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B.C. must urgently change forest strategies or face more wildfire disasters: report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s independent forests watchdog is calling for the provincial government to make critical changes to how it manages forests to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.The report, released Thursday by the B.C. Forest Practices Board, says risk mitigation currently focuses on areas near communities, but leaves the wider forest landscape “severely vulnerable.”It comes as the largest wildfire in the province’s history, the Donnie Creek wildfire, continues to burn out of control in the remote northeast.“The key is there’s an urgency to this,” board chair Keith Atkinson said in an interview. “We’re obviously experiencing, maybe, our most severe year in front of us.”The report says in 2017, 2018, and 2021, B.C. experienced its three largest wildfire seasons in 102 years on record, affecting 34,000 square kilometres of land.“If the way forests and fire are managed doesn’t change, B.C. will face ma...

A pair of key economic reports coming from Statistics Canada and the Bank of Canada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

OTTAWA — A pair of key economic reports are due out this morning.Statistics Canada will release its report on how the economy fared in April when it releases its reading of gross domestic product for the month.The agency’s early estimate for April that it released last month had pointed to a gain of 0.2 per cent.The other report is coming from the Bank of Canada which will release its business outlook survey and its Canadian survey of consumer expectations.The readings on the economy come ahead of the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate decision on July 12.The central bank raised its key policy rate earlier this month to 4.75 per cent in its continuing fight to bring inflation back to its target of two per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2023.The Canadian Press

‘We’re addressing the symptom, not the cause’: A look at food banks across Canada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

The word “crisis” comes up quickly when speaking with those who run food banks across Canada. With inflation driving food prices higher while wages and support programs lag behind, numerous directors say demand at Canada’s food banks is greater than ever.In some cities, food banks have been forced to offer less to each person in order to meet demand. New Canadians and working, lower-middle class people are among those now lining up for food hampers.In the North, where food insecurity rates are already disproportionately high, a Yellowknife food bank says it has seen a 72 per cent increase in the number of children who don’t have enough to eat.Food banks were supposed to be temporary, said David Froh at the Regina Food Bank, which has now been operating for 40 years. He’s one of several directors who said they’re hoping for systemic solutions to poverty and hunger that would ensure people have adequate incomes, and that they could afford to buy eno...

Daily horoscope for June 30, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. EDT today (7 a.m. to 8 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Scorpio into Sagittarius.Happy Birthday for Friday, June 30, 2023:You have a quirky sense of humor. Relationships are important to you, even though you sometimes hide your feelings. This is a year of learning and exploring new ideas. Be open to philosophies and belief systems that will help you get closer to the true meaning of your life.ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★★Today you want to shake things up a bit. You want some adventure and stimulation! You will be adamant about what you want done at home or in your family, and you won’t hesitate to state your views, especially about home repairs. Tonight: Explore!TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★★★This is a fast-paced, energetic day! You might take a short trip. In discussions with others, you’ll be strong and very much to the point. People will be convinced by you because you will put a lot of your...

EU should not 'lower the bar' to take in Ukraine, says Denmark

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

Denmark supports EU membership for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the western Balkans but "geopolitical circumstances" did not justify skating over governance reforms, Finance Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (pictured) told the Financial Times on Thursday (29 June).The EU risks "importing instability" if it relaxes its standards on democracy and corruption to hasten the accession of Ukraine and other candidate countries, Rasmussen said in an interview with the newspaper.To join the EU, a country has to align its laws with many EU standards ranging from climate to labour. That process usually takes many years.When asked about Ukraine's membership in the EU, Rasmussen said that EU shouldn't "lower the bar" but instead help Ukraine with investments and assistance, the FT reported.Although Ukraine met two out of seven conditions to launch the EU membership process, an EU official familiar with the bloc's recommendations to Ukraine said that some key judicial reforms were needed.In 2019, th...

Miss Manners: I want to ditch a wedding planner who is proposing horrifying activities

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am planning my wedding, but feel stuck on two points.Point 1: How can I politely express to a vendor that I am no longer interested in their services? Do I need to give a reason, if I have been corresponding with them for some time?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I thought it was inappropriate for her to skip the funeral and show up for the food Advice | Miss Manners: I told the subway rider he was rude, and he got huffy Advice | Miss Manners: Why do they ask such questions about my groceries? Advice | Miss Manners: The bride isn’t friendly, plus I know she’s already married. Must I go to her wedding? Advice | Miss Manners: Am I right that it’s disgusting to put eyeglasses on a kitchen counter? The vendor in question has expressed a great deal of enthusiasm for those silly fluff activities common to weddings today, up to and (rather egregiously) including the...

Dear Abby: I can’t even play with cats correctly

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I am a 29-year-old housewife with a loving husband, a caring mother and equally supportive in-laws. I’m writing because I feel useless.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I prevailed in the dispute but it split our friend group Advice | Dear Abby: I’m sure his wife saw his inappropriate behavior with me Advice | Dear Abby: We can’t go out with her anymore, and we can’t tell her why Advice | Dear Abby: My daughters want to follow the same house rules as my son Advice | Dear Abby: He made my life miserable, and my daughter demands I socialize with him I don’t even have a hobby I’m good at. Although I like to play music, draw and play with cats, I don’t think I’m good at any of them, despite others telling me otherwise.My friends and family are better off than I am. My friend is participating in a skating competition, my brother is working toward be...

‘We’re doing it responsibly’: Gov. Moore on Maryland recreational weed legalization

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said weed legalization is what the people wanted on the DMV Download podcast. (WTOP/Luke Garrett) Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said weed legalization is what the people wanted on the DMV Download podcast. (WTOP/Luke Garrett) On July 1, Maryland will become the first jurisdiction in the D.C. region where adults 21 and older can buy weed for recreational use from a legal retail market.During a sit-down interview with WTOP’s DMV Download podcast, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said making recreational cannabis legal and creating a functioning market is what people wanted.“I’m just glad I didn’t have to run against cannabis because their margin was a lot bigger than ours,” Moo...

Vehicles searches, field sobriety tests: What marijuana legalization in Md. means for public safety

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

(new Image()).src = "https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384&cid=c2ffed0c-3624-46c0-b10f-97c976d290a3";cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384",mediaId: "159fa98a-4b9d-4563-8fba-fd5b43dfa671"}).render("e88a8f81080c4f51a4dbafae7c84e94c"); });The legalization of marijuana and marijuana-related products on July 1 will change a lot around the state of Maryland. But even as laws are changing, using marijuana the wrong way will still have consequences.Public safety leaders are warning people not to get the wrong impression about what is and isn’t allowed, even though one of the new laws taking effect limits what police can consider to search a vehicle for criminal conduct.Starting July 1, the odor of marijuana will no longer be enough of a reason for a police officer to stop a person or vehicle and conduct a search — a measure that got pushback from law enforcement agencies when lawmakers were debati...

EU leaders resume migration talks but Poland and Hungary’s governments slow progress

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:50 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders opened a second day of migration talks Friday as Poland and Hungary continued to block progress after they were outvoted earlier this month on a plan to share refugees arriving in Europe among the 27 member countries.Some leaders said that Poland and Hungary seemed to be fighting a battle started years ago, when well over 1 million migrants entered Europe, most of them refugees fleeing Syria, in 2015 and sparked one of the bloc’s biggest crises. Others said the two simply must not be permitted to break EU rules.“My feeling was there’s a lot of bitterness about the debates on migration from 2015,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters at EU headquarters in Brussels. “If you just say no to everything and everybody else tries to compromise that doesn’t really work out.”Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said that “Hungary was totally adamant” about having the issue removed altogether from the leader’s final summit commu...