Weekly News Recap: September 28, 2018

Brookfield Residential CEO Trent Edwards, left and YMCA Calgary President and CEO Shannon Doram announce the new YMCA at Seton. LEAH HENNEL / POSTMEDIA

Success isn’t permanent and failure isn’t fatal. -- Mike Ditka

AFP

Photography

  • Lonely City (Medium) Beautiful. Thoughtful. "A photographer’s journey through the streets of Taipei, full of scooters and longing." 8/31/18

News

  • His Highness the Aga Khan to receive UCalgary honorary degree (UToday) CALGARY STORY Congrats to His Highness! "University of Calgary Chancellor Deborah Yedlin and President and Vice-Chancellor Elizabeth Cannon are pleased to announce that His Highness the Aga Khan will be the recipient of an honorary degree at a special ceremony next month." 9/25/18

  • Unveiling Ceremony Recognizes Memorial Park Library (Calgary Public Library) CALGARY STORY Congrats CPL! "Calgary’s oldest Library and its surrounding park were granted special status as a national historic site earlier this year [...]. Memorial Park Library was the first public Library in Alberta. Annie Davidson, one of Calgary’s cultural pioneers and visionaries, championed the building alongside the Calgary Women’s Literary Club." 9/24/18

  • $1.3-billion Royal Columbian Hospital modernization enters second phase (CBC) NEW WESTMINSTER STORY "The massive expansion of the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., is entering its next phase — but not as originally intended. The second phase of the $1.35-billion revitalization, which includes a new acute care tower and an expanded emergency department, will move forward as a design-build, rather than the previously approved public-private partnership, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix announced on Saturday." 9/23/18

  • Calgary Veterans Food Bank shuts down 4 months early (CBC) CALGARY STORY "The Calgary Veterans Food Bank has shut its doors four months earlier than planned. The local Poppy Fund's board of directors said it would close the food bank in January 2019 in order to reallocate resources to other veterans' services. But this week, the door was locked with a closed sign directing veterans to the nearest legion." 9/23/18

  • Rental program brings Art Gallery of Alberta into your home (CBC) EDMONTON STORY Obviously, I am very late to this party but...this is very cool... Hmmm...what about the ViTreo offices..."Imagine visiting an art gallery and taking home the pieces you love. You can actually do that at the Art Gallery of Alberta — for as low as $9 a month. For more than 60 years, the gallery has run an art sales and rentals program for homes and offices at an affordable cost." 9/23/18

  • Sixth-graders in a nursing home — an unlikely but 'life-changing' school year (CBC) SASKATOON STORY I heart this so much! #moreplease "Old people living out their days in nursing homes and young people soaking up lessons in elementary schools live in separate universes — Canada's generational silos. But at the Sherbrooke Community Centre, it's a different story. The Saskatoon nursing home houses 263 high-needs residents. It's also the site of an intergenerational school." 9/21/18

  • Low-income mental health service gets $1.4M boost in Calgary (CBC)CALGARY STORY "The provincial government announced $1.4 million in funding to the Calgary Urban Project Society in order to alleviate a space crunch for mental health services. CUPS, which helps 546 patients a year, will now be able to offer services to approximately 800." 9/21/18

  • Alberta won’t fund Jasper culinary school: GPRC (Fitzhugh.ca) JASPER STORY "Alberta’s Advanced Education ministry won’t spend any more tax dollars on the development of a culinary program based in Jasper. Don Gnatiuk, president and CEO of Grande Prairie Regional College, said Friday the province has reviewed a report on the cooking school proposal for the townsite in Jasper National Park and is 'encouraging GPRC to seek external funding to develop this program.'" 9/21/18

  • Alberta Medical Association honours Albertans for their extraordinary contributions to health care (Digital Journal) ALBERTA STORY Congrats to all but a special congratulations to Dr. Carol Cass and Dr. Norman Kneteman. "[The] Alberta Medical Association [recently honoured] Albertans who have dedicated their lives and their careers to improving the health care and wellness of Albertans." 9/20/18

  • New $100M fundraising campaign Shine launches at University of Lethbridge (Global News) LETHBRIDGE STORY Congrats! "The University of Lethbridge is launching Shine, a campaign for fundraising and engagement. The campaign is seeking to raise $100 million for the school with a goal to increase alumni and community engagement." 9/20/18

  • Calgary 'head of the list' of library cities around the world (UToday) CALGARY STORY Woot! Go Calgary! "'Perhaps at one time, people thought we wouldn’t build any more new libraries. You could get all the information you need on your laptop or mobile, but in fact libraries have become an intense people space for collaboration and creation,' says Tom Hickerson, who co-founded the conference in 2012 when he was vice-provost (libraries and cultural resources). 'Libraries are hot.' And there is nowhere hotter on the library circuit than Calgary." 9/20/18

  • 'Go for it': Female scientist famous for discovering pulsars encourages girls to pursue science (CBC) CALGARY CONTENT "[Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell] was recently honoured with the Special Breakthrough prize — a $3 million award annually to scientists in the Life Sciences, Physics and Mathematics — for her discovery of pulsars. Bell was in Calgary on Wednesday, speaking at Calgary's Beakerhead festival, which celebrates arts, sciences and engineering." Here is a transcript of her talk with CBC's Doug Dirks. 9/19/18

  • Arts Commons pitches $400M expansion plan (CBC) CALGARY STORY "The board of directors of Arts Commons has scaled back plans for a major expansion and overhaul of the downtown performance centre, but it's not clear if the city will agree to help finance the now $400-million proposal. Arts Commons wants to revitalize the facility in a two-stage expansion that would tie in with the city's plan to update the adjacent Olympic Plaza." 9/19/18

  • Stollery and EPL team up to help early brain development (CTV News) EDMONTON STORY I heart this. Great partnership! "In partnership with the Stollery Children’s Hospital, EPL is expanding its Welcome Baby program to the neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. The program’s goal is to help with newborns’ brain development by providing families with a package that includes items like a book bag, early literacy information and an invitation to get a free library card." 9/18/18

  • Mental health association says physical and mental health should get same funding (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "A new paper by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is calling on governments to spend as much money on mental health as they do physical health. The paper, Mental Health in the Balance: Ending the Health Care Disparity in Canada, said mental health needs sometimes go unaddressed because they're usually not covered or those who need them can't afford them." 9/18/18

  • The New York Public Library is loaning out ties and handbags for job interviews (New York Times) A lending library for style. Love it! "New York City is a stylish place, but not everyone within the five boroughs has the means to dress to the nines seven days a week. And for those who want to impress at a job interview but don't own—or can't afford—any style accessories, the New York Public Library has a new solution. The system’s Riverside Library branch on the Upper West Side unveiled a new collection of ties, briefcases and handbags last week, which cardholders can take out for occasions like interviews, weddings and other events that call for a little more je ne sais quoi." 8/16/18

First Peoples of Canada

  • Indigenous eateries take centre stage in Canada thanks to increasing awareness (Toronto Star) CANADIAN STORY I'm in! "Since Paul Natrall started serving Indigenous cuisine from his Mr. Bannock food truck in Vancouver nearly a year ago, the chef has hired several employees for his in-demand fusion food business. In recent years, Indigenous-owned eateries like his have emerged in many Canadian cities serving traditional foods like bannock and buffalo. While it’s taken time to move into the mainstream, chefs say demand is high thanks to increasing awareness of Indigenous culture and desire for local foods." 9/23/18

  • 'It's time,' says 1st Indigenous woman in Canada to start an airline on her own (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY "It's not every day you become the first Indigenous woman in Canada to start an airline from scratch, all on your own. 'Even today it's hard to imagine that I am launching an airline,' said Teara Fraser, who was born in remote Hay River in the Northwest Territories and plans to fly her airline to hard-to-reach Indigenous communities." 9/23/18

  • Blackfoot flag has permanent place at U of L (Lethbridge Herald) LETHBRIDGE STORY This is cool. The UofL is cool. "The Blackfoot Confederacy flag will now permanently fly at the University of Lethbridge. On Thursday morning on campus, a flag raising ceremony was held with officials saying the U of L is honoured by its relationship with the local Blackfoot community and proud to be located on traditional Blackfoot territory.".9/22/18

Books to read

  • The 13 Best Books to Give as Gifts this Holiday Season (Medium) Oooh...so many good reads here. Oh wait, this list is not for me? Ah, as gifts you say? Ok, got it. (BTW, if you have not ready the previous two novels in CixinLiu's amazing trilogy, you really should). 11/27/17

Life and career hacks

  • A lightbulb is not an idea! (Personal Growth) A fun piece on how to better develop (and select) images that leverage and enhance your text. 9/22/18

  • Design better gradients (UX Collective) I suck at selecting and designing gradients. I now realize why. Read this and you will too (and, if you are lucky, you will suck less). 9/20/18

  • Why the Best Things in Life Can’t Be Planned (Personal Growth) A little light philosophy to start the weekend. You're welcome. 9/19/18

  • Keeping Perspective (Medium) This is not, as the author says, "...intended as a substitute, in any way, for psychiatric care." What it is though is a great primer on how to not be consumed by the wrong things. 7/26/18

  • What Is The Best Way to Set A Goal For Your Business? It Depends. (The Startup) I laughed out loud when I read how "the finance guys's" goals played with the sales team. 6/14/18

  • Own Your Failure (The Humanist Way) Embrace failure. As the article points out: "Failure is essential to growth". 5/30/18

Uncommon knowledge

  • A brief history of the numeric keypad (UX Collective) "There’s no logical reason why telephones and calculators use different numeric keypads. So why do we still follow the same convention?" Intrigued? I was. read on. 9/11/18

Philanthropic controversy

  • Your GoFundMe donation isn’t as secure as you think (Generocity) "That question is starting to be asked by law enforcement, including the New Jersey attorney general, as well as the donors of $402,000 that has gone missing. Starting late last year, more than 14,000 people contributed to the crowdfunding site to benefit Johnny Bobbitt, who, while homeless, came to the aid of a stranded motorist with his last $20. The motorist and her boyfriend set up a GoFundMe campaign and then allegedly misappropriated the funds for their own use." 9/21/18

  • KRON4 Morning Buzz: Mark Cuban says he's sorry with $10M donation (KRON4) "Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will give 10 million dollars to make up for what was going on right under his nose. While he was paying attention to basketball, the club offices were a hotbed for predatory sexual behavior so bad that women were afraid to go to work. They say there were harassed and even physically assaulted at work." 9/20/18

Trends and shifts

  • Millennials Are Causing the U.S. Divorce Rate to Plummet (Bloomberg) "Americans under the age of 45 have found a novel way to rebel against their elders: They’re staying married. New data show younger couples are approaching relationships very differently from baby boomers, who married young, divorced, remarried and so on. Generation X and especially millennials are being pickier about who they marry, tying the knot at older ages when education, careers and finances are on track." 9/25/18

Reports and studies

Large gifts

  • Salesforce foundation announces $18 million donation to Bay Area causes (San Francisco Chronicle) "Salesforce.org, the nonprofit arm of the San Francisco business-software company, will donate $18 million to education, cleanliness, homelessness and other Bay Area causes [...]." 9/25/18

  • Concordia engineering school becomes first in Canada named after a woman as alumna donates $15-million (Globe and Mail) This is huge! This is so inspiring. I am so pleased they kept her first name in the school naming. Imagine the generations of women who will study here. Thanks to Ron Bailey, our 'early reader' for sharing this fantastic story. "Gina Cody arrived in Montreal with $2,000 in her pocket and little more than a dream to become an engineer. It was 1979. Her homeland of Iran was in the throes of a revolution, and she escaped on the last flight out. 'Overwhelmed' and 'lonely,' she got a toehold in her new country thanks to a scholarship in engineering at Concordia University in Montreal. Forty years later, a successful career behind her, Dr. Cody is giving back. The 61-year-old is donating $15-million to her alma mater, a gift that will be used to increase diversity in a traditionally male-dominated field. The Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science becomes the first engineering faculty in Canada – and one of the first internationally – to be named after a woman." 9/24/18

  • U of Calgary vet school receives record donation (Western Producer) ALBERTA STORY Re-reading the story of this gift actually made me short of breath. Honestly, gifts like this are exceedingly rare. It has depth. It has breadth. It will be felt for uncounted generations. This story has been all over the major outlets this week. I chose to highlight the one from the Western Producer. It's the one most ranchers including my favourite ranchers (like my father-in-law, Scott Fraser) most often read. Thank you to the Anderson family. Wow! "The donation of a 19,000-acre ranch to the University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine is the largest gift of its kind to any Canadian university. W.A. Ranches near Cochrane, Alta. is worth an estimated $44 million and was donated by Calgary entrepreneurs Jack Anderson and his daughter Wynne Chisholm." 9/24/18

  • €3.2m donation by JP McManus to GAA county boards hailed as 'incredible gesture' (Irish Examiner) "Cork chairperson Treacy Kennedy has hailed the 'incredible gesture' of JP McManus who has donated €100,000 to each of the 32 county boards. The €100,000 gift to each county is to be divided equally among clubs. The €3.2m gesture comes off the back of Limerick’s All-Ireland hurling final win, the county’s first Liam MacCarthy triumph since 1973." JP McManus is an Irish businessman who used to be part owner of the Manchester United football club. 9/24/18

  • Rochester YMCA receives $3.5 million donation (NBC) "Rochester's YMCA is in the money Saturday night with one of the biggest donations in the organizations history. Peter and Susan Schottland gifted $3.5 million for the the new branch in Pittsford, with this gift the new branch will officially be named the Schottland Family Branch." 9/22/18

  • YMCA gets $2M donation that pushes capital campaign to $4.5M (Daily News) "The Northern Lights YMCA Dickinson Center has received an anonymous $2 million donation, almost doubling the $2.4 million capital campaign goal reached in June." 9/21/18

  • AbbVie Announces $5 Million Donation to Family Reach to Support Children Battling Cancer and Their Families (PRNewswire) "AbbVie, a research-based global biopharmaceutical company, [...] announced a donation of $5 million to Family Reach to support the organization's efforts to alleviate the financial burden of cancer on pediatric patients and families across the United States." 9/21/18

  • Panthers owner announces $1M donation to hurricane relief efforts (NBC) "The new owner of the NFL's Carolina Panthers [David Tepper] has announced an initial package to aid Hurricane Florence disaster relief efforts in North and South Carolina." 9/20/18

  • Southwest Airlines Announces $1 Million Donation Dedicated To Supporting Communities (PRNewswire) " Southwest Airlines [...] launched a competitive grant program aimed at supporting communities across the United States where its People and Customers live, work, and play. The program is designed to support nonprofit organizations involved in three key focus areas: K-12 STEM Education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics); building a resilient workforce; and leadership development." 9/20/18

  • UA law school receives $26.5 million donation (CBS) "The University of Alabama School of Law announced [...] a $26.5 million donation from business executive and attorney Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr." 9/20/18

  • Windgate Foundation Makes Record $6.7 Million Donation for 3-D Arts Facility (KUAF) "A record gift to the arts at Arkansas State University [from the Windgate Foundation] will result in construction of a new building on the A-State campus in Jonesboro. Six-point-seven-million-dollars has been donated to A-State for the creation of a new building named the 'Windgate Center for Three-Dimensional Arts.'" 9/20/18

  • Why Gus Malzahn made $2 million donation toward football-specific facility at Auburn (Al.com) "After the program rewarded him with a new seven-year, $49 million contract in December, the sixth-year Tigers coach made his own financial contribution, as he and his wife Kristi recently made a $2 million donation toward a football-specific complex on campus." Auburn University is a land-grant and public research university in Auburn, Alabama. 9/19/18

  • Southwest Detroit neighborhood gets $2.5 million donation for revitalization (Click on Detroit) "A non profit group working to revitalize an eight block area of the Chadsey-Condon neighborhood in Southwest Detroit just got a significant boost in funding from the Yaker family. The family is donating $2.5 million to the group [...]." 9/19/18

  • $1 million donation goes to new WSU pollinator center (Capital Press) "Two alumni have donated $1 million toward Washington State University’s goal of establishing a pollinator center. Ken and Sue Christianson’s donation will help build the WSU Honey Bee and Pollinator Research Facility on the campus in Pullman." 9/18/18

  • Loyola gets $1.5 million gift to expand its entrepreneurship center (Times Examiner) "Loyola University New Orleans will now expand the scope of its Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development after receiving a $1.5 million gift from an anonymous donor [...]." 9/18/18

  • Seton YMCA gets new name after $3.5-million investment from Brookfield Residential (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Thank you Brookfield Residential! What an amazing gift to the citizens of Calgary. ViTreo is proud to have worked with YMCA Calgary on their recent Power of Potential campaign. "The name of a state-of-the-art southeast recreation centre was revealed Friday as the Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton. Brookfield Residential has invested $3.5 million in this YMCA, which was built by the City of Calgary and will provide opportunities for participation in a wide range of fitness, learning, leisure and recreation activities." 9/14/18

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