Tuesday June 21, 2011

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Ted Talks

Maya Beiser(s) and her cello(s)

Cellist Maya Beiser plays a gorgeous eight-part modern etude with seven copies of herself, and segues into a meditative music/video hybrid -- using tech to create endless possibilities for transformative sound.

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Award

International Innovation Award Announced

Kitchener-Waterloo, Baltimore, and Saskatoon - Desire2Learn Incorporated, a leading provider of enterprise teaching and learning platforms, in conjunction with The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education announced the Desire2Learn Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning.

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Safety

Kitchener launches initiative on backyard pool safety

KITCHENER –The City of Kitchener’s aquatics and bylaw enforcement divisions are working together on a backyard pool safety initiative this summer to help prevent local swimming-related tragedies.

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Civic Planning

Draft Official Plan ready for public consultation

KITCHENER – After months of background projects and master plans, a draft of the city’s new Official Plan is now ready for public consultation. The draft was received by the planning and strategic initiatives committee. The draft of the new Official Plan will be made available to the community for review and comment.

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Environment

Local high school leads the way in Environmental Action

Cambridge/North Dumfries - Staff and students from Southwood Secondary School recently visited the rare Charitable Research Reserve, presenting a $2600 donation which the students raised themselves, to the board of directors of the local environmental organization.

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Currency

Get ready for more plastic in your wallet; Canada switching to polymer bills

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney holds a new $100 bill

OTTAWA -The Canadian Press - Get ready to have a little more plastic in your wallet. Starting in November, new polymer bank notes will start to replace paper-cotton bills that wear and tear more easily.

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Communication

BrowseAloud makes Orangeville’s website talk

Orangeville - To make public information more accessible to residents, the Town of Orangeville has recently added BrowseAloud to its website. The program, which reads web content out loud to users, will ensure that the website is easier to navigate for those in need of reading assistance.

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Contest

Mobio for BlackBerry Launches With Canadian Broadcast Contest

Mobile Payment Developer Celebrates Latest Product Offering by Giving Away Tablet PCs Via QR Codes on TV

VANCOUVER - Mobio Identity Systems, an international mobile payment and marketing company, is pleased to announce the launch of its flagship Mobio App for BlackBerry. This enables BlackBerry devices with all the mobile payment and identity management capabilities found on Mobio for iPhone and Mobio for Android applications.

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Health Survey

Canadian Community Health Survey

Statscan - In 2010, 6 in 10 Canadians, or 17.3 million people, aged 12 and older assessed their health as very good or excellent. At the same time, new data indicated some shifts in the health of the population.

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Trade

Retail trade

Statscan - Retail sales increased 0.3% to $37.4 billion in April. Gains were reported in 6 of 11 subsectors, representing 71% of retail sales. Excluding sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales were flat.

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Indicators

Leading indicators

Statscan - The composite leading index rose 1.0% in May after a 0.9% increase in April. The May increase equaled the largest advance this year. In comparison, the composite leading index rose 0.4% as recently as December 2010. In May, 9 of the 10 components increased, 1 more than the month before, while 1 declined. The manufacturing sector showed the largest improvement from the previous month.

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Guest Column

How to Say "No" the Right Way
By Carl Van

We all have to say no at times. Some people find it easier than others. What is interesting is that almost all of us struggle with the right way to say it.