Bob Mackin
Remember when B.C. Premier David Eby’s big deficit budget landed with a thud early this year, so he tried to distract us all by announcing unilateral imposition of year-round daylight saving time in most of B.C.?
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 308-117 on July 14 to make daylight saving time permanent, from sea-to-shining-sea. Twenty-two Republicans voted against, despite Donald Trump backing the bill.
Reported Politico: “Agriculture state lawmakers are especially wary of delaying daylight for farmers, while others fear the extra hours of darkness in the morning would pose risks to mental health, public safety and sleep habits.“
Republican Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee physician, played the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” into the House floor microphone. (At his photo op, Eby misused Daft Punk’s classic “One More Time.“)
Next up for the awkwardly named “Sunshine Protection Act”: the Senate, where some members have a dim view of the bill. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine sayspermanent standard time would be better for public health.
While on the topic of sunshine protection, to protect yourself from sunshine, the Canadian Dermatology Association offers these tips.
Around the Rim
A Taipei District Court judge is urging his country and the United States to take on China’s transnational repression.
Hsu Kai-chieh said the two countries should strike a joint task force to share information on battling with foreign interference. Hsu suggested there even be a public channel to immediately report cases to authorities, reported Focus Taiwan.
The firing of a driver of an ice cream truck was legal, according to Australia’s Fair Work Commission.
Last December, ABC News Australia reported, Jeremiah Manly was blamed for ruining $73,000 of ice cream when the temperature was set to -1 Celsius instead of -22 Celsius for the delivery west of Melbourne to Wagga Wagga. It cost another $30,000 to dispose of the melted ice cream.
The commission rejected Manly’s defence that he was not solely responsible.
Kyodo News reported that the world as we know it will cease to be in just 14 years, according to the boss of Japan’s biggest investment bank.
SoftBank chair and CEO Masayoshi Son predicts, by 2040, there will be a billion artificial intelligence humanoid robots roaming the Earth and a fifth of the world economy — worth $43 trillion — will be driven by AI.
“The age of humans being the highest life form will end,” Son said.
With parts made in Japan? Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.
Cascadia Calling
Portland teenager Quinn Brown spent $3.07 in January on a Los Angeles Lakers warmup jacket at a Goodwill store in Portland. The jacket’s original owner was hall of famer Wilt Chamberlain and he wore it during the 1972 NBA Finals.
Willamette Week reported that it went up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York and could fetch up to $250,000 by the time it closes on July 20.
The Seattle SuperSonics are one step closer to returning.
The NBA Board of Governors met in Las Vegas — which also wants a team — and commissioner Adam Silver said there is more than one group in the running.
“That seems noteworthy because at least in Seattle only One Roof Sports and Entertainment has publicly expressed its intention on being involved in the expansion conversations, the Seattle Times reported.
Hoteliers in Bellingham, Wash., did not achieve their “goooooaaal“ of FIFA World Cup riches.
Cascadia Daily News reported that it was a boon for bars, but not so much for innkeepers.
The city near the border with British Columbia expected to be a destination for travellers attending matches in Vancouver, Seattle or both.
According to CDN, Kevin VandeKamp, area sales manager for Springhill Inn and Suites, said the hotel saw a few bookings, but “definitely not what was expected.”
The Sheraton Four Points didn’t experience much impact and the Holiday Inn and Suites also saw a minimal impact, “at best.“
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