| For horse lovers, Calgary, Canada, has it all
Calgary, the largest city in the province of Alberta, Canada, is on the rise. Over the past few years, local oil companies have enjoyed unprecedented riches from a burgeoning petroleum industry, fueled in part by the oil sands near Fort McMurray to the north. Calgary has also sprouted a vibrant high-tech industry, with hundreds of new companies and dozens of new buildings to house them. Even the housing market is taking off - a rarity at a time when home sales are slumping across most of the continent. Amid all of this growth, one of Calgary's biggest industries is a throwback to the days of the Old West: horses. Every summer (this year it's July 4-13) the city hosts the biggest exhibition and rodeo in the world, the Calgary Stampede. George Brookman recently became president of that organization, and shared some pointers for the best horse-oriented activities in town.
Five people, gunman killed in shooting at NIU lecture hall
A former Northern Illinois University student opened fire at the DeKalb campus Thursday and then shot himself, leaving six dead and 15 wounded. At least two of the victims are from our area: Ryanne Mace, 19, of Carpentersville, and Daniel Parmenter, 20, of Elmhurst. Two other victims identifed by DeKalb County Coroner Dennis J. Miller are Catalina Garcia, 20, of Cicero and Julianna Gehant, 32, of Meridan. The shooter had been a graduate student in sociology at NIU in the spring of 2007, but was not currently enrolled there. The gunman, whom police did not identify, had had no contact with DeKalb police, NIU President John G. Peters said. The classroom instructor was identified today as graduate student Joseph Peterson, who suffered a shoulder wound in the attack. Students in the classroom say a skinny man clad in black and holding a shotgun burst into class shortly after 3 p.m.
AIDS, malaria relief lauded
My passionate appeal is for Pepfar to continue," he said. In Kenya alone, Pepfar is credited with saving more than 57,000 lives. Pepfar funds more than 70 per cent of its supply of AIDS drugs, which are distributed at no charge, according to the Kenya National AIDS Council. "I don't know what would have happened without Pepfar," said council director Alloy Orago. He said the U.S. funding freed the Kenyan government to devote more of its resources toward other programs, including free primary education. Despite a nationwide drop in prevalence, AIDS remains Kenya's Number 1 killer, claiming more than 80,000 people a year. To Bush's credit, Pepfar has raised the number of Africans on antiretroviral treatments to 1.2 million from 50,000. With files from AP, Reuters .
Robby Gordon Wins Appeal Against NASCAR
We plan to put this issue behind us and concentrate on making the Chase in 2008," Gordon said. "Our goal is to be a model team in the future and never go through something like this again." Gordon was caught with an unapproved front bumper on his Dodge during the first inspection for the season-opening Daytona 500. He defected from Ford to Dodge just a week before, and his team scrambled to build cars with parts provided by the manufacturer. Dodge inadvertently sent Gordon a prototype bumper it is hoping to get approved for competition. "It was an unfortunate series of human errors compounded by the very short timeframe RGM had to get their car changed to Dodge Chargers in time for the Daytona 500," said Kipp Owen, director of SRT and Dodge Motorsports Engineering.
Puerto Viejo residents finally get hearing on marina
Groups of expatriates and locals living in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean Coast had to send two petition letters to the municipality asking for a dicussion of the community's fears before they received a response.
The "Marina Ecológica New World," which developers Grupo Caribeño S.A. hope to begin constructing in the middle of this year, will be the focus of the meeting to be held at Puerto Viejo's Casa Cultura at 10 a.m. Feb. 12.
Residents sent a second letter to the municipality this month after the first letter, sent in October, was ignored. The second letter threatened to take .
Bird tests positive for deadly flu
A BIRD found dead in Hong Kong a week ago has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, agricultural officials said today. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said today that laboratory results showed an oriental magpie robin was infected with the killer virus. The department reminded people to avoid personal contact with wild birds or live poultry. The bird carcass was found on February 29 in a nature reserve in Tai Po, near the Chinese border. It is the latest in a line of bird flu cases to hit the city this year. Last month a black-crowned heron at Ocean Park, a major Hong Kong tourist attraction, was found to have been infected with the virus, closing the aviary for three weeks. Migratory birds have been blamed for the global spread of the disease, which has killed at least 209 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003.
Activision sponsors Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
In addition to perusing displays related to Johnny Cash, Kurt Cobain, Jerry Garcia, and Robbie Robertson, visitors will be able to try out the latest installments of the Guitar Hero franchise on a nearby demo kiosk. Activision is also sponsoring the Hall of Fame's annual induction ceremony, set to take place Monday at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, far from the museum's actual Cleveland, Ohio location. This year's inductees include Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five, Madonna, John Mellencamp, and The Ventures. .
Californians, Oregonians visit Southern Oregon
Californians and fellow Oregonians are still the most prevalent tourists in seven Southern Oregon counties. Foreign visitors have more than doubled in the past 15 years. And tent camping is on the decline. Such were the findings of a survey, the most complete profile on local tourism to date, presented to the Southern Oregon Visitors Association on Monday at its 12th annual Marketing Symposium. .
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