Malcolm

Officials explain how explosives will demolish bridge truss (wbaltv.com)

something to keep an eye on today Controlled demolition scheduled Sunday at collapsed Baltimore bridge site | Salon.com

Editor's note May 9, 2024: As part of our Calgary at a Crossroads project in 2016, we asked Rex Murphy to write about our city during a troubled economic period. Murphy had spent a lot of time in and around our city over the years. He died this week at the age of 77. Here's what he had to say. Rex Murphy · CBC News · Posted: Feb 10, 2016 6:00 AM MST | Last Updated: 16 minutes ago on May 12, 2024 Murphy on Calgary: 'Where are the city's allies?' 'Were I a Calgarian, I’d be first perplexed, and then perhaps angry,' wrote Newfoundland columnist and pundit Rex Murphy · CBC News · Posted: Feb 10, 2016 6:00 AM MST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago The setting sun illuminates downtown Calgary as afternoon commuters make their way home. (Evelyne Asselin/CBC) Social Sharing Facebook X Email Reddit LinkedIn Editor's note May 9, 2024: As part of our Calgary at a Crossroads project in 2016, we asked Rex Murphy to write about our city during a troubled economic period. Murphy had spent a lot of time in and around our city over the years. He died this week at the age of 77. Here's what he had to say. It is impossible to know a place, fully, without living in it. So what Calgarians are feeling now, the direction and tone of their thoughts, during this collapse of the oil economy, is best and only completely known to — Calgarians. Nonetheless there are many who do not live in Calgary, and may still make reasonable assumptions of how those who do live there must be thinking and feeling during this shock and downturn. Very many Canadians, from every province, have either visited Calgary, or have found themselves working there. And of that lucky class it is needless to point out that a very great number of them came from Newfoundland. ANALYSIS | How to fix Calgary's downtown ghost town Wealthy Albertans look to avoid tax pain — for now Newfoundlanders have, I think, a very good notion, of what it must feel like now in Calgary when an economy, on which so much has depended, has been massively jolted (a) because we have so often experienced it, and (b) because so many of us found relief for our economic distress from the days of Calgary's prosperity. Newfoundland's economy (and much more besides, but I'll leave collateral matters for another time) was hit savagely in the early 1990s. The great traditional fishery collapsed. The inshore fishery was devastated. Thirty-one-thousand fishermen received the news, in a single day, that for some years to come there would be no fishing. None at all. Thirty-one-thousand were abruptly told to stop their work, forsake their incomes, and if possible look elsewhere for employment. Let me be quick in the telling. Very, very many of them, of all ages, men and women, turned at the bleak moment to the mainland, and in particular to the Alberta oil field and all the industries and businesses allied with it. At one of the hardest moments since our Confederation with Canada, Newfoundlanders found some relief in the economy of another province. Suddenly, Calgary (and Edmonton, Red Deer, Fort McMurray) were names as familiar on Newfoundland lips as St. John's or Corner Brook. Surveyor Bob Coady works in the middle of a tour of politicians at the construction site of the hydroelectric facility at Muskrat Falls, NL, on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Good jobs like these have been hard to find in the Atlantic province. (Andrew Vaughan / Canadian Press) In other words, at a time of Newfoundland's need, Calgary and Alberta offered more than welcome. It offered jobs. Jobs by the thousands. Thus, at this time, when it is Calgary that is getting the hit and the province as a whole, I know — I do not think, I know — that many Newfoundlanders wonder why your city is not receiving a wider, deeper wave of interest, or concern, during its crisis. Jingle mail rears its ugly head in Alberta again Alberta has lost its focus,' says B.C. in throne speech slam You helped us during our bad spell, and citizens of other provinces too, is the thought. Why there is not now, that the dynamic is reversed, a harvest of equal return? For I sense, in some quarters at least, that there is not. That maybe Calgary, or the West , having — such is the line — had it so good for so long, having been on top of the game, could take a little knockdown, that because it's "out there" in the petrostate, that maybe, you know, a little "cooling off" is not so bad. You won't hear or feel that sentiment when it's the auto industry, or any other for that matter. But downtime in the oil industry … well, that's always different. Aren't they dirty jobs, anyway? This is not a universal, or even, majority sentiment. But it is an attitude still too widely shared. Mining trucks carry loads of oil-laden sand at an oilsands project near Fort McMurray, Alta. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press) And so, if I were a Calgarian, I'd be feeling more than a little unsettled that a downturn here is either "business as usual" or just "the way things turn" or that Calgarians can take it, you know, things will eventually turn over. I'd also feel that since we were of such assistance — even if secondarily to the rest of the country (the Calgary economy was first for Calgary, and then for others) — then perhaps there should be more of a political and social urgency to, to use familiar language, return the favour. Another thought that would be busy, in my head anyway, was how so many factions, NGOs, mayors, and even premiers, particularly during the days of "prosperity" made it their business to whack the oil economy of my city and province with alarms, and press releases and even nasty-spirited contempt for "oil." The attitude of the greens and their allied provocateurs, Dalton McGuinty to name but one premier from that time, all the dim-minded celebrities that took their jaunts to the oilsands to mewl over its planet-destroying potential — the Suzukis and Neil Youngs — has always been fervidly anti-Alberta, reckless with the province's reputation, and deeply disrespectful of its workforce. Neil Young compared working in the oilpatch with "Hiroshima." Neil Young, right, speaks during a press conference for the 'Honour the Treaties' tour, a 2014 series of benefit concerts being held to raise money for a legal fight against the expansion of the Athabasca oilsands. (Mark Blinch/Canadian Press) I would be asking of them: Why Us? Why, only us? Are there no other pipelines in the world? Are there no other oil economies? Are there not huge projects elsewhere to claim their self-aggrandizing attentions, projects of far more scale and far less regulated than the one in their own country — that supplied such relief to Canadians in terms or jobs, and to the national economy in that invisible pipeline that brought the equalization dollars from Calgary and Edmonton to Ottawa, Montreal and beyond? I'd be asking why the production of oil, as opposed to the use of it — and it is used in everything by everybody, every other industry, every other product, all of our current civilization — why production is demonized by its (mainly) fanatic opponents? How can something be so bad to produce which everyone uses and chooses to delightfully use? That's the paradox of the whole green movement there, and Calgarians must find that paradox wholly exasperating. Why is the production of gasoline so heavily criticized while the consumption of it remains relatively acceptable, Rex Murphy wonders, on behalf of Calgarians. (Canadian Press) Why, during the prosperous times, when so much of Canada and so many Canadians were benefiting, and glad to benefit from Calgary and Alberta, were there so few national or local voices speaking the meaning of the Calgary boom? The boom had its national dimension; it supplied at least a partial underpinning of the Canadian state in a time of recession. It sheltered other provinces — Newfoundland, as I have recorded, being the most outstanding example — from depression or lesser but still painful circumstances. Could not we have heard during that period of its positive effects, its central value to economies and citizens outside Calgary? Outside Alberta? The tale of the oilsands has always been told from the mouths of its critics. If I were a Calgarian, I'd wonder about that. And the critics bark without scrutiny, never receive the zealous oversight they impose on the industry. Environmental reporting is heinously one-sided and close-minded. In many and substantial ways the term "environmental reporting" is a contradiction in terms. Where were the city's allies? would be my question. Where were all those who directly and indirectly benefited from Calgary's industry telling the other side of this story — that employment is the best social program, that a huge project gathering workers from all parts of Canada was building new ties and new understandings between Canadians. Two workers clamp down a drill pipe at an oilsands site in northern Alberta. (Norm Betts/Bloomberg News) That Calgary and Alberta were, partly because of the oil industry, earning new stature in the Confederation, and the Confederation becoming more "balanced" as a result. Were I a Calgarian, I'd feel a little let down then, and more let down now when the oil price crisis is in full mode, that other matters, other issues dominate the national agenda. That in the time of Calgary and Alberta's biggest challenge in decades the focus seems is on all the factors that could further depress the very economy that is already under full stress, rather than relief for those being the brunt of the downturn. Instead what do Calgarians hear and see every day? Ban every pipeline. Increase the regulations. Sign climate agreements in Paris. Have mayors from out east dump sewage by the billion litres into the St. Lawrence and next day slur Alberta and offer a furious "No!" to Energy East. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has called the Energy East pipeline 'risky' and questioned its economic benefit to Montreal. (Radio-Canada) Obama turns down Keystone XL? Where's the outrage from the new PM? For years under the previous government — which were far from cheerleaders — how few full speeches there were from ministers or the prime minister, making the case for the oilsands? Why was the process so often delayed and deferred? There was something to object to on every proposed pipeline. Down in the U.S., the State Department piled review on top of review. With our own new government, we see the beginnings of the same game. Its first moves are to increase the NEB guidelines, and simultaneously in Paris highlight that its absolute, number-one priority is to lead the international community on the nebulous catastrophe of future warming. Paris ranks over Calgary when it comes to talking pipelines, or establishing access for Alberta oil. All of these questions would occupy me, and as said — I'd wonder why this is so. Were I a Calgarian, I'd be first perplexed, and then perhaps angry. Finally, and this would be my most serious thought, if the depression of the economy out West would act to put us on the political sidelines of the nation. A prosperous Calgary, with a global reach, securing workers from all of Canada and the world — from labourers to scientists — added, as I have said, balance to the Confederation, a real diversity of outlook to the previously predominant Central Canadian view. Were I a Calgarian, these are some, and only some of the thoughts I'd have. That the city is caught in a storm brought on by the decline of oil prices. And the years of international and national campaigns against oil, against pipelines make coming out of that storm ever so more difficult. The anti-oil campaigns mean that some people see the decline as a good thing have indeed been wishing for it — though actually saying that out loud won't happen except in the higher reaches of the green world. Were I a Calgarian, all these elements, would leave me both perplexed and a little angry. Calgary at a Crossroads is CBC Calgary's special focus on life in our city during the downturn. A look at Calgary's culture, identity and what it means to be Calgarian. Read more stories from the series at Calgary at a Crossroads.

Winnipeg Sun Follow 3.4K Followers KLEIN: ‘Safe injection’ sites have spectacular record of failure The 2024 Manitoba NDP Budget announced that it was setting aside $2.5 million for a “supervised consumption site” otherwise known as a safe injection site to be opened in 2025. A location for the site has yet to be established. Safe injection sites are not new in Canada with several established since Vancouver opened Insite in 2003. These facilities are sites where drug users can legally consume heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine in a supervised manner to prevent overdose deaths. Activists collectively refer to the principle as “harm reduction” and invariably cite the practice as a part of a greater drug decriminalization scheme. But have safe injection sites actually delivered on their promises to reduce harm? It seems counterintuitive to claim that there is any safe way to inject drugs like heroin or fentanyl and that sites that enable the practice are more akin to “harm facilitation”. Supervised consumption may prevent overdose deaths and reduce the spread of infectious disease but it has also proven to significantly increase crime, bio-hazardous trash and social disorder. Communities around safe injection sites are often associated with homeless addicts sleeping on nearby streets, discarded needles and a high social cost for area residents and small businesses. The activist narrative of zero collateral costs is simply not the case in reality. The experience at nearly every Canadian site has demonstrated that collateral costs are real and significant. But even if we dismissed the zero collateral cost myth just for a moment and focused entirely on the user, it’s still difficult to nail down the net benefit of perpetually enabling an addiction both for the user and the community. It has been proven that safe injection sites have an extremely poor record of moving drug users into treatment and recovery programs. Transition into treatment generally occurs less than 5% of the time. Sites are not so much a gateway to recovery as a continually expanding drug market that enables addiction and attracts more users. The notion of “inviting” drug usage with only marginal conversion to treatment is more an exercise in perpetuating harm than reducing it. Government money that simply facilitates addiction would be far better invested into treatment and recovery programs. Facilitating, enabling and perpetuating drug usage is not a solution. Not surprisingly, harm reduction activists choose to dismiss the very real financial and social costs of safe injection sites. Their existence also raises significant legal and ethical implications. Government-sanctioned drug consumption is itself a political gateway to the next prized objective of progressive activists — the decriminalization of illicit drugs. That social experiment has been nothing short of catastrophic. In 2021, the state of Oregon decriminalized illicit drugs and saw an explosion in public drug use and fentanyl and opioid overdoses. Under the new law possession of small amounts of illicit drugs were subject to a ticket and a fine of less than $100 which could be dismissed by calling a 24-hour addiction screening hotline within 45 days. That hotline was only utilized 1% of the time by those who received a citation. Drug overdoses have skyrocketed. Oregon lawmakers are now reversing their decision and recriminalizing drug usage. KLEIN: Manitoba needs to explore deterrence, mandatory treatment for addicts ABSOLUTELY NOT: Supervised consumption sites enable drug users, says former addict The knee-jerk narrative from harm reduction activists is that criminal enforcement followed by incarceration and mandatory treatment lacks compassion and effectiveness. And while a harm reduction approach does save user lives it certainly has no credible claim to effective treatment or recovery. Incarceration is just as effective at saving lives but offers a far greater chance of recovery through treatment — without the collateral costs and social disorder. The Manitoba NDP have only to look to east Vancouver to get a glimpse of what we are in store for if they establish a safe injection site in Winnipeg. The proof is there for all to see — unless, of course, it’s by choice not to.

Skip to contentSkip to footer 5 Discover Following Watch Personalize This Old House1mo What to Know Before Switching to Whole House Heat Pumps | Ask This Old House In this video, This Old House home technology expert Ross Trethewey teaches host Kevin O’Connor about heat pumps and how they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: http://bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse. Heat pumps are economical to run and don’t use fossil fuels. But, they’re not the perfect solution for every home. Home technology expert Ross Trethewey teaches host Kevin O’Connor what to know about these appliances before making the switch. Where to find it? Special thanks to The Energy Conservatory (TEC) [https://energyconservatory.com/] for providing additional information. Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House Insider to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: https://bit.ly/2GPiYbH Plus, download our FREE app for full-episode streaming to your connected TV, phone or tablet: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/pages/streaming-app About Ask This Old House TV: From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home. Follow This Old House: Facebook: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB Twitter: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter Pinterest: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest Instagram: http://bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG What to Know Before Switching to Whole House Heat Pumps | Ask This Old House

Will My Electric Car Leave Me Stranded? EV Myths Top 2© InsideEVs In this inaugural edition of our EV myth-busting series, we look at how often your car might actually run down to 0% and leave you stuck. There's been a swell of anti-EV sentiment in popular media lately. It's a trend as unmistakable as it is perplexing, given how it flies in the face of reality. Last year, EV sales exceeded 1.1 million units for the first time ever in the U.S. alone. New models are coming to market all of the time, the public charging infrastructure is improving by leaps and bounds and every automaker has big plans for batteries. That’s why it’s hard to believe that all of this doom and gloom is emerging organically. But whether some mysterious anti-EV cabal is driving it, or whether it's just traditional media feeding on the fears of folk who think that the government is going to come for their internal combustion right after they're done confiscating their guns, the dread in the air is unmistakable. I do know that I hate misinformation, as do the editors of this fine publication. So, we're going to tackle it head-on. Welcome to EV Myths Discharged, a new series where we'll face the fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the air. We'll select some anti-EV sentiment or another each month and take it apart. We'll talk to some experts, look at some numbers, and, most importantly, talk to people who actually drive EVs to get to the real truth. Ford Pro EV charging© InsideEVs This isn't going to be an EV greenwashing series. I've already sketched out a few of these topics, and some of them will be a little uncomfortable for even the most ardent of EV lovers. But you have to know the good and the bad before you can make a sound decision, and if you're still unsure that electric cars are a net positive to the world and to your life, you've come to the right place.Electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity. We're starting off with a common refrain: EVs can run out of range and get you stuck. Owning one means you're bound to get stranded at some point, and if you do, you're in big trouble. But how true is that, really? Let's dig in. Overall EV Reliability We'll start by looking at whether your EV is more likely to leave you stranded due to reliability—essentially, mechanical or software problems independent of running out of range. On the surface, the numbers are gloomy. A recent reliability study from Consumer Reports showed that EVs are a terrifying 79% less reliable than ICE cars on average. That clearly isn't good, but a little context is important. Remember, many EVs on the market are still in their first or second year of production. New models always have some issues, and CR's report, unfortunately, doesn't split major bummers like broken motors from minor annoyances like squeaky interiors. But we know that many of the user complaints around “reliability” have to do with how frustrating infotainment systems and software features can be, and those are intrinsic to the EV experience. Most traditional automakers (and many startups) are still figuring out how to make software as well as the kind you experience on your other devices. When you only look at major issues, the numbers seem to be much lower. A recent study from Recurrent, which specializes in tracking the health of EV batteries, showed that only 1.5% of the EVs had an unexpected battery replacement. recurrent battery data© InsideEVs Ultimately, the sample size right now is still very small, so it's difficult to make a strong conclusion on long-term EV vs. ICE reliability. Regardless, then the same rules apply here that they would when buying any new car: If reliability is key for you, buy from a brand you trust, do your research… and maybe don't buy a new model in its first year of availability. Unpredictable Range EVs have earned a sad reputation for being unpredictable when it comes to how far they'll actually go on a given day, with dashboard range estimates rising and falling based on inconceivable, eldritch trends. Sadly, that reputation is well-earned. Historically, EVs have done a terrible job of range prediction, and there are still some EVs on sale today that don't inspire much confidence. That situation is rapidly improving. Many modern EVs look at everything from your driving habits to route topology and even local weather to calculate how far you'll go with the juice you left in your battery. If you've been reading my BMW iX long-term log, you know I've been blown away by how accurate that thing's predictions are. Its actual range is often within 1 - 2% of its estimates. Bolt EV range test© InsideEVs That said, there is some nuance to EV ownership, like figuring out how a given car will respond when driven through inclement conditions or when trying to make up for lost time on the highway. In that way, owning an EV can be more complicated than a gas-powered machine, but having owned and driven EVs for years, I can tell you that you'll quickly get the hang of it. Unreliable Charging Public charging in the U.S. can be a fraught affair. No EV owner will deny that, though if you're a user of the Supercharger network, then you have a leg up on things. The situation continues to improve, with chargers getting more plentiful and more reliable. With any luck, increasing adoption of the NACS charging standard will just accelerate that trend. And if you're new or EV-curious, it's important to note that the vast majority of EV owners charge at home the vast majority of the time. It's easy to think that you need as many chargers on the road as you have gas stations today. But ask yourself this: How often would you stop at gas stations if your ICE vehicle's tank was magically full every morning? Power Outages Whenever there's a power outage, the anti-EV rhetoric hits full stride with claims that EVs are awful to have in an emergency because you can't recharge them. That is a factually true statement. If your house is out of power, you won't be able to recharge your car. However, it only tells half the story, because there's a good chance you won't be able to fuel your car, either. Gas pumps are electric, after all. Not long ago, we had a significant ice storm in upstate New York that knocked out power to over 200,000 people for days. I was one of those people, and guess who forgot to get gasoline for their generator until the lights went out. So, I went into town, dodging the downed trees, only to find that the pumps weren't working. Yes, my local gas station had a generator, but it wasn't enough to power the pumps. I drove to another station 10 miles farther down the road. It, too, was dark. There are certainly stations out there that have generators to keep their pumps running, and some states even provide funding to pay for those generators. But hey, New York is one of those states, where I live, and yet I was out of luck. The other side of the equation is that, had I bought something like a Ford F-150 Lightning, and had I made the necessary wiring upgrades to my house, that truck could have actually powered my house through the storm until the lights came back on. Ford estimates that the 131kWh battery pack in its truck can power an average house for three days without any conservation measures. That's enough to ride out most storms without having a smelly, noisy generator slowly raising the ire of you and your neighbors. Will I Get Stranded In An EV? The above rhetoric got an extra boost in January of 2022, when a storm in Virginia stranded thousands of people in their cars on I-95 for more than a day. You don’t have to look up the headlines to know what they said: Electric cars are death traps since they'll freeze their owners! Granted, cold weather range declines are an issue. But being trapped in a freeway traffic jam when your juice runs out is largely a myth. Car and Driver tested a Tesla Model 3 against a Hyundai Sonata and found that the Model 3 maintained a comfortable cabin temperature of 65 degrees for 45.1 hours straight, well longer than anybody was stuck on that highway. The Hyundai did slightly better, at 51.8 hours, but was about seven times less efficient in the process. If I'm going to spend a day or two stuck in my car by the side of the road, I would 100 percent want it to be an EV—ideally a Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV with massaging seats and the Atmos sound system. Roadside Options What happens if your EV breaks down or runs out of range? Chances are you'll need a tow, but there are an increasing number of mobile charging solutions that might just be your saving grace. One of those comes courtesy of a decidedly familiar source: AAA. I spoke with David Bennett, senior repair manager at AAA, which provides roadside services for over 60 million members. Bennett said that AAA doesn't track how many members own EVs, but the company responded to 163,330 roadside calls on EVs in 2023. Of those, only 3,372 were for drivers who had run out of charge. "Over a decade ago, as the electric vehicle market began to heat up, AAA launched a mobile charging pilot for electric vehicles in select markets," Bennett said. "AAA provides 10 to 15 minutes of charge time to members with discharged electric vehicles, which will allow the vehicle to go up to 10 miles, depending on the vehicle, to an electric vehicle charging station." While it's still only available in 24 cities, Bennett said AAA is watching customer demand. Meanwhile, some towing services in major metropolitan areas offer their own remote charging services, Atlas Towing in San Francisco and G1 Towing in Los Angeles, which provide service through SparkCharge. There are options in Europe, too. Allianz maintains a network of over 100 mobile charging trucks spread across Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, which can charge at up to 75kW and are themselves electric. Even Malaysia is getting in on the action. And up in the UK, the most recent data from the Association of Assistance for Motorists (the AA) shows that they received 70% fewer calls from EV owners with dead batteries than the year previous, despite 2023 being another record year for EV sales. "Our data on ‘out of charge’ EVs clearly shows ‘charging anxiety’ does not match the reality," said Edmund King, the president of the UK's AA. "The 70% drop in out-of-charge breakdowns is a clear sign that range, infrastructure, and education are improving." What Actual EV Drivers Say Don't just take my word for all this. I spoke with a few folks who actually have been stranded by their EV to learn what happened. Branden Flasch was stuck when his 2015 Model S 70D stopped instead of giving him the three miles of range promised on the dashboard. Just short of home, he was able to coast into a parking lot with a NEMA 14-50 outlet. He called in a favor from a friend to push the Model S to the outlet and was back home safe and sound a few hours later. Alexandru Voica, a technology comms professional, got caught out in a Renault Zoe when he pulled up at an IKEA charger on fumes, only to learn it was broken. He had to wait three hours for a tow, but the tow cost nothing thanks to his EV roadside assistance. Davaish Singh recently rented a Ford Mustang Mach-E on Turo for a little cold-weather EV testing, but wound up instead testing his patience. He drove into a snowstorm and was caught out by the Ford's inaccurate range estimates and wound up having to spend an unexpected night (in a hotel) while the car's owner collected and charged it. By and large, the situations were resolved without too much hassle, certainly no more than would be required had you run out of gas or suffered a breakdown in any other car. And, as our own roadside rescue experiences attest, most owners were within a few miles of a viable charger and so didn't need lengthy tows or roadside charging. Pro Tips As I said above, there is some nuance required to happy EV ownership. It's no more complicated than owning a gas-powered car, just different, so here's what you need to know. Keep charged ahead of major storms or emergencies. Just like you really shouldn't wait like I did to get gas in the midst of a storm, you should take the opportunity to top up your EV before things get bad. Many EVs recommend only charging to 80 or 90 percent to preserve battery health, but an impending storm is one of those situations where you should splurge and top that thing right on up. Be realistic about range. If you're new to EV ownership, even if you're getting used to a new EV, don't push your car's range right out of the box. Learn how accurate its range predictions are before trying to eke out every last ion from your battery pack on a road trip. Leave yourself a little buffer to be safe, even if your destination is a charger.This is doubly true in cold weather. Modern EVs do far better in cold weather than those of a decade ago, and features like efficiency-boosting heat pumps are increasingly standard fare, but you can still expect to lose upwards of 20 percent of range if temperatures are below freezing. Plan ahead, and have backup plans. If you're road-tripping, making use of the nation's still-growing public charger network, it's a good idea to have a backup. Again, don't cruise in on fumes to the only charger around. It might be broken, it might be occupied, or some charmer in a lifted F-350 dually might be blocking it for kicks. Regardless, leave yourself enough buffer to head to another charger, just in case. Keep up on maintenance. One lovely side benefit of EV ownership is that they don't need much maintenance. With no oil to change, timing belts to replace, or transmissions to service, they're the ideal machine for owners who can't be bothered with any of that stuff. However, there is still some maintenance involved, and the most important thing is tires. EVs are heavier and more powerful than your average car, which means they tend to burn through rubber more quickly -- especially if you have a heavy right foot. A blown tire can definitely ruin your day, while a set of bald tires on a rainy day can end your life. Keep an eye on that tread. Know your EV's towing likes and dislikes. Finally, in the worst-case scenario that you do need to get towed, it's important to know the rules of towing your EV. If you have a front-drive or rear-drive machine, chances are it can be towed with the driven wheels in the air and the other wheels rolling free. But if you have an all-wheel-drive EV, you're probably going to need a flatbed, even if you're just going for a short distance. Many EVs motors cannot be disengaged as such, and dragging them with all four wheels on the ground can do some severe damage. Read your manual to be safe, and happy motoring. All in all, the experience of actually running completely out of range and getting stuck in an EV is fairly rare, and as the charging infrastructure improves, it’s thankfully getting less frequent. And running completely out of gasoline can certainly happen as well. But even as things are getting better all the time in the electric world, a little planning ahead and situational awareness go a long way to averting disaster. Tim Stevens is a veteran editor, analyst, and expert in the tech and automotive industries. He helmed CNET's automotive coverage for nine years and acted as Vice President of Content. Prior to that, Tim served as Editor-in-Chief at Engadget and even led a previous life as an Enterprise Software Architect. Follow Tim on Twitter at @tim_stevens and catch his Substack. More EV Basics For Beginners (And Experts Too) Thinking Of Buying An Electric Car? Here Are Five Critical Things To Consider Understanding An Electric Car's Window Sticker: Range, MPGe, Charge Time, Savings What Do You Need To Charge An Electric Car At Home? Is DC Fast Charging Bad For Your Electric Car's Battery? Modern EV Batteries Rarely Fail: Study How To Get Way More Miles Out Of Your EV’s Tires

I guess only time w Social Sharing Facebook ill tell Flair Airlines CEO bullish on future of discount airlines. Others aren't so sure Edmonton-based Flair the only ultra-low cost carrier left standing Paula Duhatschek · CBC News · Posted: May 10, 2024 4:34 PM MDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago Working in Flair's favour, said one anal With Swoop folded into WestJet and Lynx folded altogether, Edmonton-based Flair Airlines has emerged as the only ultra-low cost carrier left standing in Canada. Is CEO Stephen Jones nervous? "Not at all, we're going to have a great summer," said Jones, speaking to CBC News on the sidelines of the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Calgary this week. Stephen Jones is the CEO at Flair Airlines. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC) Others aren't so sure about the future of discount airlines. While in Europe the ultra-low cost carrier model has allowed travelers to scoop up flights for about the cost of a pizza, the industry has struggled in Canada thanks in part to high, third-party fees and the country's low population base. John Gradek, a lecturer in aviation management at McGill University, believes the months ahead will be a key test for Flair. The privately owned company will have to keep prices low enough to entice customers, but high enough to make money — all while avoiding getting flicked off the game board by larger players, he said. "The game is going to be played sometime starting at the end of this month, beginning of June, to see the intestinal fortitude that Air Canada, WestJet and Flair have to fill their airplanes up and how low do the prices go to fill those airplanes," said Gradek. Why ultra-low cost carriers struggle Population is one major barrier to the success of ultra-low cost carriers in this country. Compared to Europe or even the U.S., Canada simply doesn't have enough people to fill planes and support an ultra-low cost carrier, according to John Weatherill, chief commercial officer with WestJet. "What we recognized with Swoop was that even with very low cost … the market just wasn't big enough to be able to stimulate the type of traffic they need to be successful," said Weatherill, speaking on a conference panel Thursday. John Weatherill is the chief commercial officer with WestJet. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC) Taxes and fees are another problem. Canadian airports, which are not-for-profit facilities, rely on airport improvement fees to generate revenue and some charge $40 or more. At Westjet, for example, Weatherill said the business sold about 2.5 million tickets in 2023 with a base fare of under $100 — but had to absorb about $70 per ticket in fees and taxes. "That makes it more difficult for airlines to put an affordable fare out into the market," he said in an interview with CBC News. With Lynx out of the mix, McGill's Gradek said Flair has had some wiggle room to raise prices, but will have to be careful not to overplay its hand such that they're no longer enticing to budget-conscious customers. Meanwhile, he said, the company will have to fend off larger players, who he said have the power to drop ticket prices temporarily to compete directly with the ultra-low cost carrier. "What do you think happened for the last 10 guys who tried this?" he said. "All kinds of carriers played this game of price differentiation and as soon as the big guys say 'That's it, we're done, goodbye, boom' — six weeks and they're history." Flair has faced financial turbulence already. Earlier this year, The Canadian Press reported Flair was facing a seizure order from the federal government related to $67.2 million in unpaid taxes. At the time, Jones told CBC News the airline was on track with a "mutually agreed-upon" payment plan with CRA. The case for Flair Working in Flair's favour, said analyst Lori Ranson, is the brand recognition that comes with being the only ultra-low cost carrier in the market. "There's a lot of history of low-cost and ultra-low cost carriers not really doing well in Canada, but I think Flair is trying to change the narrative," said Ranson, senior analyst for the Americas with CAPA Centre for Aviation. "We just have to see how it's going to play out." Lori Ranson is a senior analyst with CAPA Centre for Aviation. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC) Part of their strategy, said CEO Jones, is to "swing" routes seasonally between domestic and international. In the winter, the airline focuses more on sun destinations and offers more Canadian routes in the summer. "It will be 65 per cent domestic through the summer whereas through last winter we were 70 per cent heading south," said Jones, speaking on a conference panel, and adding that the airline plans to pick up more domestic routes left unfilled by Lynx's departure. He also said the airline has benefited from a partnership with the Region of Waterloo airport in Ontario, which gave the airline temporary, exclusive rights to certain routes. Despite the cost challenges that come with operating in Canada, Jones said the low-cost model has worked in similarly sparse Australia, and he believes there's no reason it shouldn't work here. Onstage at the CAPA conference, Jones described the airline's biggest competition as "the couch" — meaning that he's not trying to coax travelers away from other airlines, but rather attract those who aren't flying at all right now because it's too expensive. Asked about the future of the low-cost carrier model in Canada, Jones said there's plenty of interest and that his planes are "90 per cent full." "We see the opportunity in getting more people off the couch … because affordability for travel in Canada has been a real problem," he told CBC News.

Maybe he should have backed in. Typical phoney press headline.....

Boeing's troubles continue: Three crashes {Incidents} in two days (msn.com) Boeing's troubles continue: Three crashes {incidents} in two days©Provided by Daily Mail A Boeing plane's tire burst during landing in Turkey today, the third passenger aircraft built by the manufacturing giant to suffer a technical problem or crash in just two days. A total of 190 people were evacuated from the aircraft after the Boeing 737-800, belonging to Turkey-based Corendon Airlines, stopped on the runway after landing at Gazipasa airport near the Mediterranean coastal town of Alanya. Pictures from the scene today showed the stationary aircraft on the tarmac flanked by emergency vehicles - its front wheels and landing gear crumpled underneath. Corendon Airlines denied Turkish reports that the aircraft had landed on its nose. While none of the 184 passengers and six crew members on the flight from Cologne, Germany to Turkey were injured, the dramatic landing was just the latest in a string of hair-raising incidents involving Boeing planes over the last two days. Boeing's troubles continue: Three crashes in two days©Instagram/thecrewlounge Earlier that same week there were two other incidents, one involving a 737 engine which caught fire after taking off from George Bush Airport bound for Fort Myers in Florida on March 4. The second saw a 256lb wheel drop from a United Airlines plane, a Boeing 777-200, shortly after take-off in San Francisco that crushed cars parked below as it plummeted to the ground. The United Airlines flight 35 was barely off the runway on its way to Osaka in Japan when it happened, prompting the plane carrying 235 passengers and 14 crew to be diverted to Los Angeles Airport. Even more safety failures have followed, including when a Boeing jet had to make an emergency landing in LAX due to hydraulic issues, after taking off from San Francisco on March 9. The list continues with a United Airlines Boeing 777 en route to Japan from San Francisco that was forced into an emergency landing in at LAX when it lost a tire on March 11. Another Boeing jet was forced to make an emergency landing in LAX after taking off from San Francisco due to hydraulic issues on March 9.

Matthew Lau: Electric vehicle mandates mean misery all round Opinion by Matthew Lau • 4h A electric vehicle charging at a parking lot in Tsawwassen, near Vancouver, B.C.© Provided by Financial Post News of slowing demand for electric vehicles highlights the hazards of the federal government’s Soviet-style mandate that 100 per cent of new light-duty vehicles sold must be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035 (with interim targets of 20 per cent by 2026 and 60 per cent by 2030 and steep penalties for dealers missing these targets). The targets were wild to begin with. As Manhattan Institute senior fellow Mark P. Mills observed , Canadian-style bans on conventional vehicles and mandated switches to electric mean “consumers will need to adopt EVs at a scale and velocity 10 times greater and faster than the introduction of any new model of car in history.” When the Trudeau government announced its mandate last December, conventional vehicles still accounted for 87 per cent of the market. Today the mandated switch to electric looks even more at odds with actual consumer preferences. According to reports , Tesla will cut its global workforce by more than 10 per cent (more than 14,000 employees) due to slowing electric vehicle demand. In Canada, a Financial Post headline reads, “‘Tall order to ask the average Canadian’: EVs are twice as hard to sell today.” Not only have Tesla’s quarterly sales declined, but Ford Motor Co. announced in April it will delay electric vehicle production at its Oakville plant by two years, from 2025 to 2027. According to research from global data and analytics firm J.D. Power, it now takes 55 days to sell an electric vehicle in Canada, up from 22 days in the first quarter of 2023 and longer than the 51 days it takes a gasoline-powered car to sell. This is the result, some analysts suggest , of a lack of desirable models and high consumer prices — and despite federal subsidies to buyers of up to $5,000 per EV and provincial subsidies (in six provinces) as high as $7,000 in Quebec. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the U.S., too, EVs and plug-in hybrids now sit on lots longer than gasoline-powered cars and hybrids. Again, that’s despite heavy government pressure to switch to electric, including the Biden administration’s mandate that two-thirds of new vehicles sold must be electric by 2032. In both Canada and the U.S., politicians banning consumers from buying vehicles they want and instead forcing them to buy types of vehicles that run contrary to their preferences calls to mind Adam Smith’s “man of system,” described in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759, 17 years before The Wealth of Nations. The man of system, Smith explained, “is apt to be very wise in his own conceit” and “seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess–board.” But people are not chess pieces to be moved around by a hand from above; they have their own agency and if they are pushed by the “man of system” in a direction opposite to where they want to go, the result will be misery and “the highest degree of disorder.” Activists' illogical boycott of Loblaw just doesn't add up You think taxes are too low? Feel free to pay more That nicely sums up the current government effort to mandate electric vehicles contrary to consumer preferences. The vehicle market is in a state of disorder as the government tries to force people to buy the types of cars many of them do not want, and the outcomes are miserable all around. Matthew Lau, a Toronto writer, is an adjunct scholar with the Fraser Institute.

Boeing Under Investigation After ‘Several’ Employees Failed to Perform Required Wing Attachment Inspection (msn.com)

Monday, May 6 Editor’s Note: The launch attempt of NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test has been scrubbed as teams evaluate an oxygen relief valve on the Centaur Stage on the Atlas V. Our astronauts have exited Starliner and will return to crew quarters. More information will be forthcoming. 10:30 p.m. —Press briefing with experts from NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance to discuss the launch attempt for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Stream on NASA+

Beleaguered airline manufacturer Boeing faces at least ten more ‘safe and sound’ whistleblowers after two men who had publicly spoken out against the troubled aerospace company died in recent weeks. Boeing is facing ten more ‘safe and sound’ whistleblowers after two die suddenly Joshua Dean, who worked as a quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems, died last week, according to his family. The 45-year-old who had an active lifestyle and was believed to be in good health, passed away in the hospital following the onset of a fast-moving infection. He suffered from Influenza B and MRSA, and developed pneumonia, according to Fox59. John Barnett, 62, a quality control engineer at Boeing for 32 years, was found dead at a hotel in March, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. There remain at least ten other Boeing whistleblowers out there, both former and current employees, who are “safe and sound” lawyers for both Dean and Barnett told The Independent. Attorney Brian Knowles described the two men as “heroes” who wanted to “help the company do better.” He told The Independent: “What I don’t want to see is, these two unfortunate circumstances, what happened with Josh or John, is to make them fearful to speak up. [But] there are other people out there... there are others.” In January, a door plug of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 travelling for Alaska Airlines blew off in mid-air, leading to the grounding of all 171 MAX 9 jets by the FAA and instigating an investigation (AP)© Provided by The Independent He added that he would not “speculate” on the multiple conspiracy theories being spread online surrounding the two men’s deaths. “These men were heroes. So are all the whistleblowers. They loved the company and wanted to help the company do better,” Mr Knowles previously told The New York Post. “They didn’t speak out to be aggravating or for fame. They’re raising concerns because people’s lives are at stake.” It comes after a string of incidents related to Boeing over the past year. In January, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9’s door plug blew off in mid-air, leading to the grounding of all 171 MAX 9 jets by the FAA and instigating an investigation. On Monday the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) announced it had launched a new investigation into Boeing after the manufacturer “voluntarily” informed it that inspections of a number of its 787 Dreamliner models “may not have been completed.” In a statement to NPR, the FAA said it’s also investigating “whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records.” The agency also said Boeing is re-inspecting “all 787 airplanes still within the production system and must also create a plan to address the in-service fleet.” Monday’s announcement comes in the wake of several previous Boeing controversies. Four people came forward — including Dean and Barnett, alleged that corner-cutting in the manufacturing process of the MAX 9 was causing safety risks. Dave Calhoun, Boeing CEO, announced in March that he would step down at the end of the year while the company reported a $355m net loss for the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, Dean’s family posted moving tributes to him on social media. “My handsome brother Joshua passed away this morning and is with our baby brother. I don’t know how much more my family can take. I don’t know how much more I can take honestly,” his sister, Taylor Rae Roberts, wrote in a Facebook post. He had gone public with claims that Spirit’s leadership ignored manufacturing defects in Boeing’s 737 MAX, in a complaint to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2023, as part of a lawsuit filed against the company by shareholders in December 2023. He told The Wall Street Journal in January that he had been fired in April 2023 for pointing out that holes in jet fuselages had been drilled incorrectly. Barnett was found dead at a hotel in March in Charleston, South Carolina. The former Boeing worker had alleged that the company intentionally used defective parts in its planes and warned that passengers on its 787 Dreamliner might face a lack of oxygen if a sudden decompression occurred. John Barnett, 62, was found dead in a hotel room in March from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after beginning testimony in a lawsuit against Boeing (@Megatron_ron/Twitter)© Provided by The Independent He was found dead just days after beginning testimony into another lawsuit against Boeing. Mr Knowles said Barnett had developed PTSD through working for the company, having faced push back against issues he had raised to his superiours. “That stuff weighed on him,” Mr Knowles told The Independent. “When you’re complaining up the chain about serious quality and safety issues you should be taken seriously, you dhouldn’t be harassed for doing that. And he faced that constantly. “That’s a pretty heavy load to take on and then to raise issues and be told not to worry about it, to work in the grey area... there is no grey area.” If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. The Independent has always had a global perspective. Built on a firm foundation of superb international reporting and analysis, The Independent now enjoys a reach that was inconceivable when it was launched as an upstart player in the British news industry. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, and across the world, pluralism, reason, a progressive and humanitarian agenda, and internationalism – Independent values – are under threat. Yet we, The Independent, continue to grow.

All male group?

WestJet, mechanics union reach tentative deal amid strike fears By Uday Rana Global News Posted May 6, 2024 6:55 am RELATED - WestJet issued a 72-hour lockout notice to the aircraft maintenance union over the weekend. WestJet Group said Monday it has reached a tentative agreement with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the union representing WestJet maintenance engineers, raising hopes that a strike will be averted. “The WestJet Group is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that is industry-leading within Canada and recognizes the important contributions of our valued Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, making them the highest paid in Canada, while delivering industry leading work-life balance standards and strong commitments to job security,” said Diederik Pen, president of WestJet Airlines and chief operating officer of WestJet Group, in a statement.ike mandate “After nine months of tough negotiating, we are proud to have reached a tentative agreement that will now be presented, through the ratification process, to the hard working Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and other Technical Operations employees who go above and beyond to maintain a best-in-class culture of safety for the WestJet Group,” said Will Abbott of the AMFA. If the contract is ratified by both sides, it would mark the first approved collective bargaining agreement between WestJet and AMFA. WestJet had issued a 72-hour lockout notice on Saturday to the union, saying it was response to AMFA announcing a strike vote. The union, which represents around 670 aircraft maintenance engineers and skilled trade groups with the carrier, had cited wages, outsourcing, scheduling and layoff protection as standout issues during negotiations. — with files from The Canadian Press

Boeing Lost $32 Billion Over Last Five Years Story by Rich Thomaselli • 3h Boeing has taken a massive financial hit, and this started well before the Alaska Airlines door panel issue earlier this year. Simply put, Boeing has been hemorrhaging money for the better part of the last five years. How much? Try $32 billion. With government investigations, safety protocol questions, and delivery delays, one wonders how long Boeing will last. But remember that the company maintains a bit of exclusivity. It is one of only two manufacturers in the world that build full-service commercial jets. Few companies could handle that kind of financial hit, meaning Boeing could survive for several more years just on that alone. But the January 5 Alaska Airlines door panel incident exacerbated the financial woes. “Given the dynamics of their place in the industry and the industry itself, they have the luxury of time,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, an aerospace and defense industry consultant. “It’s an industry with the highest possible barriers to entry and very strong demand for its products. But they’ve wasted a lot of that time.” A Good News, Bad News Situation Boeing is in a good news and bad news situation. The company has more than 5,000 airplane orders, but it can’t fulfill them fast enough to make a profit. “Can the current situation go on forever? No, it can’t,” said Ron Epstein, aerospace analyst for Bank of America. “That being said, they have some leeway. They’re not going to be in trouble tomorrow.” Management said it is now concerned more about safety and quality issues than profitability. “It is important that our people and our stakeholders understand how promising Boeing’s future looks,” CEO Dave Calhoun said. “Demand across our portfolio remains incredibly strong. Our people are world-class. There’s a lot of work in front of us, but I’m proud of our team and remain fully confident in our future.” Still, he and several other executives said they would step down by year’s end. The company has a staggering $48 billion in debt right now, and may have to issue more debt this year to avoid falling into junk bond status. Chief Financial Officer Brian West recently told investors that Boeing is handling its debt load. “We’re committed to managing the balance sheet in a prudent manner with two main objectives,” he said then. “One, prioritize the investment grade rating; and two, allow the factory and supply chain to stabilize for a stronger trajectory as we exit this year.”

The Massive Engines Powering Move World Largest Ships - Modern Propeller Manufacturing Technology | Watch (msn.com)

How to watch the first crewed flight of Boeing’s long-awaited Starliner spacecraft (msn.com) The mission, dubbed the Crew Flight Test, could take off as soon as Monday at 10:34 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Live coverage of the event will stream on NASA channels beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday, according to the space agency. The occasion is a decade in the making — the culmination of Boeing’s efforts to develop a spacecraft worthy of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Skip to main content LIVECTV News Channel( Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles As scientists warn that the world needs to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a survey conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News. Nanos surveyed 1,086 Canadians between April 28 and May 1 to gauge their level of support for a hypothetical ban on the use of gas-powered cars and SUVs as of 2035, their feelings about green energy incentives, their level of confidence that Canada will have enough charging infrastructure in the future and their level of interest in owning an electric vehicle. The survey found Canadians were almost four times more likely to oppose, rather than support, a total ban on the use of gas-powered vehicles as of 2035. RELATED STORIES 'Range anxiety': What’s driving a lack of interest in electric vehicle sales? Despite shift to EVs, number of gas-powered cars on Quebec roads hits record high After overseas breakthrough, Windsor researchers one step closer to producing EV batteries which charge in minutes "Opposition is higher among residents of Atlantic Canada, the Prairies and British Columbia compared to Quebec," the study reads. The results come months after federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault finalized new regulations(opens in a new tab) mandating the transition to battery-operated cars, trucks and SUVs. Automakers will have the next 12 years to phase out combustion engine cars, trucks and SUVs, and to gradually increase the proportion of electric models they manufacture. The move fulfills a promise the Liberals made in 2021(opens in a new tab) to phase out the sale of gas-powered passenger vehicles by 2035, but it is not a total ban on the use of combustion engine vehicles. Gas-powered models sold before 2035 will be allowed to remain on the roads. Incentives, infrastructure and ownership When it comes to green energy incentives, 72 per cent of respondents support or somewhat support incentives for Canadians to use alternative energy sources for home and travel. This figure is consistent with findings from 2023, but remains lower than in 2016. Support is higher in Quebec (81 per cent) and Ontario (72 per cent) than in the Prairies (63 per cent). Enthusiastic as they are about clean energy incentives, Canadians are much less optimistic about the likelihood Canada will have enough charging infrastructure in the future to support the increasing number of electric cars. In fact, two-thirds of survey respondents, or 66 per cent, are not confident or somewhat not confident Canada will have the necessary infrastructure in place. Once again, Quebecers expressed the most optimism in this area than respondents in other parts of the country. Finally, fewer survey respondents are interested in owning an electric car now than in 2022 and 2021. Just over half are interested (21 per cent) or somewhat interested (33 per cent), representing an 11-percentage-point decline in outright interest from 2022, when 32 per cent interested. Quebec residents are more likely to be interested or somewhat interested in owning an electric vehicle than respondents in the Prairies or Atlantic Canada. The study did not state why Canadians' attitudes toward electric vehicles may have changed. Methodology Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,086 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between April 28 to May 1, 2024 as part of an omnibus survey. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and administered a survey online. The sample included both land- and cell-lines across Canada. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest Census information and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada. Individuals randomly called using random digit dialing with a maximum of five call backs. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Charts may not add up to 100 due to rounding. With files from The Canadian Press RELATED IMAGES 1 / 1

WestJet issues lockout notice to mechanics' union Calgary-based airline and union have been negotiating new contract since September Jim Brown · CBC News · Posted: May 04, 2024 1:12 PM MDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago WestJet president Diederik Pen says work stoppages could begin as early as Tuesday at noon MT. (Daniel Thomas/CBC) WestJet has issued a 72-hour lockout notice to the union representing the Calgary-based airline's mechanics. The notice paves the way for a work stoppage to begin on Tuesday. Last week, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), which represents the carrier's aircraft maintenance engineers, announced that members would begin taking a strike vote on May 2. Voting will continue until May 9. WestJet and the AMFA have been negotiating a new contract since September 2023. In a Saturday morning email to employees, Diederik Pen, WestJet's president and chief operating officer, said work stoppages could begin as early as Tuesday at noon MT. "We did not take this action without careful consideration. AMFA publicly issued a strike vote alert last week and actively encouraged guests to fly other carriers several times," the email said. Pen said if the work stoppage can't be avoided, WestJet is prepared to take the following steps: Operating under a reduced schedule. Proactively managing changes and cancellations and ensuring communications with passengers in advance of their flights. Implementing flexible change and cancel options for passengers who wish to make alternate arrangements. Pen also advised WestJet workers to refrain from booking employee travel. "Rest assured our focus remains at the bargaining table and we believe, with a commitment from both parties, an agreement is achievable," Pen wrote to employees. More to come… WestJet issues lockout notice to mechanics' union | CBC News CBC's Journalistic Stand

Boeing threatens to lock out its private firefighters around Seattle in a dispute over pay Boeing is threatening to lock out its private force of firefighters who protect its aircraft-manufacturing plants in the Seattle area and bring in replacements beginning Friday night unless the workers accept the company's last offer on wages. The company said the two sides were far apart in negotiations. It described the lockout as a precautionary move because the union could go on strike at any time once the current contract expires at midnight local time. Each side accuses the other of bad-faith negotiating. The labor showdown comes as Boeing deals with mounting losses — more than $24 billion since the start of 2019 — and increased scrutiny over quality and safety in its manufacturing since a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max flying over Oregon in January. On Friday, Boeing dismissed any safety concerns about the dispute with its industrial firefighters. The company said it has made arrangements with “highly qualified firefighters” to replace the union workers, and the lockout will not affect operations at plants where it builds planes. Boeing has about 125 firefighters in the Seattle area and a facility about 170 miles (275 kilometers) away in central Washington state. They serve as first responders to fires and medical emergencies, and can call in help from local fire departments. The union says their constant presence lets Boeing get much lower insurance rates.ell, time is running out for Boeing and its union The company says firefighters were paid $91,000 on average last year. Casey Yeager, president of Local I-66 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said Boeing was proposing raises of 18% to 20% that would still leave crews earning 20% to 30% less than firefighters in the cities where Boeing plants are located. He said the union is seeking raises of 40% to 50%. A major sticking point is Boeing's demand to make firefighters wait 19 years to hit top pay scale, up from 14 years. The union is proposing five years. “If they keep pushing it out, you'll never get” to top scale, said Kjel Swedelius, a Boeing firefighter for more than six years. “Our turnover rate is super, super high." Swedelius said he needs financial assistance to cover care for his autistic 7-year-old son. “I really like working at Boeing, but it's getting harder and harder,” he said. “They don't want to keep up with inflation." In a letter to the union this week, Boeing said the union had rejected two previous proposals, and the company “has gone as far financially as it is willing to go and will not add any more money to its offer.” The company, which is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, said it proposes to pay firefighters four hours of overtime in every 24-hour shift, which would increase their pay $21,000 a year on average. Boeing has lodged a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the union of bad-faith bargaining during more than two months of negotiations and several meetings with a federal mediator. “With a potential for a strike, we have activated our contingency plan that includes the use of highly qualified firefighters,” a company spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “If a contract is not ratified by 12:01 a.m. (Saturday), we will lock out all members of the bargaining unit.” David Koenig, The Associated Press

  COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Live launch coverage of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, which will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station, begins Monday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m. EDT on NASA+. Wilmore and Williams will be the first to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, launching on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to the Space Station. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. LIVE COVERAGE DETAILS NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, which will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station. Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner spacecraft is targeted for 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The flight test will carry Wilmore and Williams to the space station for about a week to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA certifies the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Starliner will dock to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at 12:46 a.m., Wednesday, May 8.   NASA’s BOEING STARLINER CREW FLIGHT TEST Mission Updates The official Commercial Crew Program blog will keep you up-to-date on the mission, crew, and spacecraft of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.  READ MORE

TransAlta cancels wind power project over new Alberta government rules on development By Staff The Canadian Press Posted May 3, 2024 4:23 pm 1 min read View image in full screen TransAlta wind turbines are shown at a wind farm near Pincher Creek, Alta., Wednesday, March 9, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh A major Alberta utility is cancelling a large wind power project because of new government rules on where such developments can be built. TransAlta CEO John Kousinioris says the 300-megawatt Riplinger project near Cardston in southern Alberta will no longer proceed. Kousinioris told a conference call to analysts that the reason for the decision is the provincial government’s rules that create a buffer zone around protected areas and block development in what it calls pristine viewscapes. TransAlta is also placing three other developments on hold as the government goes through a redesign of the province’s electricity market. It’s the second setback this week for low-carbon energy generation in Alberta. Edmonton-based electricity generator Capital Power announced Wednesday it was cancelling plans for a $2.4-billion carbon capture and storage project for its natural gas facility west of the Alberta capital. While the project was deemed technically viable, CEO Avik Dey said the cost of the was too high and the regulatory environment around it too uncertain to justify going ahead. 1:56$2.4B Capital Power carbon capture project cancelled Alberta’s electricity grid is heavily dependent on natural gas, and many analysts believe that offsetting those emissions will require a mix of wind and solar, hydrogen, nuclear power in the form of small modular reactors, and carbon capture and storage in the future.

Would be quite the exercise, 1. aircraft would need to be flown to a lake or waterways close to a runway 2. it would then have to be hauled out of the water and fitted with the gear 3. take off and land with no averse pressure on the welded gear. It would seem to be an impossible dream but who knows..... Empty weight: 75,573 lb (34,279 kg) Gross weight: 90,000 lb (40,823 kg) Max takeoff weight: 165,000 lb (74,843 kg)

Stories please. I understand there was unique relationship in Churchill, The RCMP, overnighting and bear bangers.....