Friday July 29, 2011

____________________
Ted Talks

Josette Sheeran: Ending hunger now

Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN's World Food Program, talks about why, in a world with enough food for everyone, people still go hungry, still die of starvation, still use food as a weapon of war. Her vision: "Food is one issue that cannot be solved person by person. We have to stand together."

____________________
Opening

Grand Opening of the Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute September 16, 17 and 18

Waterloo - Stephen Hawking at PIJoin in the official Grand Opening of the Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute. Be among the first to experience the expanded facility, built from the ground up to help facilitate scientific research and discovery.

____________________
Physics

All 2010/2011 PI Public Lectures Are Online

Waterloo - The full 2010/11 PI Public Lecture Series - including talks by Freeman Dyson, Sir Roger Penrose and other science luminaries - are now available to enjoy on the PI website and via TVO. Watch Here.

____________________
PSA

Foodlink’s 8th Annual Taste Local! Taste Fresh! Returns to St. Jacobs September 18

Waterloo - Foodlink Waterloo Region’s local food showcase and fundraiser will be returning to St. Jacobs this year. The 8th Annual Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event will take place Sunday, September 18, 2011, 2-5 pm in Riverside Meadows Park, St. Jacobs. Once again guests will be able to spend a delightful afternoon outdoors tasting original food creations prepared by teams of the area’s finest chefs and farmers.

____________________
Education

2011 Desire2EXCEL Award Winners

Kitchener-Waterloo - Desire2Learn Incorporated, honored the winners of its 2011 Desire2EXCEL Awards program during FUSION 2011. The award program encourages development and sharing of best practices using Desire2Learn Learning Suite. The awards recognize users of Desire2Learn products who have demonstrated leadership, teamwork, originality and influence in the education community.

____________________
Communication

Conestoga Goes Mobile

Kitchener - Beginning August 1, users of smartphones and other mobile devices will have enhanced access to features and information on the Conestoga College website, thanks to a new, mobile-friendly web presence specifically developed to meet their needs.

____________________
Redevelopment

Improving Health Care For Families At Cambridge Memorial Hospital

Cambridge - Ontario is supporting a major expansion and renovation at Cambridge Memorial Hospital that will give families better access to state-of-the-art health care, closer to home.

____________________
Financial

Insurance Company Reports Second Quarter 2011 Results

GUELPH - Co-operators General Insurance Company (Co-operators General) released consolidated financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2011. Consolidated net income was $26.4 million compared to a net loss of $(2.6) million for the same quarter in 2010. This resulted in earnings per common share of $1.06 for the quarter compared to $(0.38) in the same period last year.

____________________
Unemployment

Closure of Historic Siemens Plant Sad Day for Hamilton

HAMILTON - The end of production this Friday at the historic Siemens gas turbine facility in Hamilton will be a difficult and sad day for workers and the local community. With the loss of these 550 jobs, Hamilton has lost more than 31,000 manufacturing jobs over the last seven years.

____________________
Union Alliance

United Steelworkers and Ontario Taxi Workers Solidify Alliance

TORONTO - The United Steelworkers and the Ontario Taxi Workers Union have signed an agreement that strengthens the partnership between the two unions.

____________________
PSA

OPG, OPP Have A Simple Water Safety Message: Stay Clear, Stay Safe

Higher numbers of drowning recorded in 2011. One is one too many.

TORONTO - Ontario Power Generation and the Ontario Provincial Police have a simple water safety message for this long weekend - Stay Clear, Stay Safe.

____________________
Environment

Zero Emission Mobility Within Reach for Canadians

MISSISSAUGA - Nissan Canada made history when it delivered the first all-electric Nissan LEAF in Canada, signaling the arrival of sustainable mobility to the Canadian mass market. PowerStream, the second largest municipally-owned electricity distribution company in Ontario, received keys to its two white Nissan LEAFs MY11, at an event at its head office in Vaughan, Ontario.

____________________
Prices

Gross domestic product by industry

Statscan - Real gross domestic product decreased 0.3% in May, after no change in April and a 0.3% increase in March. The mining, oil and gas extraction sector was the main source of the decline in May. Manufacturing and construction also fell. Wholesale and retail trade, the public sector, utilities as well as the finance and insurance sector increased. Transportation services were unchanged.

____________________
Prices

Industrial product and raw materials price indexes

Statscan - The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) decreased 0.3% in June compared with May, led by lower prices for petroleum and coal products. The Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) fell 2.2% as a result of lower prices for mineral fuels.

____________________
Housing

Welcome to Canada!

OTTAWA - You've made Canada your new home and are probably in the process of searching for a place of your own. Looking for a home can be a very exciting experience that can be both rewarding and challenging. As Canada's national housing agency, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has been providing Canadians - including new Canadians like you - with information and tools to help you make informed homeownership decisions.

____________________
Employment

Payroll employment, earnings and hours

Statscan - From April to May, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased 0.5% to $875.64. On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings were 3.3% higher compared with May 2010.