceans remain alarmingly warm, triggering the fourth global coral bleaching event in history. Concentrations of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere have reached levels not seen on this planet for millions of years, while humanity’s demand for the fossil fuels that produce this pollution is the highest it has ever been. Yet at the same time, the world may be closer than ever to turning a corner in the effort to corral climate change."

  • VIDEO: Cranky cow becomes 'Somebody' after birthing rare quadruplet calves (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY Hmm...I wonder why it was miserable. "Mark van Haastert describes how his 'miserable' cow, who didn't have a name, birthed rare quadruplet calves on his ranch in northeastern Saskatchewan on April 19 and earned the name "Somebody."

  • The triumphant return of the US' sandcastle championships (BBC) #Supercool "Located on a barrier island just off Texas' city of Corpus Christi, Port Aransas (population: 3,600) is barely more than a sleepy hamlet most of the year. However, for three days each April [...] tens of thousands of people descend on this classic Texan beach town from all over the world when it becomes the epicentre of the sand-sculpting universe."

  • VIDEO: True Facts: Bees That Play With Balls And Do Math! (YouTube) This video is AMAZING!

  • VIDEO: B.C. man captures video of 2 bear cubs waking from winter slumber (CBC) PRINCE GEORGE STORY And...it was. "A winter walk paid off months later for a Prince George, B.C., family who captured footage of a family of bears waking up from hibernation. Serge Wolf lives on a rural property with his wife and two children [...who] were hiking through the woods in January when his four-year-old daughter noticed a hole in the ground. 'I thought immediately, well, it has to be a den,' Wolf said."

  • VIDEO: Orca's ocean escape from B.C. lagoon will be talked about for generations, says First Nation (CBC) VANCOUVER ISLAND STORY We have been following this story for a while. So glad this is the outcome. "An orphaned killer whale calf's escape from a remote Vancouver Island tidal lagoon, where it had been trapped for more than a month, is likely to reverberate for First Nations in Canada, according to those involved in the rescue.

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. United Methodist Church Reverses Ban on Practicing Gay Clergy (New York Times) Good move! "The United Methodist Church removed [...] its longstanding ban on ordaining gay clergy, formalizing a shift in policy that had already begun in practice and that had prompted the departure of a quarter of its U.S. congregations in recent years."

  2. Breathing Life Into Cities (The Environment) Green spaces are critical to a healthy city. "Think about how often you walk along a busy, congested urban street, where cars pass you by in a rush, exhaust fumes filling the air, and the constant noise of horns and sirens. Now, picture yourself calmly walking into a park in the company of the sounds of rustling leaves and laughter occasionally and where the air seems fresher. What changes? Did you notice how you felt more comfortable and calm by only contrasting both scenarios?"

  3. The Tech-Enabled Book (Books Are Our Superpower) I consider all of it to be 'reading'. "A January 2022 report by the Pew Research Center shows that print books remain the most popular format among U.S. adult readers, but just 32 percent say they read only print books. One-third (33 percent) say they read print books and consume 'digital books,' defined as e-books and audiobooks. According to the Audio Publishers Association, 53 percent of U.S. adults — nearly 140 million Americans — said they had listened to an audiobook at some point in 2023."

  4. Alberta to develop province-wide passenger rail plan (Trains) CALGARY STORY If this really happens, it will change our province for the better, forever. "The government of Alberta is developing a 'Passenger Rail Master Plan' that seeks to create a provincial rail system include a line linking Calgary and Edmonton, commuter rail networks around those two cities, and routes to parks in the province’s mountains, Premier Danielle Smith said in a Monday press conference."

  5. Invisible seniors: Uncovering exclusion in philanthropy (uOttawa) OTTAWA STORY "Kouamé, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Saouré Kouamé HeadshotBritish Colombia, Nipissing University and UQAM, aims to investigate the invisible causes of exclusion of vulnerable seniors from the Canadian philanthropic sector, focusing on their well-being."

  6. Canada's divorce rate is the lowest in 50 years, but fewer people are getting married at all (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Half of marriages end in divorce — that's the outdated and incorrect statistic that's been thrown around almost as a warning for decades. [...] Divorce rates have actually been declining since the early 1990s and are the lowest they've been in 50 years. [...] But at the same time, fewer people are getting married in the first place — just 44 per cent of people over age 15 in 2021 compared to 54 per cent in 1991. (The minimum age at marriage in Canada has been set at 16 since 2015.)."

  7. VIDEO: Rude awakening: iPhone users say alarm clock app isn't working (YouTube) "It’s what nightmares are made of: Setting an alarm on your phone to wake up in the morning and it doesn’t go off. Some social media users say this is happening to them, and Apple has shared steps to make sure your iPhone's attention-aware settings are right for your needs."

  8. Got brothers or sisters? Warm sibling bonds help boost happiness as you age (NPR) #IHeartMyBrother "Many of us have up and down relationships with our siblings. And those relationships can be most intense during adolescence. [...] Researchers have found that a warm, close bond with a sibling in early adult life is predictive of greater resilience later in life, with less loneliness, anxiety and depression."

  9. Shortage of skilled tradespeople is hitting all Canadians in the pocketbook, economists say (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "A shortage of qualified people to work in skilled trades is making rising costs of living even worse, economists and trade industry veterans say. 'It used to be 70 or 80 bucks for somebody to come to your house as a service call just to look at your dishwasher; now you're going to pay double that,' said Mandy Rennehan, founder and CEO of construction company Freshco, which specializes in building retail stores."

  10. Why the 'Right' Retirement Age Doesn’t Actually Exist (Money) "In the midst of the Great Depression, the passage of the Social Security Act established a national retirement age of 65 as the standard, guaranteeing that older workers could retire and receive crucial benefits for the first time in U.S. history. The average life expectancy in 1935, however, was just 58 for men and 62 for women. Only a little more than half of the nation’s men were expected to live to see 65, according to a document from the Social Security Administration’s archives. The age of 65 was chosen not because it was the optimal time for people to stop working, but because, as labor economist Teresa Ghilarducci puts it, it was 'cheap.' "

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Do This Exercise to Improve Your Task Prioritization to Help Achieve Your Long-Term Goals (Creative Tech) So many suggestions on how to do this better. This is a great one.

  2. This 56-Year-Old Action Star Reveals How He Lives Like His 20s (Illumination) Jason Statham is amazing.

  3. How to be a Good Board Member? (Roger Martin) First thing: don't over manage your CEO.

  4. Is your organization solving the real problem? (UX Design) Man, I wish I knew what the real problems are. #StillSeeking

  5. Use This Framework for Fascinating & Memorable Presentations (Backed by Science) (Choice Hacking) Love this.

  6. 5 Ways to Build Strong Connections Like Top Consultants Do (Publishous) Important for all of us...including consultants.

  7. Does It Really Matter Which Side You Sleep On? (Lifehacker) Hmmm...somehow I feel less informed.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute receives $13.5 million donation for ALS research (NBC) "A big boost is coming to local ALS research in the form of $13.5 million gift to the University of Cincinnati's Gardner Neuroscience Institute."

  2. Boston high school gets $30M donation (YouTube) "A Boston school that serves mostly Black and Latino students from lower-income neighborhoods said a $30 million donation from an alumnus will go back into education."

  3. Albertans raise more than $1.1 million in a week to help CKUA Radio (MSN) ALBERTA STORY "Albertans have shown their generosity once again, donating in droves to raise more than $1.1 million in support of CKUA less than a week after the radio station made a public plea for funding. The spring fundraising campaign for CKUA is just over half-way through and has already surpassed its original goal of $775,000. So far more than 5,000 donors offered financial support to Alberta’s donor-funded community radio station, well on their way to hitting the $3 million they need. The funds need to be raised by the end of September in order to keep the station alive." donate here.

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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