Latest news with #McCue
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Sudbury kids bake 1,200-pound Nanaimo bar for Canada Day fundraiser
Five years after setting a Guinness record with a 530-pound Nanaimo bar, a group of kids have upped the ante with a 1,200-pound version. Madison Marier reports. Five kids from the Greater Sudbury community of Levack are celebrating Canada Day by baking what they say is the world's largest Nanaimo bar – weighing in at 1,200 pounds – five years after their family first set the Guinness World Record for the dessert. A Guinness World Record Ella and Austin Kurtis - 2020 Ella and Austin Kurtis receive their Guinness World Record certificates for the world's largest Nanaimo bar from their family's 2020 attempt at the record. (Supplied/Northwest Fudge Factory) In 2020, the Kurtis and McCue families of the Northwest Fudge Factory created a 530-pound Nanaimo bar, earning official recognition from Guinness. Now, the group – with an average age of 12 – has more than doubled that effort, though they do not plan to submit this attempt to Guinness, opting instead to give others a chance to break their original record. World's Largest Nanaimo bar - 2020 Children from the Kurtis and McCue families along side their 530-pound Nanaimo bar in 2020 as they attempted to set the Guinness World Record. (Supplied/Northwest Fudge Factory) 'Five years ago, we made a 530-pound Nanaimo bar and we went through Guinness and we got the official world record,' said Ella and Austin Kurtis, two of the young bakers. 'This year, five years later, we decided to do a 1,200-pound Nanaimo bar just to celebrate Canada Day.' The massive dessert took one full day to bake and two weeks to plan. 'It makes me feel really good because we're doing it again,' Austin said. 'Five years ago, I didn't really remember anything, so I got to remake it and double it.' world's largest Nanaimo bar Children from the from the Greater Sudbury community of Levack unveiled what they say is the world's largest Nanaimo bar – weighing in at 1,200 pounds at Science North on June 30, 2025. (Madison Marier/CTV News Northern Ontario) Giving back The project also serves as a fundraiser for three youth-focused charities: the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer (NOFCC), Youth Offering Youth Opportunities (YOYO), and the Onaping Falls Legion. 'I really think that youth can make big differences, like five kids making a 1,200-pounder to give back to youth,' said Ella Kurtis. 'That's so inspirational. It's just a really great opportunity that gives back.' Another recent big bar attempt While the Levack group holds the official Guinness record, another large Nanaimo bar was created in May by Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C. That bar stretched about 70 feet long, weighed roughly 1,100 pounds, and served 3,500 pieces. However, it was not certified by Guinness, instead relying on validation from the Baking Association of Canada and the Culinary Federation of Canada. 'It's not a Guinness record, and it doesn't meet the same standards of a Guinness record,' representatives of the Northwest Fudge Factory told CTV News at the time. 'Put your mind to something, you can do almost anything' The Sudbury team remains proud of their accomplishment. 'It just shows how much if five kids put their mind to something, you could do almost anything,' said Rylee and Trent McCue, two other bakers involved. When asked if they plan to attempt another world-record food item, the answer from the children was simple: 'Probably not.' world's largest Nanaimo bar Five children from the from the Greater Sudbury community of Levack unveiled what they say is the world's largest Nanaimo bar – weighing in at 1,200 pounds at Science North on June 30, 2025. (Facebook/Northwest Fudge Factory) The 1,200-pound Nanaimo bar was unveiled on June 30 with pieces to be sold on Canada Day at Science North, with proceeds supporting their chosen charities. cutting up what The Northwest Fudge Factor is calling the world's largest Nanaimo bar A team begins cutting up what The Northwest Fudge Factor is calling the world's largest Nanaimo bar on June 30, 2025. The pieces will be sold at the Canada Day celebrate at Science North in Greater Sudbury, Ont., with the proceeds going to three local youth-focused charities: the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer, Youth Offering Youth Opportunities, and the Onaping Falls Legion. (Madison Marier/CTV News Northern Ontario) With files from CTV News Vancouver
Glasgow Times
28-06-2025
- Glasgow Times
Pair pretended to be armed police before attacking man in Glasgow
Alan Mitchell, 46, of Carntyne, was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court recently after pleading guilty to several offences. He admitted to attempted housebreaking with intent to steal, pretending to be an armed police officer, assaulting Cameron Lewis, dangerous driving, and failing to provide a blood specimen when required. Meanwhile, co-accused, Stacey McCue, 29, of Kelvinhaugh, pleaded guilty to attempted housebreaking, pretending to be an armed police officer and assaulting Cameron Lewis. However, McCue did not attend court, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. The court heard that on November 11, 2023, residents at a flat block on Dorchester Avenue in Kelvindale heard shouting and banging coming from within the common close at 2.45pm. One woman heard two separate voices – one male and one female – shouting they were armed police and had a warrant. She believed the noise was coming from the first floor. Once the noise stopped, a man left his flat and noticed that a door on the first floor was damaged. This appeared to have been caused by tools, as he spotted chisel marks. The door handle also looked broken. The resident who lived at this property had been on holiday at the time. Shortly after 3pm on the same day, Mr Lewis was walking along Dorchester Avenue when he noticed a black Volkswagen Passat parked at the side of the road with both Mitchell and McCue inside. READ NEXT: Woman on sex offenders register for offering to lick police officer's privates As he passed the car, McCue demanded that he show her his hands and get in the vehicle, claiming she was a police officer. Mr Lewis refused, and this enraged McCue, who got out of the passenger side and approached him. McCue grabbed Mr Lewis, took a can from his hand, crushed it, and tried to cut his neck. Mitchell then drove the car in Mr Lewis' direction and mounted the curb, narrowly missing him. Mr Lewis then ran off towards Cleveden Road. At this time, another man was driving along Dorchester Avenue when he saw the black Volkswagen Passat at the end of the street. Mitchell was in the driver's seat, and McCue was standing at the rear shouting for him to go. Mitchell has then driven onto Cleveden Road with McCue running on foot in the same direction – both in pursuit of Mr Lewis, who had managed to hide in the area. The man followed Mitchell and McCue onto Cleveden Road and watched McCue, who appeared to be looking for something or someone, before getting into the vehicle. READ NEXT: Glasgow man stabbed nephew after he took his kebab sauce During this time, Mr Lewis contacted police. Police located the car on Skaethorn Road, where Mitchell drove quickly towards them, braking harshly, causing the car to skid and narrowly avoiding the police vehicle. The pair were later apprehended. A drug wipe test was carried out on Mitchell, which returned a positive result for cocaine. Whilst at Clydebank police office, Mitchell refused to provide a blood sample despite testing positive at the roadside. He was charged and stated, 'It's just pointless, I already told yous I'd taken it.' McCue was cautioned, and both were released on an undertaking. Mitchell's lawyer told the court that his client had been taking steps to address addiction issues. The defence solicitor said: 'He accepts these are serious offences and that the custodial threshold has been met. 'He does have a record of offending behaviour, but has no convictions since 2019. He was under the influence when this offence was committed. 'He referred himself to an alcohol recovery service in 2024 and had a short stay at rehabilitation in November and December. 'He has continued to engage with addiction services and is presently not taking any drugs.' Addressing Mitchell, Sheriff Anthony Deutsch commented: 'No community punishment is appropriate due to the seriousness of the offence and taking into account your record.' Mitchell was jailed for 11 months. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Carleton University launches new program aimed at training Indigenous journalists
Three educational institutions in Ontario have teamed up to offer journalism training to Indigenous learners in remote communities who may have faced roadblocks to education in the past. Carleton University in Ottawa, in partnership with Kenjgewin Teg in M'Chigeeng First Nation on Mnidoo Mnising/Manitoulin Island and the First Nations Technical Institute based in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, announced in January the launch of the Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities, funded by $3.2 million from the Mastercard Foundation. "I hope that not only will we be producing a new crop of Indigenous journalists, but also that we will be sending a message to other journalism schools… to start patterning programs that suit Indigenous learners' needs," said Duncan McCue, the director of the program. McCue and several of the program's administrators and instructors are either current or former employees of CBC News. The nine-month, eight-course program will begin in September, with four of the courses offered completely online. The courses will be led by Indigenous instructors working in the field and an advisory committee including elders and industry experts will oversee the program. McCue said he hopes allowing students to study from home will address some of the social, cultural and financial barriers Indigenous learners have when they have to move away from their communities for school. According to 2016 Census data from Statistics Canada, First Nations students living on reserve are 20 per cent less likely to complete post-secondary education than those living off reserve. "We know that one of the major barriers for all Indigenous learners in many different fields is leaving home," said McCue. "It's hard leaving family. They may be leaving behind ceremony or language or being out on the land. All those kinds of things make it difficult for Indigenous students to come down to the cities." Three of the courses will be offered as in-person intensives — one in Ottawa, one on Manitoulin Island and the third yet to be determined — to foster community within the program and train hands-on skills, said McCue. The cost of travel, accommodation and food for these will be covered. The tuition fee structure will follow that of Carleton's Bachelor of Journalism program. "We can take back the mic," McCue said. "People have been telling our stories for a really long time… what we're offering is just a little bit of training and kind of the foundations of media work." The program will also have a student success facilitator to support students that may need help with funding applications or liaising with teachers, as well as a dedicated cultural advisor to help support students along their learning journey. Francine Compton, head of the Indigenous Journalists Association and the program's internship co-ordinator, said the use of Indigenous pedagogy — a holistic approach to learning that takes into account Indigenous world views — will make the program one of a kind. "I think it's going to change the game," Compton said. "Storytelling in our cultures and our communities is not anything new. We've been sharing our stories since time immemorial. Our oral histories have been passed down through generations. So that's the importance of the craft, which is storytelling and journalism." McCue said the program also includes a $3,000 graduation incentive award upon certificate completion to assist with financial barriers. Graduates of the program would be able to enter the second year of Carleton's Bachelor of Journalism or Bachelor of Arts programs. A spokesperson for The Mastercard Foundation said in a written statement to CBC Indigenous that it is proud to partner on a program that will help all Canadians better understand Indigenous peoples' perspectives, priorities and realities.
Boston Globe
14-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
If so many people are leaving Massachusetts, why aren't housing costs going down?
Nearly everyone agrees that perhaps the biggest threat to Massachusetts' economy is that But if so many people are moving away, why don't housing prices go down? The state's combination of slow population growth and sky-high prices would seem to contradict the basic laws of supply and demand. Related : The simplest explanation is this: Even if people leave the state, Massachusetts is so short on homes that There is no true estimate of exactly how many homes Massachusetts needs to meet demand right now, because different economists have different ways of measuring these things. Advertisement So researchers tend to defer to the most obvious indicator: the 'There is no one perfect measure of the housing shortage,' said Daniel McCue, a senior research associate at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. 'The easiest thing to look at is the housing market and the way prices are growing here. That is indicative of extreme demand that the state isn't meeting.' One recent example: In many parts of the country, home prices have modestly dipped over the last two years due to rising interest rates. Not here. Statewide, Advertisement That alone, said McCue, is enough of an indicator that the state needs to build more, much more. And then there's the broader picture of the state's population trends. Related : Much of under President Trump. But immigration has driven population growth here for some time. Domestic migration was negative well before COVID — every year going back to 2014 — while international immigration has been positive. Then there are births in the state, which have outpaced deaths here for years, though that growth has slowed recently. So while people are leaving the Massachusetts, the population is still growing. And on top of the number of people who live in the state is the number of households they form. That number is also expected to grow over the next ten years, said McCue. Related : Advertisement Someone forms a new household when they move into a new living arrangement. The simplest example of this is when a young person moves out of their parents' home, and what was one household becomes two. Household growth has surged in the US in recent years — driven mostly by Millennials — and the same has been true in Massachusetts. Between 2025 and 2035, the state figures some 500,000 Millennial and Gen Z residents will form new households here, exceeding the pace at which Baby Boomer and other older households shrink or move away. A condo development under construction in Jamaica Plain. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff The easiest way to think of that dynamic and how it impacts the housing market in Massachusetts is like this: Picture a couple who raised two children in a Boston suburb. Eventually, those children will move out on their own, forming new households of their own that require housing. Most won't find any place to live in the town they grow up, unless that town has built new housing. At the same time, their parents will still be living in the house they grew up in, now with empty bedrooms, because there are so few smaller options. What this dynamic means is that the number of people who need housing in Massachusetts will keep growing, even if the overall population does not. Those are the new households the Healey administration accounted for when it called on the state to build 222,000 new homes between 2025 and 2035. The researchers who helped create that recommendation assumed zero population growth; if they're wrong, of course, the state will need even more. Advertisement One somewhat common refrain is that population loss wouldn't be such a bad thing for Massachusetts, because it could lower housing costs. Why is it such a bad thing if the kids move away from the town they grew up in, or even out of the state, if it means demand for new homes will go down? The answer, said McCue, is that those kids are future workers, who power the state's companies and economy. If they leave, good jobs will follow. Housing costs would drop because of a downturn in the state's economy marked by job loss, companies leaving the state, and a generally weaker Massachusetts. 'That is not a scenario that anyone should be rooting for,' said McCue. 'States with healthy economies don't shrink.' Andrew Brinker can be reached at
Boston Globe
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The Boston Comedy Festival returns for its 25th year
DiMarzio echoes his language. 'I think we try every year to make it something special,' she says. She highlights the BCF's comedy competition, which brings in dozens of comedians to face off in several rounds, before the winner is chosen from the final eight comedians at the closing at the Finals event that ends the festival. 'The contest has always been the heart of the festival, and so we always just kind of start with that, to get the best people to come into the contest.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Boston Comedy Festival has been a lot of things over the past 25 years. Sometimes it's part film festival. They've hosted animation and short films. During the pandemic, the festival went virtual for a year, with all of the comedians performing in front of a custom BCF background to make it feel like an actual festival. 'Every year, we do stuff that works and we do stuff that doesn't,' says McCue, 'and we just keep rolling along.' McCue has been doing comedy since the early '90s, while DiMarzio is a creative designer. She can't remember when, exactly, she started helping out, but she has been immersed in comedy for most of the festival's history. They are always looking for fresh talent, but DiMarzio says she sometimes has to remind McCue that a perceived up-and-comer may actually be a ten-year stand-up veteran. 'We have to adjust our idea of who is new,' she says. Advertisement They don't start with a big budget and figure out what talent they can buy; they build each festival show by show with the different venues, which this year includes City Winery, The Comedy Studio, The Rockwell, The Somerville Theatre, and The Berklee Performance Center. The idea is to appeal to the widest possible range of tastes. 'We've always had the feeling of, whoever you think is the best comedian, you're right,' says McCue. 'So we're gonna be trying to get the best of every different kind of thing.' Here's a rundown of what you can see at the Boston Comedy Festival. Check THE CONTEST This starts on April first at The Rockwell, and bounces between there, The Comedy Studio, and City Winery. It runs the length of the fest, with the winner crowned at the finals April 5 at the Somerville Theatre. It's a good opportunity to catch a variety of comedians, but it's also a showcase for Boston comics to host and do 15-20 minutes while votes are being tabulated. You'll see some of the city's best there, including Andrew Mayer, Niki Luparelli, Kathe Farris, Alex Giampapa, Kelly MacFarland, Will Smalley, Robbie Printz, and many others. It's a display for agents and bookers coming to town to scout. 'The whole purpose of this thing [we] started 25 years ago was just trying to get industry to come here and see the acts,' says McCue Advertisement THE FUNNY TOGETHER TOUR If you're looking for clean comedy, this is your show. Providence comedian Rhonda Corey, who created the tour in 2023, is joined by June Bug Colson and Mike Murray. April 3, 7 p.m. $20. The Rockwell. EDDIE PEPITONE If you missed The Bitter Buddha on his co-headlining tour with Chris Gethard in October, you can see him do his own show here. In his 'In Ruins' special, Pepitone says that even though he rails against corporate culture, he's enjoying the space in his new Honda Element. 'I like that, because there's room to weep,' he says. 'I can regret my past life decisions in this car with satellite radio.' April 3, 2:30 p.m. $20-$35. City Winery. CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN COMEDY This show provides a spotlight on comedians from LGBTQ+ and immigrant backgrounds, hosted by drag performer Miss Uchawi, featuring Ugandan-born comedian Birungi, 'Beer With A Queer' host Jeff Klein, stand-up and speaker Madelein Murphy, and headlined by Boston's own Corey Rodrigues. April 4, 7 p.m. $20. The Rockwell. EMO PHILIPS The off-the-wall comic is a longtime friend of the festival, and a joy to watch. One year, he had a great visual gag where he came out at the Rockwell in a neck-to-ankles trench coat, and over the course of several jokes, without drawing attention to it, took off the coat, and slowly made it disappear into his pants pocket. At another fest, he came onstage after the finals at the Somerville Theatre with a broom and started sweeping the stage as people filed out. 'He was so committed to the bit,' says DiMarzio. April 5, 7 p.m. $25-$30. The Rockwell. Advertisement Jim McCue performs April 5 at the Berklee Performance Center. Courtesy BEST OF THE BOSTON COMEDY FESTIVAL: TO BENEFIT THE COMEDY GIVES BACK FIRE FUND This show best exemplifies to kitchen-sink spirit of the Festival, featuring comics from different generations with different styles. Jim McCue, the crowd work expert. Paul D'Angelo, the '80s Boom comic with a knack for a rant. Storyteller and sometime nerd Bethany Van Delft. The sly but aloof Dan Boulger. Karen Morgan, a Georgia transplant living in Maine. And sharp-eyed former Boston comic and one-time theater kid Erin Maguire. McCue is happy to be able to help comics hurt by the LA fires through Comedy Gives Back. 'Everybody's not up and running out there again,' he says. 'They still need help.' April 5, 7:30 p.m. $25. Berklee Performance Center AMY MILLER 'I think the most 40-year-old thing I do, though, is I do have a special word for when I've had so much white wine I wanna get in a fist fight,' says the Los Angeles-based Miller. 'It's just 'chardonnangry.' Y'all can use that.' She headlines two shows with host Courtney Reynolds and feature act Will Smalley. April 5, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $25. The Comedy Studio. BOSTON COMEDY FINALS This is where the final eight (barring a tie) contestants will compete for the top prize in front of a panel of judges. BCF veteran Ryan Hamilton will be on hand to receive the Comedian of the Year honor, and Boston comic Kenny Rogerson, nicknamed The Viper for his savage and inventive wit, gets the Lifetime Achievement Award. Tony V, April 5, 8 p.m. $30. The Somerville Theatre. Advertisement
