Friday April 8, 2011

____________________
Ted Talks

Morgan Spurlock: The greatest TED Talk ever sold

With humor and persistence, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dives into the hidden but influential world of brand marketing, on his quest to make a completely sponsored film about sponsorship. (And yes, onstage naming rights for this talk were sponsored too. By whom and for how much? He'll tell you.)

____________________
CIW

Waterloo chosen as new home of comprehensive index of Canadian wellbeing

WATERLOO - The University of Waterloo, long known for innovation and as an international leader in health promotion, has been selected as the natural home of a comprehensive index that measures the wellbeing of Canadians.

____________________
Safety

inREACH Street Gang Prevention Honours First Graduates of Program

Waterloo – On Wednesday, March 16th, the Waterloo Region Street Gang Prevention Project, inREACH, honoured the first group of youth to graduate from the inaugural four-month session of the street gang prevention program.

____________________
Arts and Culture

You Can’t Stop the Beat!

Drayton Entertainment Brings Baltimore to St. Jacobs Country Playhouse

WATERLOO – Get ready for something really big with Hairspray, Broadway's musical-comedy phenomenon that inspired a major motion picture and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This larger-than-life production is set to shine at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse for a limited four-week run, from May 11th through June 4th.

____________________
Environment

Canada's environmental path could jeopardize long-term quality of life

Clear warning signs of potential threats to our environment and wellbeing

Waterloo - Soaring greenhouse gasses, increasing waste generation and energy use, declining stocks of large fish species, and shrinking water supplies in parts of the country - are offsetting gains like reduced air pollution emission levels, good water quality, and healthy forest bird populations, said a new environment report released by the Canadian Index of Wellbeing.

____________________
Engineering Competition

Waterloo-Wellington Science and Engineering Fair 2011 Winners

Waterloo - Ten students who competed at the Waterloo-Wellington Science and Engineering Fair have won an all-expenses paid trip to compete at the Canada-wide Science and Engineering Fair in Toronto, May 14 – 21, 2011.

____________________
PSA

K-W Counselling Services is pleased to present Stephen Lewis and Barbara Coloroso

Kitchener - What Matters Most – Making a Difference!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 6 pm Bingemans, Kitchener, Ontario Reception at 6 pm • Dinner at 7 pm • Keynote at 8 pm
Stephen Lewis: Canadian politician, diplomat, AIDS activist and Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University.
Barbar Coloroso: Bestselling author and internationally-recognized speaker and consultant on parenting and teaching Barbara Coloroso is well-known expert on parenting, teaching, school discipline, positive school climate, bullying, grieving, nonviolent conflict resolution and restorative justice.

____________________
Awards

Conestoga Names Co-op Students and Employer of the Year

KITCHENER - National Co-op Week, held this year from March 21 to 25, recognized the value and importance of co-operative education at colleges and universities across Canada. Conestoga marked the occasion by recognizing the recipients of its Co-op Student of the Year and Co-op Employer of the Year awards at a special reception at the Doon campus.

____________________
Environment

Four Green IT Solutions For Corporations Looking To Celebrate Earth Day

CAMBRIDGE – On April 22 many Canadian corporations will join the largest environmental event worldwide by participating in projects to address local environmental issues. For companies that have not yet planned an Earth Day initiative, award-winning IT consulting firm Xylotek Solutions says organizations need not fear. An easy Earth Day corporate initiative is to pledge to adopt a new green computing strategy.

____________________
Family

Caregiving Harming Employment, Careers, Research Shows

Guelph - Caring for an aging parent or a family member with a disability or chronic ailment is becoming a normal part of life for an increasing number of Canadians. But caregiving is also hurting finances and employment, according to new research by a team co-headed by a social scientist at the University of Guelph.

____________________

Research

Birds Must Choose Between Mating, Migrating, Study Finds

Guelph - Sex or nice weather. That's the agonizing choice some birds face, according to a new University of Guelph study. A team led by Guelph researchers discovered that for some male birds, travelling to areas with lighter rainfall comes at the cost of attracting a female when they return home.

____________________
PSA

2011 NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK EVENTS IN GUELPH

Guelph - Across Canada, National Volunteer Week is taking place from April 10 – April 16, 2011. Commemorating its 10th anniversary, the Volunteer Centre of Guelph/Wellington is celebrating this milestone with plans to make Canada’s most caring community even more caring.

____________________
Survey

New Survey Reveals the Challenges Faced by Canadian Families Living With Severe Food Allergies and Anaphylaxis

More Than Half of Parents of Allergic Children are Stressed

TORONTO - A new Canadian survey reveals that people living with anaphylaxis are worried, stressed and often limit common activities that are perceived as too risky. Parents with severely allergic kids are losing sleep about ordinary activities that other parents may take for granted: sending their kids to school, eating out at restaurants, traveling, and letting their kids attend summer camp.

____________________
Biodiversity

LEAF and OPG Want Families to Get Growing

Free native White Spruce seed kits available

TORONTO - LEAF - Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests and Ontario Power Generation have teamed up for the International Year of Forests to build awareness and promote the value of urban trees. They will be giving away free White Spruce seed kits at select Cadillac Fairview malls in the GTA for the next two weekends.

____________________
Housing

Ontario Home Starts Grow in March

TORONTO - Ontario preliminary Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of home starts across urban centres grew for a third consecutive month in March. An estimated 71,900 residential housing units broke ground, up from 63,300 units in February. Higher density construction, led by the apartment sector, drove housing starts activity. The single detached construction sector however posted modest declines in the latest month.

____________________
Conference

Speaker at Upcoming World Conference on Disaster Management Calls on World to Own Up to its Part in ‘Man-Made’ Natural Disasters

Renowned author and influential thinker Lester Brown to deliver opening address at conference, urging a tougher response to climate change

Toronto – There’s a new face to natural disasters and it’s time for modern civilization to do something about it, says Lester Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute and opening speaker at the 21st World Conference on Disaster Management, to be held in Toronto, June 19 to 22.

____________________
Entrepreneur Award

Carleton Alumnus Wins Student Entrepreneur of the Year

Ottawa – Carleton alumnus Pouria Ghods received the 2011 Student Entrepreneur of the Year award at the 2011 Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation Gala in recognition of a successful spinoff from Carleton University-Giatec Scientific Inc.

____________________
Business Growth

Global customer-centric strategy and corporate social responsibility recognized by leading research and innovation organization

Ottawa - FreeBalance, a For Profit Social Enterprise software company that helps governments around the world to leverage robust Government Resource Planning technology to accelerate country growth, today announced that FreeBalance President & CEO, Manuel Pietra, has been nominated for the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation Next Generation Executive Award. This “award recognizes an individual who has had a significant impact on the success and/or transformation of their organization as a direct result of their leadership.”

____________________
Housing

March 2011 Housing Starts

OTTAWA - The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 188,800 units in March, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This is up from 183,700 units in February 2011.

____________________
Acquisition

INNERGEX ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF STARDALE SOLAR PROJECT

Longueuil – Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. announces that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Enfinity NV, to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of the entity owning the rights to develop Enfinity’s 27-MWAC Stardale Photovoltaic Solar Project, located in Ontario, Canada. The consideration to be paid to Enfinity under the share purchase agreement is approximately $11.1 M, subject to certain price adjustments.

____________________
Employment

Labour Force Survey

Statscan - Overall employment was unchanged in March, as gains in full-time work were offset by declines in part time. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.7%. Over the past 12 months, employment has risen by 1.8% (+305,000).