Commentary

Fans of ‘The Simpsons’ might remember a mid-1990s episode that began with Homer and Marge at the Candy Industry Trade Show. Upon entering, Homer, runs from booth to booth grabbing handfuls of candy samples and stuffing them into his face, barely getting out the words ‘exquisite’ and ‘brilliant.’ That’s similar to what I felt like [...] Read More »

When Justin Trudeau sets foot in Medicine Hat tomorrow it will mark the first time in almost a quarter century a sitting prime minister has been in the Gas City. Though not the only visits to Medicine Hat by sitting PMs these are a few notable ones: Kim Campbell was prime minister from June 25 [...] Read More »

This summer I was fortunate enough to take two vacations. One to Las Vegas and California for a Garth Brooks concert and Disneyland, among other things, and one to Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame, a pair of Blue Jays games and more in the area. Both were driving vacations, something I won’t be [...] Read More »

“Prince dies at 57.” The headline hit me like a punch to the gut when I checked Facebook on Thursday after getting home from a workout. Just like David Bowie’s death earlier this year, I looked around, hoping it was just a hoax, but quickly discovered it wasn’t the case. I’m not alone feeling the [...] Read More »

Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, and we’re a romantic bunch here in the newsroom. With that in mind here are some date, activity and gift ideas (some are personal experiences, some are just ideas) that are perfect for couples at any point on the highway of love. – Celebrating each other does not have [...] Read More »

The city has made a ridiculous proposal to change the park/greenspace on the east side of Primrose and College Drive to medium density housing (i.e. more row houses or a condo development). At the Municipal Planning Commission meeting, Nov. 14, some ‘deaf ears’ prevailed and area citizens were told that we just need to take [...] Read More »

The essence of the discussion around the Saamis Archaeological Site is not historical preservation, but, rather, the relationship between pedestrians, vehicles and dogs. The belief that removing dogs from the equation will slow the degradation of the site is inherently suspect. Larger actions have doomed it, not the soft patter of paws. Since the 1950s, [...] Read More »

There has been a great deal of concern and conversation regarding the explosion of populist voting in the world. History shows this is not new; it has happened in the past with disastrous results. The recent surge has taken on a negative and worrying situation. Populism raises its ugly head when the populace perceives the [...] Read More »

Dear Premier Notley and Prime Minister Trudeau, I am writing to ask for your advice. I have followed your campaigns and victories in the last elections and have been particularly intrigued with your plan to combat climate change via a carbon tax. I recalled seeing that idea being promoted previously in another country and thanks [...] Read More »

I was expecting to see a raving review in the paper Monday on the Top Hat Production of “Newsies playing at this Esplanade this week. Kudos though to the Medicine Hat News for the wonderful photos of the latest local musical production. Over the years, I have been involved as a music director, actor, and [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Oatman, Arizona | Route 66 As a dusty former mining town along old Route 66, you might wonder what would attract a crowd to a place like Oatman, Arizona? The village experienced a gold rush in 1915, and found short-lived success as a stop on Route 66, but in 1953 Oatman was [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Downtown Helena, Montana Complete with beautifully restored brick buildings, historic streets, and faded ghost signs, the downtown of Montana’s capital city has character in spades. Owing to its gold mining wealth in the late 1800s, the historic Last Chance Gulch in downtown Helena, Montana is rich in history and distinct architecture. Also [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Ask Editing Luke: Vol. 1 Earlier this week I had an impromptu Q & A on my Instagram stories @editingluke. Having never done one on Instagram before I was surprised to receive so many questions – and by the end of it, have over 5K people see the updates. Here are the questions [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park A few visual highlights from Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park in Alberta’s Rockies[...] Read More »

Source: GENEralities A Very Fond Farewell, and Amen!: my By the Way Column in Today’s Medicine Hat News Jesus brought us to St Barnabas Anglican Church, Medicine Hat, almost twenty years ago. Our first Sunday was 18 April 1999. And now we’re about to embark on another stage in our journey as we move to [...] Read More »

Two issues that are heading to the city council table and public hearings next month are the latest in a long series of development tension in Medicine Hat, where a spiderweb of civic priorities has turned more into a tug-of-war and inaction. The city’s guiding planning principles have long stated that infill development is a [...] Read More »

The launch of of the new $10 bill Tuesday is a double tribute to the power of one determined person. The banknote carries a portrait of Viola Desmond, the first Canadian woman to be featured alone on our nation’s currency. The black businesswoman from New Glasgow, N.S., was arrested in 1946 after choosing to sit [...] Read More »

Tobacco manufacturers have long known the recipe for luring kids into smoking cigarettes: add fruit or candy flavours to the products, then spend a fortune on “cool” advertising. So it’s no surprise that as the cigarette market was tanking because of vigorous anti-smoking campaigns, bans and taxes, the tobacco giants aimed their marketing guns on [...] Read More »

A tentative settlement in a lawsuit over concussions would pay hundreds of former NHL players just a few million dollars more than John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs (the league’s highest-paid player) will earn in a single season. And once lawyers’ fees and costs are deducted from the $19-million (U.S.) deal, the players would [...] Read More »

A mere week after pledging to create a database to screen extremists out of the UCP, leader Jason Kenney has another headache on his hands. John Carpay, leader of the right-wing Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms and a UCP member in good standing, compared the rainbow LGBTQ flag to the Nazi swastika and Soviet hammer [...] Read More »

Ticked Off At the same 19 items for sale for the past year. Please donate them and quit taking up space in the column. Ticked Off With a school board member who brags about their system being the best in this city. At our school, we didn’t preach about being a Christian, we practised it. [...] Read More »

Ticked Off At people who let their pet bunnies go in the city. Domesticated animals can’t survive in the wild. Ticked Off That one Montana judge can block a pipeline from going ahead, when Trump said it was OK to build it. Tickled Pink With Deidre at Meals on Wheels. Always pleasant, patient and helpful. [...] Read More »

Tickled Pink That our MLA finally set the mayor straight on issues the mayor has been criticizing the provincial government for when it was not the province who was responsible and the mayor should have known that. Ticked Off That these so-called left leaning news media say it’s my way or the highway. Tickled Pink [...] Read More »

Tickled Pink That our new arena has excellent speakers. Now it’s loud and clear. Tickled Pink Maple Leafs fans: Don’t count your Stanley Cups before they hatch. Ticked Off So a local dentist’s office collects and pays for candy and then donates the candy to the food bank. What about the dental health of children [...] Read More »

Ticked Off I was so excited to get a wage of $15/hr. Now, after deductions, I’m actually taking home smaller paycheques. How is that fair? Ticked Off With this pot legalization thing. Now the police are profiling young people, the kind of cars they’re driving, the loud music. They can pull them over for no [...] Read More »