‘It's a wonderful community': Calgary's oldest independent bookstore is celebrating 50 years
Owl's Nest Books co-owner Ryan Smith talks to former owners Michael and Susan Hare about the store's 50th anniversary celebration plans.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Arizona governor approves up to $500M to upgrade Diamondbacks home
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation Friday that funds up to $500 million in renovations to Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Article content The bill, which won bipartisan support in both of the state's GOP-controlled chambers, will use sales tax revenue from the stadium and nearby buildings for infrastructure upgrades over the next 30 years, including improvements to air conditioning systems and the stadium's retractable roof. Article content Article content Article content The team said it will also contribute $250 million for the renovations at the stadium, which is located in downtown Phoenix and is surrounded by small businesses and restaurants that see a boost of activity during the baseball season. Article content The legislation is one of a handful of bipartisan deals that Hobbs, a Democrat, prioritized negotiating during the session. She says the funding is a responsible use of taxpayer dollars, will provide good-paying jobs and ensure the Diamondbacks do not leave Phoenix. Article content Attendance at games has increased since the team's 2023 run to the World Series, where the Diamondbacks lost to the Texas Rangers. This season they are averaging 31,420 fans per game — the highest in two decades. Article content 'I'm not going to let Arizona lose the Diamondbacks,' Hobbs said Friday on the social platform X. Article content Derrick Hall, president and CEO of the Diamondbacks, praised the governor and said the team will now turn its attention to extending its lease with Maricopa County. Article content Article content The bill cleared the Legislature June 23 after months of debate that included the question of whether the Diamondbacks could potentially leave unless a public funding deal was reached. Article content Other MLB teams have threatened to leave host cities if they did not get public financing. Article content The Oakland A's, for example, complained for years about the Oakland Coliseum and an inability to gain government assistance for a new ballpark. Now the team is bound for Las Vegas, where a groundbreaking ceremony was held this month for a $1.75 billion ballpark that is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 season. Nevada and Clark County approved up to $380 million in public funds for the project. Article content And last year voters in Jackson County, Missouri, rejected an attempt to extend a sales tax that would have helped fund a ballpark for the Kansas City Royals and stadium renovations for the Kansas City Chiefs. Lawmakers in Kansas are trying to lure the teams with government subsidies, and Missouri is trying to keep them with its own financial incentives.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
A no-brainer': Some bosses happily giving staff Monday off along with Canada Day
Anyone who works Monday to Friday and is keen for a long weekend this Canada Day has likely had to do a bit of calendar juggling to cope with the ill-timed holiday. Article content The stat day falls on a Tuesday this year, forcing many to work an odd Monday squeezed between days off, unless they burn a vacation day to eliminate the wonky schedule. Article content Some startup companies say they're calling Monday a wash and giving staff a paid day off in order to smooth out the mid-week quirk and create a long weekend. Article content Article content It might not make sense on paper, said Klarify founder Moody Abdul, but he said he believes in prioritizing employee happiness. Article content Article content 'It's that, 'if I take care of you, you'll take care of us' kind of mentality,' Abdul said. Connecting the Canada Day holiday to the preceding weekend is just one way to demonstrate worker appreciation, said Abdul, whose company provides AI-driven note-taking and administrative tools to therapists. Article content For those in Quebec, it's the second holiday Tuesday in a row, after Saint-Jean Baptiste Day on June 24 forced many Fete nationale celebrants to grapple with their own odd workweek. Article content But with Canada Day following so close behind, it's not uncommon for Quebecers to take the whole week off between the two holidays, much the way many treat the stretch between Christmas and New Year's. Article content Of course not every employer can offer such accommodations, and full-time workers with less shift leeway will have to choose to take a vacation day or just make do with an odd schedule next week. Ani Siddique, a research assistant at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, said he asked far in advance for Monday off in order to get ahead of colleagues with the same idea. Article content Article content 'I had to ask for it but I planned for things one or two months in advance,' he said. Article content Article content Morad Affifi, who sat in a downtown park after a shift Friday, said the majority of his planned Canada Day festivities take place over the weekend but he, too, dipped into his vacation bank to avoid working Monday. Article content Suze Mason, co-founder of the digital health platform Sprout Family, said her five staff members have the Monday off and she didn't expect the move to have much of an operational impact on her company. Article content Sprout Family helps co-ordinate fertility care through workplace benefits programs. She said many of its clients, including larger Canadian organizations, plan to treat Monday like a holiday. 'It felt like it was the right business decision to give our employees a day to rest and recharge, while also not having as much of a direct impact on the business,' Mason said.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Toronto's vibrant Pride parade to cap off weekend of celebrations, marches
TORONTO — Artin Avaznia says he was transformed the first time he saw a group of Iranians marching in Toronto's Pride parade. Article content The Iranian-Canadian dancer was in his mid-20s and it was his first time attending North America's largest Pride festival. It was a stark contrast to what he'd seen in his hometown of Ottawa, which he described as a 'small, very government city' that was lacking in large-scale queer representation at the time. Article content Article content Article content 'Seeing that brought tears to my eyes,' Avaznia said in an interview ahead of a performance at the Pride festival on Friday. 'I never witnessed that before, seeing representation of not just Iranians but the broader Middle Eastern folks, just because (being) queer and Middle Eastern doesn't always go so well together.' Article content Article content This weekend will feature street parties, musical performances, picnics and marches before the festival culminates in the vibrant Pride parade on Sunday. More than 25,000 marchers from some 250 groups are expected to participate in the weekend's biggest show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. Article content The last weekend of Pride month and the parade drew a large number of visitors. Toronto police say they will increase their presence throughout the city and in the Church-Wellesley Village _ the hub of Pride activities — to ensure everyone's safety. Article content Article content 'So many folks during this month feel seen, they feel protected, they feel heard and they feel they belong,' said Avaznia, who credits his own career momentum to Pride. Article content Article content But this year, the celebrations and the spectacle also come with questions about what the future of Pride Toronto will look like after major corporate sponsors pulled out of the festival. Article content Earlier this month, Pride Toronto said it's facing a $900,000 funding gap due to withdrawals of big sponsors such as Google, Nissan, Home Depot and Clorox, and rising costs of running the festival. Article content Pride Toronto executive director Kojo Modeste attributed the corporate withdrawals to backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States under President Donald Trump's administration. Some of the companies said their decisions were solely based on budgetary considerations, and Google said its employees will still march in Sunday's parade. Article content Modeste has said that next year's Pride festival will likely be scaled down as a result of the shortfall if the organization does not get the support it needs to stay afloat. A scaled down Pride could jeopardize the festival's status as one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world, Modeste warned.
