Weekly News Recap: June 23, 2023

Cragun Foulger of Utah managed to complete B.C.'s West Coast Trail with a little help from strangers. (Cragun Foulger)

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. —The 14th Dalai Lama.

SOME GOOD NEWS

VIDEO: Musicless Music Videos (Kottke.org) You are either going to LOVE this or you are going to HATE this. (I am betwixt and between depending on the song). "Mario Wienerroither takes music videos, strips out all the sound, and then foleys back in sound effects based on what people are doing in the video. You'll get the gist after about 6 seconds of this Jamiroquai video:"
Electric bikes are the most climate-friendly way to travel (Triangle Blog Blog) #ThisWillSaveOurPlanet "After traveling 4,500 miles, I have spent less than $5 on electricity. Five dollars! That’s less than a cost of a mocha latte something at Starbucks. That is astounding. That’s less than the cost of two gallons of gas. It means that on days I bike the 10 miles to and from work, I’m spending less than one cent on electricity to get there. And about half the time, I’m carting a bike cargo trailer behind me (often full of groceries) which means it’s a heavier load for the bike to carry."
VIDEO: Dog ejected from car during Sunday crash found on sheep farm, herding sheep (KHQ.com) #WeLovesOurBorderCollies "Tilly, the 2-year-old Border Collie who was ejected from a car Sunday during a crash, has been found. He was found on a sheep farm, where he had apparently taken up the role of sheep herder. According to Tilly's owner, he has lost some weight since Sunday's crash and is now drinking lots of water but is otherwise healthy."
VIDEO: This opera singer lost his voice after spinal surgery. Then he met someone who changed his life. (CBS) "After his spinal surgery, Albert worked with a physical therapist to regain his physical strength. Then, he regained his voice with Dr. Marina-Elvira Papangelou, a speech-language pathologist at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston. It took nearly a year of therapy, but thanks to Papangelou, Garcia regained his ability to sing. 'He has made a tremendous change. He has learned to breathe properly again, to bring his pitch down and focus his voice,' she told CBS News via email."
Family finds 1 million copper pennies while cleaning out Los Angeles home (KTLA) "Having more money than you know what to do with is usually a good thing, but for one California family, it’s a little bit more complicated than that. John Reyes, a realtor from the Inland Empire, is trying to figure out what to do with more than 1 million pennies he and his wife discovered in her father’s former home in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles. The pennies were found in a crawlspace way back in the basement of the home last year while the family was cleaning out the home that once belonged to John’s father-in-law, Fritz."
An airline lost his gear, dashing his dream of hiking the West Coast Trail. Then strangers stepped in to help (CBC) VANCOUVER ISLAND STORY "Michael Anderson, the owner of the West Coast Trail Express, which offers shuttle service to the trail, offered to pick him up and outfit him with a backpack, tent, poles, sleeping bag and other equipment. Foulger had a ticket for the West Coast Trail Express, so Anderson drove him to the trailhead at Port Renfrew. Anderson says he was happy to offer his help. 'I don't know why I wouldn't,' he said. 'I didn't think there was another option. I was so happy that we could get him set up.'"
Canadian captures extraordinary beauty of ordinary pigeons in award-winning photo (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY "Vancouver's Liron Gertsman snapped this picture of preening pigeons in White Rock, B.C. It is the Audubon Photography Awards' 2023 grand prize winner."
VIDEO: Watch this small but mighty pig defend family farm from bear on Vancouver Island (CBC) "A heroic showdown captured on surveillance footage earlier this week shows a brave miniature pig charging a black bear that broke into her family's farm. Barn security footage from early Sunday morning shows the pig, named Barbie-Q, standing inches in front of the bear as it slowly steps closer to her. She is then seen charging forward, forcing the bear to run back."
French's® Ketchup Cotton Candy, A Limited-Edition Summertime Treat Français (Newswire) CANADIAN STORY "French's announces its latest curiously delicious, limited-edition treat: 'French's® Ketchup Cotton Candy.' Made in collaboration with Canadian confectionary company, Treats for Us, the candy is made with French's Ketchup, featuring 100 per cent Canadian tomatoes. It combines some of the best traditions the season has to offer, ketchup and carnivals. Free samples will be available while supplies last at popup locations in select markets across the country from June 27 to June 28."
At 82, this Edmonton yoga teacher isn't ready to fold up her mat (CBC) EDMONTON STORY "Sylvia Galbraith stretches into a lunge, hands flat on the chair in front of her, confidently guiding her yoga students through a sun salutation. Following their teacher's instructions, Galbraith's students copy the traditional sequence she is modelling. As they move, they work to control their breathing and maintain their balance. Galbraith has been teaching at the Central Lions Recreation Centre in north Edmonton for over 20 years. Now 82, it's important to her to continue inspiring her students to stay healthy and flexible. She takes joy in her teaching and hopes it's infectious."
VIDEO: The crocodile 'virgin birth', explained | About That (CBC) "The first case of a crocodile making herself pregnant has been identified at a zoo in Costa Rica. Andrew Chang explores how this can happen and where we've seen it in the animal kingdom before."
Pig living at highway rest stop rescued (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY "Chocolate doughnuts and quick hands were part of a successful mission to save a pig from the side of a major highway in northern B.C. late last week. The female pig — estimated at 60 kilograms — is settling into her new life at a local animal rescue but the mission to help her didn't go off without a hitch. The sow was spotted wandering around a rest stop near Hixon, 62 kilometres south of Prince George on Highway 97. Nearby construction workers first spotted her, and eventually, a motorist at the rest stop dialled up Kerri Hegel, the owner of PG Tickled Pig Rescue in Prince George. Hegel drove to the location and, sure enough, there was the pig."
VIDEO: Coast Guard rescues injured dog after 300-foot fall (she's ok though) (YouTube) "Members of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria hoist a dog to safety after she fell from a cliff in Oregon on June 14, 2023."
AUDIO: This dog survived 5 weeks in the Colorado mountains. A hiker carried him to safety (CBC) "Zach Hackett was hiking in the Colorado mountains when he heard the faintest of sounds. 'The best way I can explain it is a little, "Yip." It wasn't a bark. It wasn't a cry. It was kind of in-between,' Hackett told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 'It was kind of like, "Hey, I'm over here. Look at me. Help me. Save me."' Then he saw the source of the cry — a small black and white dog, emaciated and shivering on the forest floor about 10 meters away. He knew immediately what he had to do."
VIDEO: #TheMoment a 90-year-old P.E.I. man gave 1,162nd blood donation (CBC) PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND STORY "Ewen Stewart of Charlottetown, P.E.I., has been giving blood for more than seven decades. He has come to the blood donor clinic every Tuesday since weekly donations were introduced in 1997. This week, he donated for the final time: #1,162 in total — a P.E.I. record."
VIDEO: #TheMoment mermaid challenge went viral in Indigenous communities (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Starting in Manitoba, Indigenous communities across Canada have been having fun dressing up as mermaids and posting the images online. Johnny Harper of the Anishininew First Nation says 'humour is our medicine.'"
AUDIO: Meet Martinus Evans, the 300-pound marathon runner leading the 'slow AF' club (CBC) "About a decade ago, Martinus Evans went to see his doctor and was given an ultimatum. 'I'm sitting there, and my doctor is like, "Mr. Evans, you're fat. You need to lose weight or die,"' he told The Current's Matt Galloway. Evans was there because of hip pain but said the doctor seemed to ignore that problem to focus on his weight (he was approximately 360 pounds at the time). As the physician recommended buying trainers and taking up slow walking at an athletics track, Evans became frustrated."
Kitten with 'fighting spirit' rescued after 4 days trapped under floor of Surrey house (CBC) SURREY STORY "Firefighters had to cut through an exterior wall of a home in Surrey, B.C., to rescue a tiny but vocal kitten trapped under the floor for four days. Mark Vosper, regional manager of animal protection with the British Columbia SPCA, says a resident reported last Friday that a cat had been heard crying for days, although the animal couldn't be seen. 'This kitten's fighting spirit and loud cries saved her,' said Vosper. 'After at least four days of being trapped, she is now resting happily.'"
VIDEO: #TheMoment an Ontario mother graduated in her late son's place (CBC) OSHAWA STORY "Danita Algar lost her son to cancer in 2021. One of his last requests was for his mother to take his place in the carpentry program at Durham College. Yesterday, Algar walked across the stage as the program's top student, kissing her diploma and pointing to the sky in an emotional moment."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

'Don't screw it up!': How Calgary's University District came to thrive, a decade after Nenshi quip (CBC) CALGARY STORY "'This particular project will change the face of the city forever,' then-mayor Naheed Nenshi said in 2014, when city council unanimously approved the project. Then, speaking directly to the project's then-CEO James Robertson, Nenshi issued a light-hearted but sincere warning: 'It is a remarkable opportunity. Don't screw it up!' Fast-forward nearly a decade, and University District is living up to its billing. How has it succeeded — so far, at least — where other developments have sometimes fallen short of expectations? Ask those who were directly involved in the project, who watched it closely from the outside, and who live there now. You'll hear some similar answers: meticulous planning, curated retail offerings, genuine walkability and some natural advantages to this particular parcel of land. Oh, and building the dog park first."
City of Barrie backs down on plan to ban giving food to homeless people on its property (CBC) BARRIE STORY "The city of Barrie, Ont., has backed away from proposed bylaws that would have made it illegal to distribute food, literature, clothes, tents, and tarps to unhoused people on public property. At a meeting on Wednesday night, council decided unanimously to refer bylaws 67 and 68 back to staff. The matter is expected to return to a general committee meeting later this year. 'There should be zero fear out there that a bylaw officer or a peace officer is going to come and ask you not to give water to someone who needs it,' Mayor Alex Nuttall told council chambers. Coun. Jim Harris, who represents Ward 8, said the intent of the bylaws was not to prevent people from helping unhoused people. 'Charitable acts of kindness, giving, are central to our community, and we do not want to punish that. That's not the intent,' Harris said."
Charitable giving in 2022 drops for only the fourth time in 40 years: Giving USA report (ABC) "Charitable giving in the United States declined in 2022 -- only the fourth time in four decades that donations did not increase year over year -- according to the Giving USA report released Tuesday. Total giving fell 3.4% in 2022 to $499.3 billion in current dollars, a drop of 10.5% when adjusted for inflation. The decline comes at a time when many nonprofits, especially ones providing services to those in need, report an increase in requests for help. However, Josh Birkholz, chairman of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the report and provides data and insights about donation trends, said the results are actually much better than they could have been considering the tough economic climate of late 2022."
Canada's oil output would plummet by 2050 in a net-zero world, new modelling shows (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "New modelling from the Canada Energy Regulator suggests Canadian oil production will plummet by 2050 — and large portions of Alberta's oilsands facilities will be shut down — if the world is successful in reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions within that time. The scenario is one of three laid out in a report released Tuesday, and marks the first time the regulator has presented long-term modelling for Canadian energy using net-zero as a baseline. In an interview, federal natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson cautioned against focusing too much on the most dramatic scenario, adding that the regulator's report also paints a picture of an alternate future in which progress to net-zero occurs at a slower pace. But he said the report makes it very clear that in order for Canada's energy sector to remain competitive on the world stage, it will need to act quickly to reduce emissions."
CEO of beleaguered Royal B.C. Museum resigns after 16 months (CBC) VICTORIA STORY "The CEO of the Royal B.C. Museum stepped down after nearly a year-and-a-half on the job. The Victoria-based provincial museum's board announced CEO Alicia Dubois's resignation on Friday afternoon. The change comes a year after the B.C. NDP government scrapped a proposed $800-million renovation and modernization of the facility last June, after coming under fire for weeks from the Opposition. Board chair Leslie Brown told CBC News the decision to resign was Dubois's, and that the board maintained confidence in her work."
Indigenous artist chosen to design Canada's Afghan war monument (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Stimson is a member of the Siksika First Nation in southern Alberta and a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who served at CFB Esquimalt. Stimson was sent to Afghanistan through the Canadian Forces Artist Program. He said he tried to capture what he and other Canadians were experiencing in Afghanistan through his art."
Calgary Catholic schools policy lets parents choose names over students' wishes (CBC) CALGARY STORY "A Calgary Catholic school district policy requires school staff to call students by the names their parents prefer, even when a student disagrees. A similar policy change in New Brunswick is at the heart of a political battle that has created a deep political divide in the Progressive Conservative government and raised the threat of a snap election in that province."
This scientist shaped a new law that moves Canada away from toxicity testing on animals (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "For decades, researchers have relied on animals to test whether chemicals are toxic to humans. But science has developed alternatives, and a new Canadian law will require them to move in those directions. This week, Bill S-5 was passed by the Senate and given royal assent. It includes language that brings Canada closer to 'modernized toxicity testing,' according to a Windsor researcher who helped shape the legislation."
Two conservation organizations team up to protect 130-year-old ranch in Alberta (CBC) ALBERTA STORY "Two conservation organizations have teamed up to protect one of the largest areas of intact prairie grasslands and wetlands in Canada. The Nature Conservancy of Canada and Ducks Unlimited Canada say they are working to conserve McIntyre Ranch through a conservation easement with its owners. The 130-year-old ranch south of Lethbridge, Alta., spans more than 220 square kilometres. When it is completed, the two groups say the easement will represent the largest private land conservation project to date across the Canadian Prairies."
VIDEO: Canada's population surpasses 40 million (CBC) CANADIAN STORY When I was born, Canada's population was 20 million. "Canada's population has surpassed 40 million people, according to Statistics Canada. The federal statistics agency's 'population clock' uses modeling to estimate Canada's population in real time. The counter hit the 40 million mark just before 3 p.m. ET on Friday. 'This is an exciting milestone for Canada,' said chief statistician Anil Arora in a media statement. 'It is a strong signal that Canada remains a dynamic and welcoming country, full of potential.'"

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

Why I Finally Stopped Using Daily Notes (Esteban Thilliez) Stand up against the pressure. No need to do daily notes (I don't).
Your Meeting Needs a Google Doc (The Coding Diaries) This is so smart.
Sadness has Secret Superpowers that No Other Emotion Does (Better Humans) We need to let ourselves feel sad more.
How I Organize My Life — The “LAZI” Productivity System (Age of Awareness) If for nothing else, I love the acronym.
When and When Not to Use Hyphens After Certain Prefixes (The Writing Cooperative) You're welcome. #NerdWriter
Are Psychedelics the Secret to Happiness? (Wise & Well) I have not really tried them but...I am thinking about it.
Rule of three makes dressing for corporate Calgary Stampede easy (Livewire Calgary) CALGARY STORY Dress for success.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

U of C gets multimillion-dollar legacy gift for brain research (MSN) CALGARY STORY I chaired the AFP committee that awarded Mr. Pickens outstanding philanthropist of the years. RIP and thank you! "Hoping to help children who suffer from severe seizures, the University of Calgary is receiving a multi-million legacy gift from an American philanthropist for brain research. The late Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens has bequested US$12.5 million — the equivalent of C$16.5 million — to the U of C’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute, named for Pickens’ longtime friend, Harley Hotchkiss, an icon in Calgary’s oil and gas industry. The largest portion of the legacy gift will support a newly endowed fund in Pickens’ memory to aid neuroscience research innovation at the institute within the U of C’s Cumming School of Medicine." RELATED: Oklahoma State University receives a $120 million gift from T. Boone Pickens Foundation
Multi-million-dollar donation aims to transform mental health care in London, Ont. (Global News) LONDON STORY #Boom "The largest known donation of its kind in southwestern Ontario was announced Thursday with a goal to reshape mental health care access. St. Joseph’s Health Care London announced Thursday that Ryan Finch had donated $5 million to fund research into new solutions to make it easier for patients to access mental health care."
$25 million for new Quantum Horizons Alberta research network (uAlberta) ALBERTA STORY Thank you all! "Speaking on behalf of the group of donors, Richard Bird said 'we are very excited to be partnering with Alberta’s major research universities to bring this new pan-Alberta initiative into existence and continue on the path of having a globally recognized hub of excellence for foundational quantum research based here in Alberta. Quantum science is an increasingly critical area of study around the world and we have the opportunity to establish our province as a key source of research and discoveries in a field which promises to be transformational to the human condition.' Initially joining Mr. Bird as QHA donors are Patrick Daniel, Joanne Cuthbertson and Guy Turcotte, with the expectation that the group will continue to expand as supporters from across Canada join the initiative."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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Vincent DuckworthJune 22, 2023Comment