Commentary

Dear editor, What is the point of local government bodies establishing policies for their conduct when they do not even abide by their own policies? Case in point, the Medicine Hat Public School Board’s policy pertaining to “Meetings of the Committee of the Whole.” Meetings of “Committee of the Whole” are conducted behind closed doors, [...] Read More »

Dear editor, There are Hatters who believe the accomplishments of city council over the past two years merits blind faith in their decision-making capability, and innuendo is a perfectly acceptable way to undo the democratic will of citizens. Such individuals aren’t likely going to try to rationalize the need to redact the names of the [...] Read More »

Dear editor, We all need water. But will it be available for everyone this summer? Last year in Alberta, several agricultural states of emergency were declared across the province due to drought. Some municipalities implemented water restrictions for residents. This year could be worse with a current low snowpack in the mountains, limited precipitation, a [...] Read More »

Dear editor, The last few weeks have been very disappointing watching the events with the city council. When all the elected candidates were running in the election, they all spoke of how they would work together and eliminate the problems of the previous administrations. It appears that what we now are witnessing is a lack [...] Read More »

Dear editor, Alex McCuaig’s April 11 letter cuts to the heart of the matter concerning transparency in local government. Medicine Hat city council is not the only body that deserves attention. The board of the Medicine Hat Public School Division could also be doing more to make its operations visibly accountable. At one time I [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Festival Nomination: Art Film Spirit Awards I’m happy to share that while I’ve been away on my recent travel shoots, “Your Cinema Needs You” picked up another festival nomination on its ongoing film festival world tour. The feature was nominated for Best Documentary at the Art Film Spirit Awards in partnership with [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Finding the Oldest Cinema in New York City Your Cinema Needs You has made it to NYC where I’ve been in ongoing discussions about further festival placements and screenings for the documentary this year. Fingers crossed. A few meetings aren’t much of a storyline though, so I made my way to Bay Ridge, [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Solar Eclipse in Central Park in New York City A few snapshots from watching the solar eclipse in Central Park this afternoon.  [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke New Art Installation: Coming Soon! Hey, folks! I’ve been keeping a little secret. I’ve got a free public exhibition featuring my “Hometown Series” going up in downtown Medicine Hat, Alberta this month. You won’t even have to get out of your car to catch a glimpse of it. Stay tuned for the [...] Read More »

Source: Editing Luke Official Selections & A Best Director Nomination Today happens to be my birthday, and while this would be reason enough to celebrate on any other year, this birthday already feels different because some incredibly positive news about my documentary on the Monarch Theatre has started rolling in over the last few weeks. With [...] Read More »

I was very sad to hear the news that the Whitehorse Star newspaper in Yukon is closing after 124 years. The newspaper’s last publication will be May 17. The Whitehorse Star is one of Canada’s few independently owned newspapers and has been in Yukon since 1900. The paper has covered significant historical events. The Yukon [...] Read More »

Ladies, do you wake up sometimes thinking, ‘I am not sure I can give this day 100 per cent of my energy?’ I have been feeling really tired lately and it has been a concern for me because I am used to giving each and every day 100 per cent of my energy and attention, [...] Read More »

Gambling and professional sports are so intertwined these days, is it any surprise that the occasional scandal arises? Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter has been banned for life for betting indiscretions; baseball’s Shohei Ohtani got embroiled in a gambling controversy when his interpreter was accused of stealing $16 million from the Dodger slugger-pitcher to pay off [...] Read More »

After nine years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s budget is just more of the same deficit spending that got us into this mess. Budget 2024 contains over $57.3 billion in new spending, along with another $40-billion deficit added to already huge national debt this fiscal year alone. In 2015, the federal debt was $616 billion, accumulated [...] Read More »

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant Drought conditions grow a lot of grasshoppers, but it also makes fertile ground for proposals to remake the water system in southern Alberta. On Friday were heard details of overarching agreement by water users – cities, irrigators and a few industrial license holders – to reduce water use this summer. Laced throughout it all [...] Read More »

Tickled Pink That finally people are looking at the disfunction of this city’s administration and their bad choices. Ticked Off Wow this council clearly has a disdain for the people they serve, it’s shocking to see how they behaved at council. They forget who elected them, time for a new election and reinstatement of our [...] Read More »

Tickled Pink That police and bylaw are gonna start ticketing loud vehicles. People rip up and down 12th Street NE with modified exhaust day and night, often waking up my family at 2-3 a.m. Hopefully they catch a few of the people who like to try for a high score on the speed radar sign [...] Read More »

Ticked Off Being a senior citizen on a fixed income who can’t afford utilities or property tax, and then the mayor asks for accountability and they try to force her out. Meanwhile, the city manager makes over $300K per year and spends over $500K on renovations, and she’s not the only one? I back our [...] Read More »

Tickled Pink It’s always good to know a person is never too old to learn something new. Thanks to the editor of the TOTP I learned it is not only illegal but super illegal to slam on your brakes, so the next time a deer or dog or cat runs out in front of you [...] Read More »

Tickled Pink The Colin James concert on Saturday night was fantastic, No big backup band, just three great guitarists with a great sound. Best time without my hearing aids in years. Tickled Pink A great big thank-you to the Medicine Hat Tigers for providing us with a very entertaining 2023-24 season. See you in September. [...] Read More »