Weekly News Recap: March 17, 2023

Weekly News Recap: March 17, 2023

The Vancouver Folk Music Festival takes place at Jericho Beach, framed by the ocean and the North Shore mountains. (Richard Scorie/VFMF)

My idea of heaven is a place where the Tyne meets the Delta, where folk music meets the blues. -- Mark Knopfler

🍀 Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Ranch-flavored ice cream is coming—and it will soon be all over TikTok (Fast Company) #Umm "Ranch dressing is a staple condiment that works well with pretty much anything from pizza to chicken wings to salad. But does it work as an ice cream? Artisanal ice cream maker Van Leeuwen Ice Cream and Hidden Valley Ranch seem to think so. They’ve partnered on a limited-time offering of a ranch-flavored ice cream, available at Walmart later this month."

  • New York landlord becomes legal guardian of 93-year-old Holocaust survivor: 'She had no one else' (Yahoo News) Good for him for taking this on. "Brock Cvijanovich, the owner of a New York-based property management company, became the unlikely guardian of a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor after saving her life last year. It was a turn of events that no one, including Cvijanovich, had expected. In September 2021, Cvijanovich, CEO of KOmanage and KORgroup, made a deal to buy one of his first apartment buildings in Binghamton, in upstate New York. The deal, however, came with an unusual condition. He had to take care of a 93-year-old building resident named Alice Schuman."

  • VIDEO: Watch this diver plunge into icy Swiss lake (CBC) Eeek! "Czech diver David Vencl dove 50 metres straight down into the icy waters of Switzerland's Lake Sils on Tuesday. His promoter said the most difficult thing was the pressure on his eyes and ears."

  • Victoria non-profit creates 3D-printed prosthetic arms for amputees in Ukraine (CBC) VICTORIA STORY #HowGreatIsThis "Dechev is the founder and chief technical officer of the Victoria Hand Project, a non-profit based in B.C.'s capital that provides low-cost, fully functioning 3D-printed prosthetic arms to amputees in resource-poor countries. The group's Hands for Ukraine project was launched shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine and demand for prosthetics ballooned, he said. So far, recipients in Ukraine have included accident victims and a three-year-old boy born without a right arm. The goal is to help war victims too."

  • Hot sauce expo turns up the heat in Lethbridge (CBC) LETHBRIDGE STORY #HaChaCha "It was a snowy Saturday in southern Alberta, but it was scorching hot at Exhibition Park in Lethbridge. According to Dylan Lowry, the organizer behind the day-long hot sauce exhibition dubbed Heating Up The Prairies, the event was the first of its kind in Western Canada. Lowry, the owner of Beyond Hot, a specialty hot sauce store in Lethbridge, said the turnout showed off the amount of talent in southern Alberta's hot sauce scene."

  • PHOTOS: A doggone good time at Vernon’s SilverStar Mountain Resort (Summerland Review) VERNON STORY "Plenty of playful pooches came out to celebrate Dog Day at Vernon’s SilverStar Mountain Resort [...] There were a number of events on Dog Day, including a parade around the village, a 'Wicked Weiner Race' open to all dog breeds, an avalanche dog talk featuring rescue pup Lumi, an obstacle course, a skills freestyle, a doggy dance-off and awards and prizes. The event raised funds for the Vernon branch of the BC SPCA to help animals in need."

  • Scientists taught individual bees to solve puzzles. Soon, whole colonies knew how (CBC) The world continues to astound. "Bumblebees are social learners who follow cultural trends, a new study suggests. New research out of the U.K. shows that if you teach a bumblebee how to solve a puzzle in order to get a tasty treat, other bees in the colony will quickly learn that same skill through observation. And when bees are shown multiple solutions to the same puzzle, a colony will — over time — develop a preference for one technique over another."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Calgary Marathon unveils historic new-look race medals (Running Magazine) CALGARY STORY Nice update! "The hardware at the Calgary Marathon is getting a new look. Runners who complete any of the six races during the 2023 Servus Calgary Marathon weekend will receive an iconic Calgary Public Library-themed medal to celebrate the city’s new Central Library."

  2. Vancouver Folk Festival is back on after 'huge outpouring' of support and donations, organizers say (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY Yay! "After the board of the Vancouver Folk Festival announced in January it would be dissolving due to financial challenges brought on by the pandemic and mounting production costs, the Folk Fest Board announced the event will be going ahead after all. The news comes after the festival put cancellations plans on hold when a number of investors stepped up. Last month, the province also announced the creation of a $30-million fund to provide one-time grants of up to $250,000 to fairs, festivals, and other qualifying events. 'Last month's funding announcement by the B.C. government was a game-changer for the festival,' said folk festival board president Erin Mullan in a written statement. 'This new funding, combined with the strong support of our other funders, partners, other festivals, and the community at large, means we can hold a 2023 festival.'"

  3. Winnipeg is famous for its Fat Boy burgers. This man is on a quest to try them all (CBC) WINNIPEG STORY Mmmmm. "To a non-Winnipegger, a Fat Boy may appear, at first glance, to be nothing more than an ordinary chili burger. 'I would say the first bite being half across your face would say otherwise,' Richard Caron — a Winnipeg chef and Fat Boy connoisseur — told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 'If your burger is not mostly disintegrated by the last two or three bites, then I would say you're not getting a proper Fat Boy.' The Fat Boy has been a Winnipeg staple for decades. You can find different versions of it all across the city, but at its core, it's a cheeseburger topped with mayonnaise, mustard, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles — and most importantly — a generous dollop of meat sauce."

  4. City of Trail, B.C., to offer free lifeguard training in hopes of re-opening its pools on weekends (CBC) TRAIL STORY Crisis breeds ingenuity. Nicely done Trail. "A swimming facility in B.C.'s West Kootenay is offering free lifeguard training in hopes of hiring qualified staff and re-opening its pools during the weekends. The Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre has been closed on Sundays and Mondays since Feb. 26 due to a lifeguard shortage. Trisha Davison, director of parks and recreation with the City of Trail — home to about 8,000 people, about 11 kilometres north of the Canada-U.S. border — says the city is funding five certification courses worth an estimated $1,800 in total per person for people interested in working as a lifeguard for the aquatic centre."

  5. Researchers Say They've Come Up With a Blueprint for Creating a Wormhole in a Lab (Futurism) I mean...what could go wrong? "Humans may have gotten one step closer to figuring out how to make wormholes thanks to fascinating new research. That's at least according to Hatim Saleh, a research fellow at the University of Bristol and co-founder of the startup DotQuantum, who claims to have invented what he calls 'counterportation,' which "provides the first-ever practical blueprint for creating in the lab a wormhole that verifiably bridges [space.]"

  6. Do private, for-profit clinics save taxpayers money and reduce wait times? The data says no (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "There's a lot of talk these days about an increased role for private health-care clinics in Canada, sparked in part by Premier Doug Ford's plans to significantly increase the number of Ontario surgeries done in for-profit clinics. Despite promises from Ford and others that it will streamline services and solve the issue of long wait times, health-care professionals that CBC News interviewed say there are nuances and that such happy outcomes are not borne out by the data. In fact, data from B.C. and from other countries suggests private, for-profit surgery clinics will likely increase the true cost to taxpayers and could worsen wait times in Ontario hospitals."

  7. High jump pioneer, icon and 1968 Olympic champion Dick Fosbury dies at 76 (CBC) Farewell Mr. Fosbury. You left the world a better place. RIP. We will not see your like again. "Olympic high jump champion Dick Fosbury, who revolutionized the event with a radically different jumping technique that was eventually named after him, died on Sunday at 76, his agent Ray Schulte said Monday. Fosbury won gold for the U.S. in the high jump at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where the six-foot-four athlete jumped back first to clear the bar, a technique that has since been named the 'Fosbury Flop' and used by all high jumpers today."

  8. B.C. doctor says trendy diabetes medication isn’t a solution for most people trying to lose weight (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY As a diabetic who uses it, it is the bomb but for weight loss alone, I agree with this doctor.

  9. Jesuits of Canada release names of priests 'credibly accused' of sexually abusing minors (CBC) CANADIAN STORY WARNING: This article contains detailed discussion of the sexual abuse of minors. "The Jesuits of Canada, a religious order of the Catholic Church, has released a list of 27 priests and brothers it says were 'credibly accused' of sexually abusing minors over the past six decades. 'Over the past three or more decades, revelations of grievous abuse by clergy dating back many generations have come to light, and the Church has been slow to respond,' Father Erik Oland, leader of the Jesuits of Canada, said in a letter to the public posted Monday on the Jesuits of Canada website.' As we have met with survivors, listened to their stories and read the reports of their experiences, we have felt shame and become convinced that the only path forward is one of truth-telling, healing and reconciliation.'"

  10. Mental health facility in Calgary to open its doors for children and youth (CBC) CALGARY STORY #LoveThis "A dedicated centre for child and adolescent mental health is to soon open its doors to Calgary and area youth and their families. The \$39-million facility — called The Summit: Marian & Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience — is scheduled to open in the city's northwest [...] Health-care teams at the facility are to offer mental health services with the goal of reducing the number of crises through early intervention and treatment."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Gmail will write your emails for you. Google announces generative AI tools across Workspace (Fast Company) I can't wait to try it out. Will give our readers an update at a future date.

  2. How to Create Your Optimal Bedtime Routine (Wired) Remember when you were a child. This was everything. Turns out, it still is.

  3. ‘Ted Lasso’ shows us why leaders should aspire to be kind, rather than cutthroat (Fast Company) I have learned a ton about leadership from Ted Lasso.

  4. Excel Dashboards: Create Dynamic and Interactive Reports (Manish Salunke) I am totally taking this course.

  5. Sculpt Your Body at Home with Kettlebells: A Comprehensive Guide (Dejorn Belcher) I have a love/hate relationship with Kettlebells. But, more and more, I am learning to love them.

  6. 4 (More) Books to Read in 2023 (Trevor William Horn) If only for "Four Thousand Weeks".

  7. The Four-Day Workweek And Its Effect On Unemployment And Productivity (Illumination) Turns out, it's not all good.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. BIG DONATION MADE TO HELP BUILD NEW HOSPITAL IN NIAGARA FALLS (IHeartRadio) NIAGARA FALLS STORY Nice gift. "A big donation has been made to help build the new hospital in Niagara Falls. The Niagara Health Foundation has announced the McCall MacBain Foundation has pledged $5 million to the It's Our Future campaign in support of the new South Niagara hospital."

  2. South Bay's Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Receives $25M Donation (Patch) "The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network received a $25 million gift aimed at bolstering the Manhattan Beach-based organization's efforts to detect the disease earlier and find better treatment options [...] The gift was made in memory of mutual fund investment expert Skip Viragh, and it builds on other donations his family has made to PanCAN since 2004, totaling more than $70 million, an unprecedented amount for the organization. Viragh died from pancreatic cancer in 2003."

  3. $1 million donation to support education programs related to nation’s 250th anniversary (Augusta Free Press) "The Virginia 250 Commission has announced a $1 million donation from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation in support of statewide programs commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence and Virginia’s key role in achieving it."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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