Whitehorse Daily Star

February 4, 2011

• Six Yukon film projects financed through the Yukon Filmmakers Fund The Yukon government's Film and Sound Commission is awarding $40,135 to six Yukon filmmakers through the Yukon Filmmakers Fund.
• More on housing and feeding our feathered friends Since last week's column, I have received a number of e-mails with regards to bird feeders.
• Songwriters-in-residence plan northern tour The Dawson City Music Festival's 2011 songwriters-in-residence, John K. Samson and Christine Fellows, will embark on a tour of northern Yukon communities late this month.
• Lotsa Laughs Stephen Dunbar-Edge, right, and Douglas Mayr are two of the performers in the Moving Parts Theatre production Noises Off at the Wood Street Centre.
• Digging up some older mysteries ( Bookends ) If you're at all like me, the discovery of a new and interesting writer or series will send you scurrying to bookstores and online services to find other stuff by this person, or to find earlier entries in the series.
• Film festival lured both artists and audiences With 19 films to evaluate, the judges for this year's 48 Hour Film Competition had a tough chore last Sunday evening.
• The ODD Gallery explores Primary Sources One of the oldest questions faced by any creative soul, be the person writer or artist, is "Where do you get your ideas?”
• Fund-raiser planned for local fire victim Jessie Dawson is organizing a fund-raiser for carver Shawn Johnnie, who recently lost his possessions in a fire that destroyed his home and studio off Long Lake Road.
• Vote makes four new lots available A vote by city council Monday night has opened up four new single-family lots in the city.
• Massive power failure disrupts Polar Games The cause of a widespread power outage late this morning was still under investigation at 12:30 p.m. by staff of Yukon Electrical Co. Ltd.
• Whistle Bend work anchors capital budget Projects identified in the annual capital budget delivered Thursday range from the financially huge to the socially significant – and everything in between.
• Fentie interested in improving deal The Yukon government wants a better resource revenue sharing deal with Ottawa, says Premier Dennis Fentie, but before it can approach the federal government, First Nations must be onside.
• City agrees to sign Porter Creek D agreement The city has agreed to begin planning for potential new development near McIntyre Creek.
• Draw Time Josh Cadzow draws bib number 16 Thursday evening
• Chairlift woes wear on at Mount Sima ski hill Skiers and snowboarders will be stuck using the rope tow and T-bar at Mount Sima again today as officials with the city's only downhill facility wait for a part to arrive.
• The excitement builds as race time gets closer The Star is pleased to welcome our junior Yukon Quest reporter, Lexi Joinson.
• Council selects art piece for Main Street corner Local artist Molly Keizer can now set to work on creating the piece she envisions for the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue next to the TD-Canada Trust Bank.
• Mother, son were handcuffed as kids looked on What began as a night out with friends has ended in criminal charges against a Whitehorse woman who says she was defending herself and her son against two people who broke into her home.
• Fentie has tabled a ‘fantasy budget': Mitchell Reaction by opposition parties to the territory's $1.1-billion budget, tabled by Premier and Finance Minister Dennis Fentie Thursday in the legislative assembly, was swift and negative.
• Evening nourished hospital fund by $40,000 The Yukon Hospital Foundation's third annual Epicurious, Gourmet Food Festival raised more than $40,000 toward the purchase of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine for Whitehorse General Hospital.
• City looks afar in assessing local charges City staff have been directed to research what criteria other municipalities use to decide whether a local improvement charge (LIC) will be levied on residents for road work.
• Diamond jubilee to be observed The Yukon will join provincial, territorial and national celebrations in 2012 to recognize Her Majesty's 60 years of service as Queen of Canada.
• Griffin leads mushers out again It's lucky 13 again for reigning Quest champion Hans Gatt.
• The anger from 1970s relocations still burns The memory is still fresh in her mind, especially these days.
• Men hauled into court for hunting offences An Alberta man has been fined $2,000 and a Yukoner was ordered to donate $1,000 to an anti-poaching hotline for Wildlife Act offences.
• Governor General's address will make history Governor General David Johnston plans to speak in the Yukon's legislature next Wednesday and will make history in the process.
• Porter Creek infilling raises anxieties When Erin Deacon talks about developing more areas around Porter Creek, she makes it clear she questions building homes in the McIntyre Creek area.

February 3, 2011

• Fake quake disaster exercise judged a success Operation Tintina ended with a simulated media briefing here at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, or 1430 hours,
• Face Time Yukon Quest musher Hank DeBruin signs posters at the Meet the Mushers event
• City website, branding projects proceed jointly The next incarnation of the city's website will be closer to resembling the district of West Kelowna, B.C.'s website than the current City of Whitehorse site (www.city.whitehorse.yk.ca).
• Councillor will attend FCM sustainability meeting in B.C. Councillor will attend FCM sustainability meeting in B.C.
• Beware ! It's not clear
• Hospital workers sign off on new agreement Staff at the Whitehorse General and Watson Lake hospitals will see a 9.25-per-cent increase in their wages over the next four years.
• Auditor exposes environmental shortcomings An internal auditor's report released at the end of 2010 urges a major review of the Yukon's Environment Act
• Government reins in size of capital budget The capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year has been set at $237.7 million, representing a $28 million or 10.5 per cent decrease from the current capital budget forecast to the end of March 2011.
• More revenue, more spending, large surplus: Fentie Riding the spoils from the current mining boom, increasing tax revenue and an eight per cent boost in federal transfer payments,

February 2, 2011

• Latest work marks ‘a milestone' for performer Yukon singer/songwriter Nicole Edwards is back with her fourth recording and third full-length album: Sage and Wild Roses.
• Youth find a cultural link to mining Last summer, four girls from Pelly Crossing who love to fish dug deep into the world of mining.
• Halin de Repentigny plans solo show in Whitehorse Dawson City artist Halin de Repentigny's new show will open at the Copper Moon Gallery in Whitehorse on Friday.
• Dawson plans for the big, big one In what might be the worst of all possible worlds, today begins with an earthquake in the Tintina Trench
• Boys and Girls Club plans a fund-raiser The Boys and Girls Club of Whitehorse are organizing a 10-kilometre fun run to help gather money for the youth drop-in centre.
• Outside police still probe RCMP conduct cases Until the Yukon Department of Justice signs a service agreement with either the Alberta or Ontario government,
• ‘We're using every nook and cranny': principal École Émilie-Tremblay's principal Marc Champagne offered local media a tour of his school Tuesday to present the francophone school board's side in its lawsuit against the Yukon government.
• ‘These athletes are ready to go' Al Hallman has been coming to the Yukon every February for 16 years to see some of the world's best endurance athletes run one of the world's longest foot races.
• Torrid exploration pace exhausts claim tags The territory's heated staking rush has exhausted the Yukon's supply of tags to place on claim posts for the first time in history.