Weekly News Recap: April 23, 2021

Weekly News Recap: April 23, 2021

An artist's rendering of the $62-million expansion to Vivo for Healthier Generations, expected to be completed in 18 to 20 months. PHOTO BY COURTESY, VIVO /Postmedia

I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact. -- Elon Musk

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PHOTOGRAPHY

  • Winners of the 2021 World Press Photo Contest (The Atlantic) #Beautiful "The winning entries of the annual World Press Photo Contest have just been announced. [...] Winners in eight categories were announced, including Contemporary Issues, Environment, General News, Long-Term Projects, Nature, Portraits, Sports, and Spot News."

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • NASA’s Mars Helicopter Completes First Flight on Another Planet (New York Times) #Goosebumps -- the good kind. "A small robotic helicopter named Ingenuity made space exploration history on Monday when it lifted off the surface of Mars and hovered in the wispy air of the red planet. It was the first machine from Earth ever to fly like an airplane or a helicopter on another world."

  • Everything Has Been Terrible — And That Deepens The Good, Transformative Moment Of Getting Vaccinated (Buzzfeed) #Boom! More than 50% of the adult population in the U.S. has been vaccinated. "Four-point-six million people got vaccinated last Saturday in the United States."

  • This teen from B.C.'s Fraser Valley has never been to a drag show - but he's about to perform in one (CTV) FRASER VALLEY STORY Go Will! "Nineteen-year-old drag artist Will Davis has never met a drag queen in real life. Nor has he talked to one."

  • 27 distanced things to do in Calgary this week: April 19 to 25 (Daily Hive) CALGARY STORY Yes please! "As Calgary settles into spring, there’s lots to do in the city this week. Whether you want to get outside, take part in a virtual event from the comfort of your couch, or learn something new, you’re sure to find something on our list that fits your interests."

  • VIDEO: ‘This is incredible dedication’: Kelowna woman goes above and beyond to give back (Global News) KELOWNA STORY Love this woman! "Barbara Goebel has been a fixture at the Kelowna branch of the B.C. SPCA for 25 years. [...] 'It just gives me a huge sense of pride, it gives me fulfillment. It gives me purpose in the day,' Goebel said. 'I go to bed at night sometimes exhausted but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I get up the next morning and I look forward to doing exactly the same thing all over again.'"

  • 150 pounds off and counting: N.L. man uses lockdown to slim down (CBC) SASKATOON STORY #Inspiring "'A little over a year ago, I stepped on the scale and I was around 430 pounds,' White said from his home in Saskatoon, noting that most scales don't even go that high. It was during the Tiger King era of the pandemic, he says — referring to the Netflix docuseries that swept North America last year — that he and his wife, Laura, stared into the tiger's mouth, so to speak. After topping 430 pounds, White realized the pair had lots of bad habits to break."

  • Young dinosaur enthusiast inspires donation to Grande Prairie Public Library (Reach FM) GRANDE PRAIRIE STORY I heart this kid. "After hearing that his grandfather Randy Waldron, wanted to donate to a local charity, Owen Aube had a suggestion. He felt the money should go to the Grande Prairie Public Library for dinosaur books, as there were not enough."

  • The exchange project uniting young Americans during the pandemic (BBC) This is cool. "[This project] brainchild of David McCullough, who four-and-a-half years ago spent the summer driving from Boston to Cleveland to Texas and to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, studying the impact of poverty on education."

  • 'Whitest ever' paint reflects 98% of sunlight (BBC) Even paint is getting in on the action to save the planet :-) "Tests carried out by researchers at Purdue University on their "ultra-white" paint showed it reflected more than 98% of sunlight. That suggests, the scientists say, that it could help save energy and fight climate change. Painting "cool roofs" white is an energy-saving approach already being rolled out in some major cities."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Vivo set for groundbreaking of $62M expansion of N.E. rec centre (Calgary Herald) CALGARY STORY Congrats to Vivo! ViTreo is proud to have helped Vivo with its fundraising leading up to this event. "After nearly 10 years of working with stakeholders, Vivo for Healthier Generations is not going to miss out on a groundbreaking ceremony for its big expansion in Country Hills. Unfortunately, COVID restrictions will not allow for the type of ceremony Vivo’s chief evolution officer Cynthia Watson was dreaming of — it cannot be a large public gathering — but an official ceremony will be held on April 27."

  2. Like Gordie Howe, Patrick Marleau was made in Saskatchewan (CBC) SASKATCHWAN STORY Congratulations Patrick. My father-in-law was one of Patrick's many coaches. #Proud "Patrick Marleau grew up chasing cattle on a farm in Aneroid, Sask., where wheat fields dance on the wind-swept prairie. Every winter, he skated in unforgiving temperatures that made his fingers and toes go numb. His family clocked countless knuckle-gripping kilometres on slick back roads driving the boy to play hockey in nearby towns. All the while, young Patrick dreamed of becoming the next Saskatchewan product to make it to the National Hockey League. On Monday in Las Vegas, the San Jose Sharks forward set the record for the most career NHL games played (1,768), previously held by the most legendary of all Saskatchewan hockey players, the late Gordie Howe (who also logged 419 games in the WHA.)"

  3. 'Alberta boomers, step aside': Gen-Xers rally on social media as AstraZeneca vaccine eligibility expands (CBC) ALBERTA STORY #IKnewYouHadItInYouGenX "When eligibility for the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine expanded to include Albertans 40 and over on Tuesday, the so-called 'slacker generation' took just 24 hours to demolish the legitimacy of its nickname. Gen-Xers rushed to mass vaccination sites in Calgary and Edmonton like it was the opening of a John Hughes movie. Or a Nirvana concert. Or Blockbuster on a Friday night."

  4. SpaceX wins $2.9B contract for NASA moon lander (CBC) #GoSpaceX "NASA said on Friday it has awarded billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's private space company SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract to build a spacecraft to fly astronauts to the moon, picking it over Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and defence contractor Dynetics Inc."

  5. Saskatoon statue will honour Indigenous NHL trailblazer Fred Sasakamoose (CBC) SASKATOON STORY A lovely and well-deserved tribute! "The family of Fred Sasakamoose is proud that a statue of the groundbreaking NHL player has been commissioned and may take a place of honour at SaskTel Centre. The Saskatchewan-born Sasakamoose was the first person with treaty status to play in the league, and eventually went on to become chief of the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation, northwest of Prince Albert, Sask. The former NHL player died last November, after contracting COVID-19 at the age of 86."

  6. AltaLink receives highest honour from United Way of Calgary and Area for community impact (Global Newswire) CALGARY STORY Nice work Altalink! "'AltaLink is an incredible example of corporate leadership in the community – their entire team takes social good to heart, which we have seen first-hand for the past 20 years of partnership,' says Karen Young, President and CEO, United Way of Calgary and Area."

  7. Capilano University honours extraordinary alumni change makers (North Shore News) NORTH VANCOUVER STORY ViTreo is proud to be working with CapU. "Congrats to David Vertesi, Juvarya Veltkamp, Orene Askew, Michèle Ross, and Sean Aitken."

  8. Canadian Government Commits $360 Million for Quantum Research (HPC Wire) CANADIAN STORY Good move Canada. "The University of Calgary welcomes the Government of Canada’s investments in post-secondary education, research and innovation announced in Budget 2021. These announcements include: enhanced student education grants, pledged to create thousands of new work opportunities for youth and dedicated $360 million in new funding for a National Quantum Strategy to amplify Canada’s strength in quantum research and solidify Canada’s global leadership."

  9. Bohdan Medwidsky, champion of Ukrainian culture in Edmonton, dies of COVID-19 (Yahoo News) EDMONTON STORY Dr. Medwidsky, you were a pioneer and a proud Ukrainian. We will not see your like again. RIP. "Bohdan Medwidsky, a professor who pioneered the study of Ukrainian culture at the University of Alberta, died on March 28 in the COVID-19 ward at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital. He was 84. Medwidsky is best known for founding the Peter and Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore at the U of A."

  10. Black Lives Matter – possibly the most divisive issue in Westminster yet (NFP Synergy) Ugh. Work to be done here. Thanks to Mick Mulloy for sharing this story. "In our Charity Parliamentary Monitor, we regularly ask MPs about their perceptions towards different campaigns and movements. In 2020, we had the opportunity to ask 100 MPs about Black Lives Matter. We found that whilst almost all MPs in Westminster were aware of BLM, only 36% of MPs supported [it.] Only 6% of Conservative MPs said they supported BLM, compared to 82% of Labour MPs. We typically find higher levels of support among Labour MPs for campaigns. But this is the lowest level of support amongst Conservatives we’ve seen in our research in recent years."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. All You Need Are a Few Small Wins Every Day (Forge) One foot in front of the other. One breath after another. It adds up.

  2. How to Figure Out Everything You Need to Know About a Topic (SkillUp) This is cool if only for the AnswerThePublic website.

  3. 3 Key Tasks I Always Do Between 4 and 6 PM (Curious) Clean your desk.

  4. Signs You Are Likely to Make the Most of Your Life (Human Parts) Do you live above the line? (Hint: are you powerful or powerless?)

  5. If You’ve Got the Drive to Do It, Building These 4 Habits Is Definitely Worth It (Personal Growth) All of these are awesome but #1 and #4 are my favourites.

  6. This Terrifying Chart Helps Me Get Things Done (Forge) Eeek. There are only a few squares (relatively speaking) left on my chart. #TimeToGetBusy

  7. The Science Behind the New 4-Second Workout (elemental+) Do you have 1 minute a day to get fit?

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. THE BLACKNORTH INITIATIVE RECEIVES $1 MILLION DONATION FROM FAIRFAX FINANCIAL (BlackNorth) CANADIAN STORY Thank you Fairfax Financial! "The BlackNorth Initiative is proud to announce a $1 million donation from Fairfax Financial. This contribution, which will support organizational growth, educational programming and community projects, represents a sustained commitment to empower communities in which they work."

  2. Pope Francis Center receives $7 million donation for new housing project (Fox News) "A $7 million donation from a California-based foundation [has been] announced. [...] The center's new housing complex it wants to build will go toward ending chronic homelessness in Detroit. The center, which houses close to 200 people every day, caters to food, hygiene, housing, medical, and legal needs for those that struggle with stable living conditions."

  3. Penn State Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity continues to grow with $1 million donation from alumnus (The Collegian) Nice! "[The] Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity announced it would be renamed after alumnus Jeffrey A. Conrad, a 1983 Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences graduate. Conrad, the president and founder of AgIS Capital, made a $1 million donation to the CSGD in hopes of creating future scholarships and increased services at the center."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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