Weekly News Recap: June 28, 2024

Weekly News Recap: June 28, 2024

Alex Sarian, Arts Commons’s president and CEO, and Alberta businessman Dave Werklund stand outside Calgary's Arts Commons. Sarian has characterized Werklund and family's $75-million gift as the largest to the performing arts in Canada's history.

That's one thing that's always, like, been a difference between, like, the performing arts, and being a painter, you know. A painter does a painting, and he paints it, and that's it, you know. He has the joy of creating it, it hangs on a wall, and somebody buys it, and maybe somebody buys it again, or maybe nobody buys it and it sits up in a loft somewhere until he dies. But he never, you know, nobody ever, nobody ever said to Van Gogh, 'Paint a Starry Night again, man!' You know? He painted it and that was it. -- Joni Mitchell

SOME GOOD NEWS

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Singer-songwriter k.d. lang to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame (CBC) #Congrats "Alberta singer-songwriter k.d. lang is this year's inductee into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Organizers at the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) say lang will be entered into the prestigious space during a ceremony at Country Music Week, which takes place in [Edmonton]."

  2. Pembina, Haisla First Nation greenlight proposed LNG project (CBC) #VeryCoolProject "Canada is set to have another liquefied natural gas export terminal after project proponents greenlit the majority Indigenous-owned $4-billion US Cedar LNG facility. Calgary-based pipeline company Pembina Pipeline Corp and the Haisla First Nation said [...] they have made a positive final investment decision on the project, which will involve the construction of a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Kitimat, B.C."

  3. Lethbridge College to be redesignated as a polytechnic institution, become ‘Lethbridge Polytechnic’ (Lethbridge Now) And now there are five in Alberta. Congrats to all. "Lethbridge College is being redesignated by the Government of Alberta [...]. The province announced that the college will become a polytechnic institution [...]. The province says that as a polytechnic institution, Lethbridge Polytechnic will provide career-focused post-secondary education, meeting the needs of students at every stage of life."

  4. The late 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek will be honored with a U.S. postage stamp (NPR) Pose your answer in the form of a question please. "A new Forever Stamp set to be publicly released by the agency [...] will pay tribute to longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, who died in 2020. The stamp resembles the blue-and-white clue panel on the iconic trivia show, with the following prompt: 'This naturalized U.S. citizen hosted the quiz show ‘Jeopardy!’ for 37 seasons.' "

  5. Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence capital campaign donors recognized (Central Alberta Online) Well done all. A special thank you to all the donors. "Multiple public rooms have been named in the new Sheldon Kennedy Centre of Excellence (SKCOE), recognizing major donors of the capital campaign. Mark Jones, CEO of the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre, recently announced at the grand opening of SKCOE that the public fundraising campaign had reached $12.56 million."

  6. Corporate Philanthropy Is Out of Vogue, Now What? (Forbes) I really hope this turns around. "As economic uncertainties loom, many companies are pulling back on their social commitments. Corporate philanthropy leaders, who often feel like an army of one inside their companies already, are having to once again prove their value. To my peers, I’m here to say: Hang on, the course will correct. The value of philanthropy will be recognized once again. Corporate philanthropy, when used strategically, is too valuable to be sidelined."

  7. Naheed Nenshi elected new leader of the Alberta NDP (CBC) Congrats Mr. Nenshi! "Alberta NDP members have overwhelmingly chosen former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi as their new leader. After a commanding win with 86 per cent of members' votes, Nenshi told reporters in Calgary he is blown away by the support from across Alberta. 'The fact that they're putting in me — again, just for a second — their hopes and dreams for their community, for me, that's a really humbling thing,' Nenshi said."

  8. Scientists think they know why humans live so long: Moms (CBC) We kinda all knew this already but...#GoMom "Why do humans live so long? A new study suggests a mother's care could be a major part of it. The study, out of Cornell University, says that the reason humans and other primates live so long can be at least partly explained by the mother-child relationship."

  9. Calgary's water crisis is a 'wake-up call' for every city in Canada, warn infrastructure experts (CBC) "Infrastructure is aging across Canada, and even though cities do a 'pretty good job' of trying to manage a huge network of underground pipes, there often aren't enough resources to repair and replace them as needed, Kerry Black, an associate professor in civil engineering at the University of Calgary, told CBC News.'"

  10. Donald Sutherland, a Chameleon of a Movie Star, Dies at 88 (New York Times) And, a truly great Canadian. RIP Mr. Sutherland, we will not see your like again. "In a wide-ranging career (from 'MASH' to 'Ordinary People' to 'The Hunger Games'), he could be endearing in one role, menacing in another and just plain odd in a third."*

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Re-hydrating with Water Is Good, But Not Enough (Heath and Science) As a low water user, I get this, especially when exercising.

  2. This One Yoga Pose Will Instantly Revamp Your Running Form (Runner's Life) Yoga is magical.

  3. How to use visual aids to facilitate better collaboration (Jackie Colburn) Death by PowerPoint does not need to be a thing. Use photos and illustrations to better engage your audience.

  4. 1:1s Are For Direct Reports — and Other Lies You Tell Yourself (The Startup) It is also for YOU.

  5. I Did Yale’s Happiness Challenge for 28 Days To Improve My Mental Health — Here’s What Happened (In Fitness And In Health) Some really cool tests to take online in this article (I took them). I am going to try this method.

  6. World’s Best Training Strategies; Don’t Ever Make This Mistake; Male Endurance Athletes & Low Sperm (Runner's Life) Easy runs are important.

  7. ADHD Bullet Journaling with @AndroidGrace (Humans with ADHD) This is particularly nerdy view into bullet journaling and ADHD and, I loved it.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Calgary’s Arts Commons to receive historic $75-million donation (Globe and Mail) #Boom "Calgary’s Arts Commons performing and visual-arts complex is set to receive one of the largest philanthropic gifts in Canadian arts history [...] with Alberta businessman Dave Werklund and his family donating $75-million toward the centre’s modernization and expansion."

  2. South Niagara Hospital receives $1 million donation (Pelham Today) "The Niagara Health Foundation is honoured to recognize Alfredo and Mary Varalli as 'Future Builder Donors' for their generous donation of $1 million to the It's Our Future Campaign in support of the new South Niagara Hospital of Niagara Health."

  3. Robert Kraft announces $1m donation to Yeshiva U after yanking funds from Columbia (Times of Israel) "Two months after pulling his contributions from his Ivy League alma mater over its handling of anti-Israel protests, Robert Kraft has announced a new donation — to Yeshiva University."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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