HAL’S HEADLINES: Sending my love to Jasperites

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I have to begin this week with what’s happened in Jasper, a beautiful place that I first fell in love with as a child growing up in southern Alberta. I’m so sad about it. The destruction is devastating but thank God no one was hurt. I’m confident the tight-knit community will be rebuilt for the people who call it home and the many who love to visit it. But let me say this, with our weather changing, the federal and provincial governments need to invest more in wildfire mitigation to try to keep something like this from happening again.

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BEEF & BOUQUET FOR MAYOR

Remember Beefs & Bouquets on CJOB? Red Alix did it first and then I brought it back later. Well, I’ve got one of each for Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham. I’ll start with the bouquet. I’m glad to see the city is finally hiring for Gillingham’s Neighbourhood Action Teams. I thought this was one of his better campaign pledges. But it’s taken way too long. We’re approaching two years with him in the big chair at City Hall and people are just now being hired?! Better late than never, I guess. I hope these teams work as well as he promised they would. And now the beef. Sometimes it’s not what you do but how you do it. Gillingham has every right to change up his inner circle but booting St. Vital city councillor Brian Mayes from the Executive Policy Committee and as chair of Waste and Water, while he was in Atlanta working on the file, felt mean to me. Why not tell Mayes before he gets on the plane or after he returns. The mayor also removed Mayes from EPC just six days short of councillor Bill Clement’s record. Ouch! I guess that’s what you get for not falling in line on housing. Go get ‘em, Brian! I think more dissenting voices at 510 Main Street can be a good thing.

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‘HEALTH REFORM NOW’

Think tank Second Street has released a new documentary on health care in Canada. Health Reform Now is a quick watch, just 40 minutes. And while you may not agree with all the possible solutions presented in the doc, I believe we have to start looking at this very complex issue differently to try to figure out what to do because the status quo simply isn’t cutting it. I understand why Canadians are protective of our universal health care system but maybe we’ve become overly protective. The doc can be seen for free at HealthReformNow.ca.

PARENTING WITH HUMOR

Researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine have confirmed that humour is a very important skill for parents. They surveyed 300 people about their experiences being raised with or without humour. Those who were brought up by moms and dads with humour were found to have a more positive view of their parents. They’re also more likely to say they’ve got a good relationship with them, think they did a good job and feel they’ll use the same parenting techniques. Parenting with humour can diffuse sour moods, create bonds, relieve stress and promote language and literacy skills. And of course, the parents benefit too.

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MUSIC & COGNITIVE ABILITY

A new study from Memorial University of Newfoundland has discovered that older adults can recognize musical themes just as well as younger people. This could mean that music is a key to keeping cognitive abilities sharp as we age. Familiarity with different types of music also seems to help with recognition and memory. So whatever artist or genre you like, crank it up.

— Hal has written columns for years. He’s also the host of Connecting Winnipeg weekday mornings from 10 to noon on 680 CJOB. You can email him at Hal@HalAnderson.ca.

Have thoughts on what’s going on in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada or across the world? Send us a letter to the editor at wpgsun.letters@kleinmedia.ca

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