News

Greg Bobinec Lethbridge Herald gbobinec@lethbridgeherald.com The Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta has announced $375,000 in grant funding to support the community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Helping address the urgent needs arising throughout the region, the Community Foundation is shifting the Community Priorities, Henry S. Varley Fund for Rural Life, and Youth [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALD The COVID-19 pandemic has left the majority of people following government guidelines by staying home and self-isolating. As a result many are unable to visit their local grocery store to stock up on needed items. However, there are local options for delivery of groceries and meals. Here is a list of businesses and [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALD -STANDOFF Due to the COVID-19 crisis, a State of Emergency has been declared on the Blood Reserve by Blood Tribe Chief and Council. A curfew will now be enforced to minimize the risk of community transmission, especially in the townsites. Effective immediately, all youth under the age of 18 must stay at home [...] Read More »

By Bobbie Fox Every two years since 1967, various cities across Canada have hosted either a summer or winter national sporting event. Red Deer most recently hosted the Canada Winter Games in February 2019. This sporting event focuses on participation and community rather than winning. Even so, the competition has always been fierce between provincial [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALD – COALDALE With the help of working smoke alarms in the home, two occupants and two dogs escaped safely from an early morning house fire in Coaldale on Monday. Coaldale and District Emergency Services received a call at 5:38 a.m. on Monday regarding a house on fire at 1943 Parkside Close. On arrival, [...] Read More »

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 31 … COVID-19 in Canada … Governments must be as transparent as possible with Canadians about response measures for COVID-19, says former Liberal public [...] Read More »

OTTAWA – Governments must be as transparent as possible with Canadians about response measures for COVID-19, says former Liberal public safety minister Ralph Goodale. The cascade of daily briefings from the prime minister all the way down to local health officials are essential to that process, but he said it’s equally important that the government [...] Read More »

REGINA – A father whose son was killed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash says he’s worried Saskatchewan’s move to relax some trucking rules during the COVID-19 outbreak may mean drivers will be pushed past their limits. Scott Thomas’s son Evan died two years ago when an inexperienced semi driver blew through a stop sign [...] Read More »

DELTA, B.C. – Walkers offer a nod, a smile or a “hello” to each other but only after stepping aside to leave a wide berth on trails at a park they’ve escaped to in the age of physical distancing. Jeff Radons ventured out of his home and into his “backyard” at Watershed Park in Delta, [...] Read More »

MONTREAL – Despite years of discussions between politicians and doctors, the Quebec government couldn’t find a way to pay its general practitioners for phone and video consultations with patients. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Premier Legault called a public health emergency March 14, sweeping aside legislative hurdles as well as the bureaucratic inertia of Quebec’s [...] Read More »

EDMONTON – Alberta’s $30-million-a-year energy war room is drastically cutting its budget due to COVID-19. The province announced late Monday that the Canadian Energy Centre is reducing its current operating budget by 90 per cent in order to “reflect needs” during the pandemic. The United Conservative government established the centre to promote the energy industry [...] Read More »

EDMONTON – The Alberta Opposition says Education Minister Adriana LaGrange needs to start fighting for students or quit and make way for someone who will. NDP education critic Sarah Hoffman says LaGrange is failing in her core mandate by announcing mass layoffs of school support staff, including teaching assistants and substitute teachers. Hoffman says LaGrange [...] Read More »

EDMONTON – More than 800 Alberta doctors have signed an open letter asking the government to delay its proposed health-care restructuring while the province responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes, which are to take effect Wednesday, include cancelling a master agreement with the Alberta Medical Association. The association has said that will mean the [...] Read More »

EDMONTON – Hundreds of Alberta doctors have signed an open letter asking the provincial government to delay its proposed health-care restructuring. The changes, which are to take effect Wednesday, include cancelling a master agreement with the Alberta Medical Association. The association has said that will mean the province can raise or lower billing fees without [...] Read More »

CALGARY – A man has been shot and killed in Calgary. Calgary police say the early morning shooting happened in the northeast part of the city. Paramedics located a critically injured man as police responded to several reports of gunshots. The man died at the scene and police say an autopsy will be scheduled. No [...] Read More »

TOKYO – Asian shares were mixed after some benchmarks lost earlier gains Tuesday, following a rally in U.S. stocks that mostly was spurred by health care companies’ announcements of developments that could aid in the coronavirus outbreak. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose in morning trading but reversed course to dip nearly 0.9%, finishing at 18,917.01. [...] Read More »

BEIJING – China’s state media say 19 people died while fighting a raging forest fire in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The Xinhua News Agency reported the deaths on Tuesday but did not say when they occurred. A city information office says the fire started on a farm Monday afternoon and quickly spread to nearby [...] Read More »

NEW YORK – Macy’s will furlough a majority of its 130,000 workers with its stores dark. The company on Monday said it is transitioning to an “˜’absolute minimum workforce” needed to maintain basic operations. Online operations won’t be hit as hard. Employees who are enrolled in health benefits will continue to receive coverage with the [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – Siding with public health experts’ dire projections, President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to extend restrictive social distancing guidelines through the end of April, while bracing the nation for a coronavirus death toll that could exceed 100,000 people. “The worst that could happen is you do it too early and all [...] Read More »

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai’s Expo 2020 should be postponed to next year over the new coronavirus pandemic, local organizers recommended Monday, pushing back a world’s fair that the sheikhdom has bet billions of dollars on to rejuvenate its troubled economy. The ultimate decision over the event will be made by Paris-based Bureau International [...] Read More »