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UCP, NDP paint dystopian portraits of rivals ahead of expected election writ drop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

EDMONTON — The writ is expected to drop Monday in Alberta for an election campaign that effectively began weeks ago with both Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives and Rachel Notley’s New Democrats warning of the dystopian future should their opponents triumph. Polls suggest the battleground for the May 29 vote is clearly defined.  The UCP was bleeding support in its traditional rural strongholds over former premier Jason Kenney’s COVID-19 health restrictions and vaccine mandates. The bleeding has stopped, with support flooding back under Smith’s strong stance against COVID-19 rules along with her decision to fire the board of Alberta Health Services and dismiss the former chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw. Edmonton remains an NDP stronghold, leaving battleground Calgary as the pathway to victory or defeat. The NDP would need to win big in a city that is traditionally conservative blue. Polls suggest it is possible, but the NDP would need help elsewhere to eke out a...

‘It’s our highway:’ Researchers, Indigenous guardians monitor lake ice in N.W.T.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

LUTSEL K’E, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — Iris Catholique says over the past two decades, she’s noticed the waters of Great Slave Lake surrounding Lutsel K’e, N.W.T., taking longer to freeze in the winter. “In the past, the lake used to freeze by November, December and by early December, we’re able to travel through traditional trails and different small lakes between here and our traditional hunting grounds,” she said. “Now we can’t do that. We have to wait until after the lakes start to freeze in January.” The ice is not as thick in some areas at it used to be, Catholique added, and people from the community also have to travel farther to find caribou and muskox. Catholique is manager of Thaidene Nene, meaning “the land of the ancestors” in Denesuline Yati, an Indigenous protected area larger than 26,000 square kilometres on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake near Lutsel K’e. The community, home to more than 300 peopl...

Grand & Toy launches ‘brand refresh’ as it narrows focus to business customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

Grand & Toy invented next-day delivery, so the story goes. In 1882, long before online stores and big-box retail, the Canadian office supplies company loaded goods onto a wheelbarrow or horse-drawn wagon and delivered items to business customers within a day.The company grew steadily for a century, opening dozens of stores and becoming a household name in Canada for office catalogues and back-to-school supplies.Then, after a period of mounting competition from U.S. retailers like Staples and Walmart that saw the company sold to a U.S. firm, Grand & Toy closed all its retail locations in 2014.While the company’s legacy as an office supply store in the mall remains in the minds of some consumers, Grand & Toy has spent nearly a decade returning to its 141-year-old roots as a business-to-business supplier of office products and services. “People grew up with the brand and remember buying school supplies at Grand & Toy,” said Chris Henwood, senior direct...

List of most expensive ZIP codes released

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – If you want to live in California, you've got expensive taste – whether you like it or not.Real estate brokerage Clever recently released an updated list of the most expensive ZIP codes in the U.S., and the top 10 is dominated by exclusive enclaves around the Golden State. Beverly Hills' 90210 may be the most famous ZIP code in the country – thanks to the 1990s TV show – but it's actually not the priciest. That honor goes to Atherton, home to some of Silicon Valley's wealthiest. The ZIP code has a shockingly high typical home value of $7.36 million These cities saw home prices triple. Then what happened? Another five California neighborhoods make appearances, including the town Oprah and Prince Harry call home, Montecito.Outside of California, two other states are represented on the top 10. New York has two spots on the list, both in Suffolk County on the eastern side of Long Island. The final ZIP code is in Washington state in Medina. The city is across Lake Washingto...

Over 3,000 firearms turned in during statewide gun buyback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Over 3,000 guns were turned in during the statewide community gun buyback events hosted by Attorney General Letitia James and law enforcement agencies. 357 firearms were turned in locally at the buyback event hosted by Watervliet, Cohoes, Colonie, Green Island, and Menands police departments. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “Gun violence has caused so many avoidable tragedies and robbed us of so many innocent New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. "Every gun that we removed out of Watervliet homes and off the streets is a potential tragedy averted and another step in protecting communities throughout New York state.” Some of the firearms brought in to the Watervliet gun buyback include 27 assault rifles, 153 handguns, and 114 long guns. “Gun violence is not a single solution problem,” said Watervliet Police Chief Joseph Centanni. “I am hopeful that these events will assist in the larger effort t...

Sip wine in a cave at this award-winning Missouri vineyard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo -- What could be more Missourian than going to a cave to drink wine? Ste. Genevieve's Cave Vineyard is a place to go. In 1995 When Marty and Mary Jo Strussione first bought their property in southeast Missouri, they had no plans to make wine. However, when Marty retired and learned that grapes could be grown there, their retirement project turned into the award-winning Cave Vineyard, which was opened in 2004 and is still run by the family.After Marty retired from St. Louis healthcare, he and his wife, Mary, built a home to retire in. Marty discovered that the property was ripe for grape growing. He had experience making homemade wine with his grandfather. The retirement project, now known as Cave Vineyard, opened in 2004. All four of Marty and Mary Jo's daughters, their sons-in-law, and their grandkids all help at the winery during the summer.Award winning Most of the grapes for these wines come from their 15-acre family-owned farm. Cave Vineyard has won sev...

Emerging trends: Are Smartwatch casinos the future of gaming?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

Smartwatches are already being used for various purposes, including fitness tracking, communication, and mobile payments, but who would have ever imagined that they could also be used for gaming? Today we are not only talking about playing games on smartwatches but also about smartwatch casinos.The emergence of SmartwatchesSmartwatches are wearable devices equipped with computing power and connectivity, allowing them to perform various functions like a smartphone, such as connecting to the Internet, making phone calls, and sending text messages.Smartwatches have been around since the early 2010s, but it wasn't until later in the decade that they started to gain widespread adoption. One of the early pioneers in the smartwatch was Apple, which released its first, the Apple Watch, in 2015. Since then, a number of other companies have entered the smartwatch market, including Samsung, Garmin, and Fitbit.Smartwatch casinos and how they operateSmartwatches are a relatively recent technolog...

Amid global challenges, Kazakh president says his country’s freedom and independence are indestructible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has celebrated both ethnic diversity and national unity in a major speech. He told the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan that “the independence and territorial integrity of our country are above all”, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.President Tokayev’s speech to the body that brings together all of Kazakhstan’s ethnic groups gave an insight into what gave him the confidence to press ahead with major constitutional reforms. He has carried out a political transformation in the aftermath of domestic unrest and in the midst of geopolitical upheaval.“The importance of protecting sovereignty and preserving national identity has increased for states”, he told the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. He went on to stress that national civil identity does not reject ethnic characteristics. “Each ethnic group in Kazakhstan has had and will have the opportunity to develop its own traditions, culture, language”.Kazakhstan’s multiethnic makeup is a consequ...

Small plane crashes into hillside in Beverly Crest; 1 dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

Authorities are investigating the crash of a small, single-engine plane into a mountainside in Beverly Crest on Saturday night that killed the only occupant.The Los Angeles Fire Department was contacted by air traffic control personnel requesting assistance in locating a plane that had gone missing around 8 p.m. Saturday night. Thick fog made a search by air impossible, so more than a dozen firefighters conducted a three-hour search on foot for the aircraft, which was eventually found near the 3500 block of Beverly Glen Terrace. The plane crashed on a steep hillside near a large water tank and close to several homes, giving residents quite the scare. A firefighter at the scene of a fatal plane crash near Mulholland Drive in Beverly Crest. April 29, 2023. (ANG)One person died when a single-engine Cessna crashed near homes in the Beverly Crest area. April 29, 2023. (ANG)One person died when a single-engine Cessna crashed near homes in the Beverly Crest area. April 29, 2...

List of most expensive ZIP codes released: Guess how many are in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:58 GMT

If you want to live in California, you've got expensive taste – whether you like it or not.Real estate brokerage Clever recently released an updated list of the most expensive ZIP codes in the U.S., and it will surprise exactly zero Californians to learn the list is dominated by exclusive enclaves around the Golden State. Beverly Hills' 90210 may be the most famous ZIP code in the country – thanks to the 1990s TV show – but it's actually not the priciest. These California counties have the lowest home prices Atherton, home to some of Silicon Valley's wealthiest, takes the top spot with a shockingly high typical home value of $7.36 million. Another neighborhood about 15 minutes down I-280 also makes the list. Los Altos' 94022 has a typical home value of $4.26 million in 2023, according to Clever's analysis. Another four Southern California neighborhoods make appearances: the North of Montana/Pacific Palisades area (90402), the town Oprah and Prince Harry call home (Montecito, 9310...