1. SCHOOL’S OUT FOREVER Regina’s school board voted to close Connaught and bus local kids out of the neighbourhood. Does anyone believe this wasn’t their desire all along? Here’s what local parent and business owner Niall O’Hanlon wrote on Facebook: “I knew the day that the “temporary options” were presented to us you had already selected Wascana as the option, as this was the cheapest and easiest for you; however, you decided to pretend to be listening as that is what is expected of public officials.”
Pretty sure Niall’s not the only person saying this. Aside from trustees Carla Beck and Kathleen O’Reilly, public trust in this board is not likely to be high. Well, I’m sure some Sask Party hacks love ’em.
That school has needed work for years and the board let it decay. This reeks of implementing controversial public policy by deliberate, targeted neglect. This is an amazing, one-hundred-year-old school building. If board chair Katherine Gagne and her band of merry menaces lived in Europe, they’d be fighting to bulldoze every beloved neighbourhood heritage landmark in sight.
Anyway, here’s the story in the Leader-Post, on CJME and on our blog. Greg was at the meeting and he might have something later, too.
Board members are welcome to insist they don’t really hate heritage architecture in the comments below.
2. NOT IN MY BACKYARD Regina Regina-ish apartment haters be hatin‘.
3. FEDS REACH AGREEMENT WITH UNIONS Read all about it. Hell is probably very cold today.
4. LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND KIJIJI The Globe and Mail has a pretty interesting story on how online job postings screwed up the government’s job statistics. There’s an element of the usual “the Conservatives are bad with facts and reality” story here, but it’s an interesting read beyond that. Commentator Brad will like it. One more important detail: buried near the bottom of the story is the alarming information that in general, high income Canadians are the only Canadians earning more these days. That’s not fair, or right, or good for the economy.
5. A CONSERVATIVE MP PLANS TO INTRODUCE A RIGHT TO DIE BILL Winnipeg MP (also my dad’s MP) Steven Fletcher says he’ll introduce legislation. His party is opposed. I think it’s fucking barbaric to force people to live in suffering against their will, so good for Fletcher. But. I’m also once again irritated by the tendency of conservative people to only challenge the party line when issues touch their lives. Steven Fletcher is a quadriplegic, and I have no doubt that experience has given him valuable insight into the importance of practical, strictly-regulated and compassionate end-of-life legislation. That’s reasonable. But why do conservatives always seem to need personal experience to understand something? See also: mental illness, abortion rights, social programs, poverty, science, etc.
6. RUSSIA: MORE SANCTIONS AND A SEX BOYCOTT The G8 meeting in Russia was cancelled, the West discusses more sanctions and Ukrainian women advocate against sexual relations with Russians.
7. GIRAFFE-MURDERING ZOO EXECUTES LIONS TOO Boooo!
8. FLIGHT MH370: THE SEARCH CONTINUES Satellites might have spotted some debris.
9. “AT SUCH A TENDER YOUNG AGE, WITH HER EYES STILL CLOSED, SPRINKLES WAS IN A DELICATE CONDITION” I dare you to not click on this link. I double-dog dare you.
10. AVOID THESE THREE SIMPLE FOODS TO CONQUER EBOLA Bats, rats and monkeys: don’t eat ’em. Why would you want to anyway? Look at this thing.
