Normally, I disregard column ideas from friends and readers, even when they’re both. However, comma… “I expect to see a Wilbur Wood column next week,” texted one loyal reader. Wilbur Wood, who died at 84 last Saturday, was a major-league pitcher. He became famous with the Chicago White Sox when […]
fftimes
Most writers, lyricists and poets can attest to this. There are nights when writing feels less like an activity and more like ceremony. It is a returning pilgrimage across a portal into a room inside the soul where the air shifts. Where the light deepens. Where the world grows quiet […]
Did you know? Canada continues to face a critical and escalating shortage of firefighters; every year, we continue to lose 9,000 out of an estimated 126,000. This significant decline leaves numerous communities throughout our vast country dangerously understaffed, jeopardizing their ability to effectively respond to emergencies. Staffing shortage widely documented […]
The Ontario government has declared the Greenstone Transmission Line project as a priority, accelerating construction of a 230-kilometre power line that will run from Nipigon Bay to near Aroland First Nation. In a shot at the recently imposed U.S. tariff regime, the province says the project will create more than […]
We’ve just come through another seasonal dump of heavy snow here in Nova Scotia as I write this. I managed to dig my way out this morning with snowblower and shovel. I only use my snowblower when desperate times call for desperate measures. I prefer my shovel, telling myself I’m in a fresh […]
EVENTS CALENDAR Manitou Mounds is hosting a PA Day winter carnival. Join us for a day of outdoor adventures, skiing, hockey, s’mores, smoosh races and more. Jan 30 & 31. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $10 for one child, $20 for one adult, $40 for family of four. The […]
Betty’s and The Pink Parasol Tea Room held its first ever “Winter Kingdom of Frost and Flame” renaissance faire on Saturday afternoon. Guests were offered opportunities to play Magic The Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, trivia and arm wrestling competitions, all while looking the part in medieval themed costumes.
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal
As below-normal temperatures persist in Thunder Bay and areas close to the city, Indigenous leaders have been calling on their city counterparts to declare a state of emergency over homelessness, as many are forced to endure the bitter cold outdoors. On Friday, Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon and […]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
TBnewswatch.com
THUNDER BAY — The city was advocating for more power to push back against over-budget legislated agencies, boards and commissions at the 2026 Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference. “We were lobbying the ministry to say we need some sort of mechanism to say, ‘listen, you can’t come in at 9.1 […]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada’s National Observer
As Parliament resumes, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are striking a more conciliatory tone on issues like crime but remain unrelenting in their demands to axe carbon pricing and fast-track pipelines. Parliament returned on Jan. 26 after an eventful week marked by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum […]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Chronicle-Journal
Bone-chilling temperatures in the Thunder Bay area are forecast to remain in place for another week, although they’re not expected to be as severe as the last few days, Environment Canada says. “I think you’re through the worst of it, but it’s still going to be quite cold,” Toronto-based meteorologist […]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Canada’s National Observer
Canada continues to tout itself as a “world leader” in tackling ghost gear’s threats to marine life and coastal communities even though funding for the program dried up in 2024. Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) former investments to address abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, were axed without explanation by […]





