Five days, four homicides: What we know about Ottawa's recent wave of gun violence - Ottawa Citizen

Chief Peter Sloly said there was so far no known connection between the shootings over the past week.

Author of the article:

Taylor Blewett

Ottawa police investigate at the scene of a multiple shooting on Alta Vista Drive on Friday evening. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Four young men are dead and the Ottawa police chief says the service is finalizing a major operational plan to respond to a wave of gun violence that includes four homicides in five days over the past week.

In the homicide unit, Staff Sgt. Jeff Pilon said Monday it’s “all hands on deck,” and everybody’s been working non-stop.

At a Monday news conference, Chief Peter Sloly said there was so far no known connection between the shootings over the past week, and at that point the police service couldn’t draw a link between the homicides and gangs.

Sloly pledged more announcements and arrests to come, as well as an operational plan with multiple elements, including suppression of violence.

Ottawa police data shows that there have been 35 shooting events (any incident where a firearm is discharged illegally) so far this year, six of which were firearm homicides. This comes after five-year lows for shootings (45) and firearm homicides (three) in 2020.

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In 2017, 2018 and 2019, between 74 and 77 shootings, and five and eight firearm homicides were reported annually.

Sloly explained that when it comes to shootings, “there is a small percentage of people who operate in a relatively small percentage of the geography of Ottawa that produce disproportionately the largest amount of our violent crime.”

Ottawa Police Service Chief Peter Sloly Photo by Errol McGihon /Postmedia

Recently, Sloly said the police service has seen “a significant spread” in the areas impacted by shooting events. People are using vehicles to move drugs and guns, and they’re encountering one another “in unplanned and rather random locations, and then sparking acts of violence, often involving firearms.”

It’s a relatively new trend the police service has seen in Ottawa over the last several years, according to the chief, and makes traditional policing methods more difficult.

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Nonetheless, he said the service will be identifying the highest-risk offenders — often the same people at highest risk of becoming victims — as well as places where those offenders are engaging in crime or activities that lead up to it.

Members of the Ottawa Police Service homicide unit, guns and gangs unit, drug unit, neighbourhood resource teams and others will be targeting those considered most likely to commit crimes, said Sloly. This suppression is already happening, and will continue “until we see a flattening of the spike in crime that we’ve seen impacting the city.”

Under development currently is “a greater level of integrated investigation operations,” said Sloly, between OPS units like the drug squad and guns and gangs unit, as well as with other policing bodies in the area, and at the national and international level.

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There will also be a community engagement strategy built at the neighbourhood and city level, said Sloly, with outreach to community stakeholders — “some of whom have already reached out to us” — to engage them in that process.

Read on for a timeline of the shooting incidents reported by police in the last week.

Wednesday, May 26, 8:40 p.m: 

Emergency responders are called to the visitors’ parking lot of a condominium complex on Palmerston Drive in Gloucester. Ottawan Abdulqadir Yusuf, 22, is found dead in a silver sedan. Police say they believed Yusuf suffered a gunshot wound.

Pilon said Monday they had no call for gunshots, and it’s not known at this point when Yusuf was shot.

According to witnesses at the scene, the car had been parked in the same spot for several days. No suspect has been identified.

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The Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit investigates the death of a man found dead in a vehicle in the 1400 block of Palmerston Drive on Wednesday night, May 26, 2021. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

Friday, May 28, 6:40 p.m.

Police are called after multiple gunshots, and upon arriving at a small strip mall at Alta Vista Drive and Dale Avenue, find brothers Abdulaziz Abdullah, 34, and Mohamad Abdullah, 27, both from Ottawa, fatally shot. A third man was also shot, and is discovered at the scene with non-life-threatening injuries.

Canada-wide warrants have been issued for three men, wanted for first-degree and attempted murder in relation to the shootings: Ahmed Siyad, 28, of Toronto, who is also known as Baby Dice, Dice or Dicey; Mohamed Shire, 31, of Toronto, also known as Waldo; and Abdullahi Osman, 29, of Ottawa, also known as Avon. Anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts is asked to call police.

From left: Mohamed Shire (Waldo), Abdullahi Osman (Avon), and Ahmed Siyad (Baby Dice, Dice or Dicey) Photo by Ottawa police /Ottawa police

Sunday, May 30, 12:50 a.m.

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After reports of gunshots, police and first responders are called to an east Ottawa strip mall at the intersection of Meadowbrook and Cyrville roads. Ottawa resident Warsama Youssouf, 27, was found in the parking lot, with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead in hospital.

Several residents of a community housing complex across the street from the mall said they heard the gunfire and watched as police tried to revive the man before he was placed into an ambulance.

No suspect has been identified. This was Ottawa’s seventh homicide of 2021.

Neighbours left a memorial of plastic flowers and a stuffed bunny in the parking lot of a strip mall in the east end of Ottawa where 27-year-old Warsama Youssouf was gunned down in the early hours of Sunday, May 30, 2021. Photo by Jacquie Miller /Postmedia

Sunday, May 30, 7:20 p.m.

A shooting takes place on Woodroffe Avenue, and police advise the public to expect road closures of Woodroffe between Baseline Road and Highway 417.

Sloly said Monday that the shooting involved one victim, who was recovering in hospital, and that the guns and gangs unit was investigating.

Anyone with information about the homicides was asked to call the police service at 613-236-1222, ext. 5493.

Ottawa police were on the scene of a shooting that took place Sunday evening. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

— With files from Postmedia

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Five days, four homicides: What we know about Ottawa's recent wave of gun violence - Ottawa Citizen
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Jets, Super Bowl legend Joe Namath turns 78: Five fast facts about Hall of Famer Broadway Joe - CBS Sports

Joe Namath was already a household name upon delivering the greatest guarantee in professional sports history. But after he and his team cashed in on his Super Bowl guarantee, Broadway Joe, for a brief moment in time, was arguably the most famous man on the planet. 

Namath, who declared that the 18-point underdog Jets would defeat the mighty Colts in Super Bowl III, backed it up by leading a Jets offense that befuddled Baltimore's mighty defense. The Jets defense also played a key role in the upset, forcing five turnovers that included three interceptions of quarterback Earl Morrall, the NFL's MVP that season. After the Jets had finished their 16-7 victory, Namath further etched his name in pro football lore by pointing his index finger to the sky as he danced off of the Orange Bowl turf. Namath's play that day was one of the main reasons why his career was immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. 

In light of his 78th birthday, we decided to take a look at five fast facts about Namath that you might not know. One of them involves an eye-popping fact from Namath's crowing achievement, one that Namath himself didn't know until decades later. 

1. A special quarterback fraternity 

Of the 26 quarterbacks currently enshrined in Canton, Ohio, six are from Western Pennsylvania: Namath (Beaver Falls, Pa.), George Blanda (Youngwood, Pa.), Johnny Unitas (Pittsburgh), Joe Montana (New Eagle, Pa.), Dan Marino (Pittsburgh) and Jim Kelly (Pittsburgh/East Brady, Pa.). In 2015, the six quarterbacks were honored as a group in Pittsburgh. 

"I get goose bumps thinking about it. It's a great honor," Namath said during the event. "It's our people. The people that were ahead of us, our work ethic. When we are talking about the six quarterbacks from Western Pennsylvania in the Hall we didn't do it by ourselves. It's in our blood, the hard working ethic and the appreciation for others."

A three-sport star at Beaver Falls High School, Namath led the football team to an undefeated season in 1960. Nearly a decade later, Namath watched as Unitas -- a fellow Western Pa. product -- tried in vein to rally his Colts after reliving Morrall during the second half of Super Bowl III. Unitas did quarterback the Colts to their only touchdown, but his late-game magic was not enough to overcome Namath and the Jets. 

2. National champion 

During his final year at Alabama, Namath helped lead the Crimson Tide to a 10-1 record and the second of six national titles for legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Even though his passing stats weren't gaudy, Namath went 29-4 as Alabama's starting quarterback. While his knees were ultimately his undoing in the NFL, Namath had no such issues in college, where he ran for 15 touchdowns that included six scores during the '64 season. Bryant later called Namath "the greatest athlete I ever coached." 

3. Record-setter 

The 12th overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft, Namath spurned the NFL and the St. Louis Cardinals to sign with the Jets, who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in that year's AFL draft. Fittingly, Namath signed with "Gang Green" after receiving a $427,000 contract, the highest rookie contract in pro football history at the time. A Pro Bowler in 1965, Namath led the AFL in passing in 1966. In 1967, Namath became the first quarterback in pro football history to eclipse 4,000 passing yards (he also led the AFL with 28 interceptions that season). Namath took full advantage of the talented receiving duo of Hall of Famer Don Maynard and All-Pro George Sauer, who caught a combined 146 passes for 2,323 yards and 16 touchdowns in 14 regular-season games. 

4. Zero fourth-quarter passes 

For the first three quarters of Super Bowl III, Namath completed 17 of 28 passes for 206 yards. Namath did not attempt a single pass during the fourth quarter, a fact Namath himself didn't know until decades later during an NFL Films special on the game. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if was zero," Namath told the interviewer when asked how many fourth-quarter passes he attempted against Baltimore. "Was it really? That's the first time I've been told that. I promise." 

With the Jets taking a 16-0 lead one minute into the fourth quarter, Namath was content to hand the ball off to Matt Snell (30 carries, 121 yards, one touchdown) and Emerson Boozer (19 yards on 10 carries) during the game's final stanza. Not only did his play-calling keep the Colts' defense on their heels, Namath further frustrated them by shortening his drop to offset Baltimore's fericoius pass rush. Namath also took advantage of the Colts' focus on stopping Maynard. While Maynard did not catch a pass during Super Bowl III, Sauer caught eight passes for 133 yards that included a 39-yard catch that set up the Jets' final score. 

5. Comeback Player of the Year 

During his five seasons in the AFL, Namath was a four-time Pro Bowler and the league's MVP in 1968 and in '69. After injuries wiped out the majority of his first two NFL seasons, Namath earned his first and only Pro Bowl nod in the NFL in 1972 after leading the league in passing yards and touchdown passes. Two years later, after injuries limited him to just six games in 1973, Namath won Comeback Player of the Year after appearing in all 14 games during the 1974 season. If would be the final significant award Namath would win during his playing career. 

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Five decades of Ottawa's music venues, starting in the 70s - CBC.ca

For the 50th anniversary of the Juno Awards, CBC's Alan Neal reached out to 50 Juno winners and nominees from Ottawa, asking them what venues and stages they remember most.

Here's a taste of the first Juno decade.

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When 13-time Juno-winner Bruce Cockburn first arrived at Le Hibou Coffee House, it was as a dishwasher. 

While he had been introduced to the folk scene and had heard of the coffee house — once located on Rideau Street, then Bank Street, before moving to Sussex Drive — the guitarist and singer-songwriter was in high school at the time, working in the kitchen and helping with the espresso machines.

Bruce Cockburn, who would later forge a long international career with songs like "Lovers in a Dangerous Time" and "Wondering Where the Lions Are," said he was first introduced to Le Hibou Coffee House as a dishwasher. The famed coffee house, which attracted many of the biggest and rising stars of the time to Ottawa, would soon ask a young Cockburn to come play music. (lehibou.ca)

"I worked as a waiter one night but that was a disaster," he told All In A Day host Alan Neal. "I couldn't remember people's orders and I couldn't make change."

Le Hibou Coffee House, which closed in 1975, attracted big stars to Ottawa, including Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Kris Kristofferson and Gordon Lightfoot. 

Once in a while, Cockburn would leave the kitchen and perform at the café's local talent night.

Soon they started paying him to play, said Cockburn, who later forged a long international career with songs like Lovers in a Dangerous Time and Wondering Where the Lions Are.

He'd also often show up on nights he wasn't performing to hang out, occasionally even being asked to pitch in if the café was short-staffed.

The venue also became home base for local bands like the Heavenly Blue and the Children, two groups Cockburn played for, and a hub for the arts scene.

"It was such a focal point of the whole of the Ottawa music scene that I was part of," he said. "Those gigs are probably among the most memorable of any for me from that period."

Cockburn said he still longs for those days at Le Hibou. 

"It was home for me, in a way," he said. "I mean, I felt at home." 

Ottawa Morning9:15JUNOS 50-50: Bruce Cockburn Remembers Le Hibou

The Junos 50-50 series starts with Alan Neal talking to Cockburn about the legendary coffeehouse 9:15

For Louise Reny, Barrymore's Music Hall is probably one of the best clubs in the city — even if she couldn't stand it when she first started performing.

While Reny's pop group One To One was nominated for Most Promising Group of the Year at the 1986 Junos, the seeds of their success were planted earlier when she was in the group Mainstream, which played the Ottawa scene in the 1970s and focused heavily on Led Zeppelin covers.

At the time, Barrymore's was more of a disco club — which Reny said she hated at the time.

"It was ruining our jobs," she said. "All these bars that had live music were just turning into discotheques."

The stage was like a homage to the genre, she said, with the "square disco" popularized by the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever.

Still, despite being mortified, she swallowed her pride and performed. The group's earnings from weekend performances at Barrymore's and other venues helped kickstart her music career.

Louise Reny hated Barrymore's Music Hall and the disco scene at the start of her career, but her shows there kickstarted the next step of her music career — and now she likes both the club and the musical genre. (CBC)

Reny and future One To One member Leslie Howe spent their days off writing songs and sending cassettes to record companies.  Eventually, they landed their deal in England, where they moved in 1984.

The decades have warmed Reny to disco, a genre she now likes, and to the venue that helped get her started.

"Barrymore's [is] probably the best bar in Ottawa proper. No doubt."

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Wherever you are in the world, you can watch the 2021 JUNO Awards on Sunday, June 6. You can watch live on CBC TV and CBC Gem, listen on CBC Radio One and CBC Music and stream globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos.

(CBC Music)

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Author hopes her book 'Five Little Indians' will help move readers to participate in reconciliation - Toronto Star

Author Michelle Good has seen quite a number of accolades come her way for her debut novel Five Little Indians, but the reality of the book’s success hasn’t fully set in, she said.

“I am in a state of gracious shock,” Good told Windspeaker.com in a recent interview, adding that she’s been ‘bombarded’ with media and speaking requests as word of the book continues to get out.

Nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award in the Fiction category, to be announced on Tuesday, Five Little Indians tells the story of five young students at residential school in British Columbia.

“The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission,” the description of the book reads.

Five Little Indians won the Amazon Canada First Novel award, was a finalist for the 2020 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, was on the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, and made it onto the Globe and Mail, CBC, Apple, Kobo, and Indigo Best Book of 2020 lists. The book is also up for an Indigenous Voices Award to be announced in late June.

“Every time the book gets a greater profile, there are more hearts and minds that can be opened to the direct and intergenerational impact of the residential school legacy, and perhaps it will contribute to an ongoing and a better participation in reconciliation.” It’s a sentiment that rings particularly clear after last week’s announcement that the remains of 215 children had been discovered in an unmarked mass grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C.

Before being published, Five Little Indians was something Good had been working on for nearly a decade.

Good said the writing process for the book, released in 2020, began back in 2011 while she was studying for a graduate degree at UBC.

“I made the decision that I was going to do a Masters of Fine Arts specifically to write this book,” Good said.

After finishing up the degree, Good decided that she’d spend the next couple of years fine-tuning the work until she was satisfied with the result.

“I wanted to let it grow beyond the confines of thesis requirements,” Good said, adding she’s happy to let her writing take as long as necessary.

“I’m not one of those really disciplined persons,” she said. “I do get up at 5 every morning, but I don’t set a particular amount of time to write. I just am driven by the intensity of the writing itself and I write until I’ve run out of things to write.

“I let it gestate and let it carry on and carry me to the next moment when it’s flowing freely,” Good said. “I really prefer living in quiet, rural places. I have a beautiful eight-foot picture window that looks out over a lake and it’s very inspirational. That’s where I write,” Good said.

Good is now working on a new novel inspired by her own family history.

“It speaks to a broadly characterized, fictionalized version of my great-grandmother,” Good said. “She was born in 1856 and I was born in 1956. There’s a really nice symmetry there.”

Good is a descendant of the Battle River Cree and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation. Her great-grandmother was part of the 1885 Frog Lake uprising. Her uncle was Chief Big Bear.

“She never saw a non-Indigenous person until she was in her late teens, maybe early 20s,” Good said. “This book is an articulation of the history of ‘clearing the Plains’ through the eyes of an Indigenous woman who had cleared the Plains without the interference of White people, or I should say, colonizers, for a period of time, and then experienced the extreme impact of what it meant to have those cultures clash.”

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Good was a practicing lawyer and professor for much of her professional career, with a law degree from UBC. She also worked as a lecturer in Indigenous resurgence and colonial fingerprints in the 21st century.

“It was a pretty awesome experience,” Good said.

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Nova Scotia reports five COVID-19 related deaths over the weekend - CKBW

Iain Rankin (left) and Dr. Robert Strang (right); courtesy Communications NS

Over the weekend Nova Scotia reported the most COVID-19 related deaths in one day since May 2020.

Health officials announced on Saturday two men in their 80s and a woman in her 70s had passed away in the Central Zone along with a man in his 80s from the Western Zone.

This marks the most deaths reported in our province in a single day since May 3, 2020, when six were recorded.

Meantime, another COVID-19 connected death was reported on Sunday. Public Health says a woman in her 80s died in the Central Zone.

That pushes the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 85.

“On behalf of all Nova Scotians, I offer our sympathies to the family, friends and loved ones grieving,” said Premier Iain Rankin in a news release. “While our case numbers are declining, we cannot forget there are 42 Nova Scotians in hospital. They are in my thoughts. Let’s all ensure no more Nova Scotians are hospitalized by strictly following the restrictions and getting tested and vaccinated.”

The province reported fifty-three new cases of the virus over the weekend and 128 recoveries.

Health officials confirm there is still community spread in Central Zone as well as limited community spread in Sydney. Northern and Western Zones continue to be closely monitored for community spread.

Premier Iain Rankin and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang are set to provide a COVID-19 update at 3 p.m. on Monday.

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Five Essential Italian Wines And Liqueurs To Sample Before Your Next Trip To The Mediterranean - Forbes

Five Below Earnings: What to Watch on Thursday - The Motley Fool

Investors have high expectations for Five Below's (NASDAQ:FIVE) upcoming earnings report. Not only did the specialty retailer notch strong sales growth through the pandemic, its expansion outlook improved too. Management can conservatively target more than doubling the chain's footprint over the next few years.

It's a highly competitive industry niche, though, and Five Below faces a few challenges around merchandising, inventory management, and pricing that might affect Thursday's report. So let's look at a few trends that will show whether the business is still on track in 2021.

Image source: Getty Images.

New store launches

Five Below ended last year on a positive note with comparable-store sales growth accelerating to 14% in the fiscal 2020 fourth quarter. And overall revenue jumped a blistering 25% thanks to an aggressive store reopening schedule.

The chain will need contributions from both arenas to reach the 140% sales increase most investors are expecting to see this week. Much of that spike is due to the temporary retailing shutdowns that affected the fiscal first quarter a year ago. Look for Five Below to reveal solid market share gains thanks to customer traffic growth at existing locations and the launch of new stores. The company added just 38 locations in the second half of 2020 but targeted 60 openings last quarter on the way to 180 store launches for full-year fiscal 2021.

Pricing challenges

The bullish investment thesis relies on Five Below raising its profitability as it grows sales and branches out into more selling categories. That attractive prospect got a boost from the chain's successful push into products priced above $5 in recent quarters.

Investors haven't seen this strategy tested against challenges like rising costs for everything from video games to room decorations. Success through those issues would show up in healthy gross profit margin and continued spiking average spending per shopper visit. Still, Five Below's bottom-line earnings result might stay pressured in 2021 thanks to elevated labor and selling costs.

The new outlook

CEO Joel Anderson and his team have decided to issue short-term sales outlooks while declining to offer a full-year prediction. That means investors are likely to get only a detailed forecast for the fiscal second quarter.

Heading into the report, most Wall Street analysts are expecting sales in the current quarter to jump to around $580 million compared to the pandemic-depressed $426 million a year ago. Risks to that outlook include slowing consumer spending, shifts in shopper priorities, and trouble maintaining the right inventory through wild demand swings.

We'll know if Five Below was hurt by any of those hang-ups if the chain issues a conservative outlook for the summer months. The more likely scenario is that Five Below predicts more solid growth at its stores even as it targets opening a record 170 (or more) locations this year. Its previous record sat at 150 store launches in 2019 before the pandemic temporarily scrambled its expansion plans.

Five Below's March earnings report implied that the business has put that disruptive period behind it. Barring a surprise stumble, Thursday's announcement should support that quick rebound narrative.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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CRD putting finishing touches on five-year wastewater project – Saanich News - Saanich News

The Capital Regional District’s $775 million wastewater treatment project is wrapping up after five years.

The project ran from May 2016 to this month, with the mandate of providing wastewater treatment for Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford, Colwood and the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.

CRD board chair Colin Plant called it the largest infrastructure project in the region’s history and said it came into service on time and under budget.

“This remarkable achievement will have a lasting impact on the region and provides us with the tools we need to protect our ocean and our environment,” he said.

READ: Greater Victoria wastewater treatment project up and running in Esquimalt

The wastewater treatment project includes three main components: the McLoughlin Point treatment plant in Esquimalt, a residuals treatments facility at Hartland landfill in Saanich and the series of pipes and pumps that carry wastewater from across the region to the treatment plant.

According to the CRD, the project achieves the goals of meeting or exceeding provincial regulations, minimizing costs to residents and businesses, optimizing opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adding value to the surrounding community that enhances the livability of the area.

The new wastewater infrastructure requires ongoing management, responsibilities the CRD has been preparing to take on since the project began.

READ: PHOTOS: Check out Greater Victoria’s new wastewater treatment facilities

Some minor construction continues at the Arbutus attenuation tank, an underground concrete tank that will temporarily store wastewater flows during high volume storm events, and the Clover Point pump station. That work is covered by funds committed in the project’s budget.

Moving forward, the CRD will be closing out the project’s construction contracts, fulfilling the project’s remaining First Nations and land-agreement obligations and will focus on operation and maintenance related to the newly-built infrastructure.

READ: Indigenous housing building in Colwood almost ready for occupancy

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Chatwood walks five in relief, Blue Jays drop second game to Cleveland - Sportsnet.ca

CLEVELAND -- Tyler Chatwood forced in the tying run with his fourth-straight walk in another wild outing, Jose Ramirez followed with a game-ending sacrifice fly and Cleveland rallied for two runs in the seventh inning without a hit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 Sunday and gain a doubleheader split.

Teoscar Hernandez and Rowdy Tellez homered in the fourth inning off Aaron Civale to lift Toronto to a 4-1 win the opener, and Blue Jays led 4-0 in the sixth inning of the nightcap of the twin-bill of seven-inning games under pandemic rules.

Cleveland's rally began when third baseman Santiago Espinal booted leadoff hitter Yu Chang's grounder for an error. Rene Rivera hit an RBI double off Matz and scored on Rosario's single off the pitcher's glove as Cleveland cut its deficit to 4-2.

Toronto brought in Chatwood, who last Sunday walked two batters in the ninth against Tampa Bay, and Travis Bergen followed with three straight bases-loaded walks in the Blue Jays' 6-4 loss.

This time, Chatwood (0-2) allowed Jose Ramirez's RBI single and Harold Ramirez's run-scoring double, then walked Eddie Rosario before pinch-hitter Jake Bauers lined out.

Marcus Semien's RBI single off Emanuel Clase (3-2) gave Toronto broke a 5-4 lead in the top of the seventh, but Chatwood walked Chang on five pitches with one out in the bottom half, pinch-hitter Bradley Zimmer on four and Cesar Hernandez on five, then walked Rosario on a 3-1 count.

Anthony Castro relieved after Chatwood threw 25 of 32 pitches for balls, and Jose Ramirez followed with a fly to right fielder Randall Grichuk as Zimmer slid home with the winning run and Toronto was prevented from a three-game sweep.

Matz allowed four runs -- two earned -- and four hits in five innings. Sam Hentges gave up four runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings.

In the opener, Ross Stripling (1-3) held Cleveland to one run and two hits in five innings, winning for the first time since he was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers last Aug. 31. Rafael Dolis and Jordan Romano finished a four-hitter, with Romano getting his third save.

The teams played through rain and wind gusts of 45 mph Friday night before the game was called in the bottom of the seventh with Toronto winning 11-2. Cleveland postponed Saturday's game due to high winds.

Both teams are in a stretch of playing five straight seven-inning games -- Toronto had a makeup doubleheader Thursday at the New York Yankees, and the Cleveland hosts the Chicago White Sox in a makeup twin-bill on Monday.

Civale (7-2) allowed four runs and 10 hits in six-plus innings.

Cleveland bench coach DeMarlo Hale filled in for manager Terry Francona, who attended his youngest daughter Jamie's wedding in Newport, Rhode Island.

NEW HOME

The Blue Jays start their second year of home game at their Triple-A affiliate's home in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday night against Miami. Manager Charlie Montoyo planned to visit Sahlen Field on Sunday night, and players to work out Monday. Forced from home by Canadian government coronavirus restrictions, the Blue Jays were 17-9 in Buffalo last season and were 10-11 this season at their spring training site in Dunedin, Florida. Toronto also hopes to be playing finally having a home crowd advantage, which wasn't the case in Florida.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Blue Jays: RHP Carl Edwards was added to the roster as the 27th man for the doubleheader. RHP Ty Tice was designated for assignment.

Cleveland: INF Ernie Clement was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to be the 27th man.

UP NEXT

Blue Jays: LHP Robbie Ray (2-2) will start Tuesday.

Cleveland: RHP Tristan McKenzie (1-3) will pitch the first game of Monday's doubleheader.

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Michelle Good wins national First Novel Award with book Five Little Indians - Regina Leader-Post

"I did not for a moment expect that it would have this broad-based reception in such a positive light."

Author of the article:

Lynn Giesbrecht

Michelle Good was announced as the winner of the First Novel Award on May 27, 2021 for her book Five Little Indians. Photo by Michelle Good /Submitted

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When Michelle Good began writing her first novel, she never imagined it would gain national recognition and send hundreds of people on their own journeys to discover the impacts of residential schools.

Now, little more than a year after her book Five Little Indians was released, it has done just that.

She laughed as she counted off the book’s long list of honours, among them being longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and being a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Fiction. It has also been shortlisted for six more awards, including the Governor General’s Award and the Indigenous Voices Award.

“It’s just beyond my wildest imagination,” said Good, who is a member of Saskatchewan’s Red Pheasant Cree Nation, where she spent much of her childhood.

Five Little Indians is set in the 1960s and follows the lives of five residential school survivors over decades as they work to overcome the trauma they endured at the schools.

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Adding to its accolades, the book was announced as the winner of the First Novel Award on Thursday, presented by Amazon Canada and The Walrus. The award comes with $60,000.

“I was very surprised, actually, but of course it’s a wonderful affirmation,” Good said.

“I thought that this book would do respectably well as a niche book that appealed to a niche audience. I did not for a moment expect that it would have this broad-based reception in such a positive light.”

While the awards give Good much satisfaction as an author, she said the book’s true success is found in the number of people it has pushed toward learning more about residential schools and the effect they had on those forced to attend them.

“(It’s) the readers that track me down on my web page and tell me how the book has impacted their understanding of things and it initiated their own course of education, to read further on the whole history of the schools and so on,” she said, noting hardly a day goes by when someone does not send her just such a message.

“That is the measure of success for me.”

Good has no plans to stop at just one novel, and is already onto her second. This time she is drawing deeply from her Saskatchewan roots. With a main character loosely modelled after her own great-grandmother, Good plans to delve into the province’s Indigenous history through story, going back as far as the 1850s.

1. 

   Five Little Indians: Michelle Good writes 'safe space' for tough topic

2. 

   Families told ministry to pivot from child apprehension to prevention: documents

3. 

   Remains of 215 children found at former Kamloops residential school: First Nation

lgiesbrecht@postmedia.com

The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

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Michelle Good wins national First Novel Award with book Five Little Indians - Regina Leader-Post
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Wiesberger wins by five, retains European Tour title in Denmark - TSN

The Canadian Press

FARSO, Denmark (AP) — Bernd Wiesberger retained his title at the Made in HimmerLand event on the European Tour by shooting 7-under 64 to win by five shots on Sunday.

The Austrian golfer won the tournament in Denmark in 2019 and it was canceled last year because of the pandemic.

The 35-year-old Wiesberger became the first player to retain a European Tour title since Jon Rahm at the Open de España in 2019.

Wiesberger took a one-shot lead over Alexander Bjork into the final round and was three clear of Laurie Canter. They failed to seriously challenge the leader, who pulled away by making six birdies in eighth holes from No. 8 to finish 21 under overall.

Bjork shot 70 and Canter shot 69 — the highest scores in the top 16 overall finishers.

Guido Migliozzi shot the lowest round of the day, a birdie-free 63, to finish alone in second.

___

More AP sports: https://ift.tt/3cNZnXi and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Five things to watch for in Canadian business - Toronto.com

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Five things to watch for in Canadian business  Toronto.com
Five things to watch for in Canadian business - Toronto.com
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Five Questions with Canes Country - Raw Charge

We’ve seen a lot of the Carolina Hurricanes this season, so much so it seems like it is the good ol’ Southeast Division days. Since realignment, the Hurricanes have been spending all their time with their new buddies over in the Metro Division, so it was nice to get reacquainted with them over the past few months.

Our friends over at Canes Country, the SBNation site that covers the Hurricanes, reached out to ask us a few questions about the Lightning. In exchange their editor, Andrew Schnittker, was nice enough to answer a few questions we lobbed over to them.

1. While the series with Nashville didn’t go the full seven it looked like the Preds pushed pretty hard. What did they do that gave the Hurricane’s trouble and are you worried the Lightning will be able to do the same?

The Predators did two things that gave the Hurricanes fits at times in their series against Nashville. The first was playing a bit of a “trap,” clogging up the neutral zone and making it difficult for the Hurricanes to enter the zone. The Canes thrive on entering the offensive zone with possession, getting in on the forecheck and creating chances off the rush. Clogging up the neutral zone can disrupt this team’s rhythm. While I think that’s something the Lightning certainly can execute well, given that they’re a much better defensive team than Nashville, I’m not sure they need to.

The other thing the Predators did to extend the series was get phenomenal goaltending from Juuse Saros. He was able to make some spectacular saves to keep Nashville in games, and was a big factor in them being able to win games three and four in double overtime.

Last I checked, the Bolts have a Russian netminder who’s certainly capable of the same.

2. What line do you think Rod Brind’Amour will use against the Palat/Point/Kucherov line?

As much as possible, I’m sure he’ll want Jordan Staal to be out there against that lethal trio. Staal’s most consistent wingers have been Warren Foegele and Jesper Fast, both of whom are sound defensive wingers. Staal plays “a heavy game” as Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said Friday afternoon. He’s one of the best shutdown centers in the league, capable of consistently matching up with opponents’ top forwards and keeping them off the score sheet.

If Brind’Amour has his way, I think he’ll want the Lightnig’s top line to see a heavy dose of the Hurricanes’ captain.

3. Things were pretty close between these two teams during the regular season, what do you think gives Carolina the edge in this series?

Similar to how the Lightning are a much different team with Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos in the lineup, Teuvo Teravainen did not play a single game of the regular-season series against these two, as he missed a large chunk of this season due to a bout with COVID and later concussion symptoms. Teravainen is, simply put, a massive piece for the Hurricanes.

He’s one of the most underrated players in the league, an elite playmaker and two-way winger. He’s capable of controlling play at 5-on-5, on the power play and on the penalty kill for the Hurricanes. When they’re clicking, the Hurricanes’ top line of Teravainen, Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov is flat-out dominant.

The Canes were a great team without Teravainen for much of the regular season. They’re a significantly better team with him in the lineup.

4. On social media, the Lightning seem to annoy opposing fans for a few reasons, which one annoys y’all the most?

A: No State Tax

B: Legal Cap Circumvention during the season.

C: Defending Champs

While I’m certainly envious of No State Tax, I’ve certainly seen plenty of griping from Hurricanes fans about the cap circumvention. But, as long as the Lightning/Lightning fans are honest about the fact that they exploited a loophole that gave them an advantage, I’m fine with it. There aren’t many teams that would be in a position to take advantage of the loophole, but Tampa was.

Now, if you want to say the league should re-examine the rules and look at closing said loophole, I think that’s a conversation worth having, but in that case it doesn’t make sense to blame the Lightning rather than the league. Hate the game, not the player.

5. Who is one player on the Hurricanes that Lightning fans may not know that will have an influence on how the series turns out?

I gave On The Forecheck Warren Foegele and he had kind of a quiet series, so I’m going to double down on that answer here.

Allow me to introduce you to playoff Warren Foegele. Foegele, a solid third-line winger who plays a good two-way game, has a tendency to turn into a beast this time of year. And Canes fans need look no further than the 2019 playoffs, in which Foegele scored five goals and nine points in 15 games, including some huge tallies in the Canes’ first-round upset of Washington, to know the impact he can have.

Something about the postseason brings out the best in Foegele, and causes him to step up his game, which can be quite hard to handle when he’s on, as Jordan Staal tells it:

“When he’s on, he can be one of the best players on the ice,” Staal said. “He skates so well, he’s got some great mitts on him. He’s got good vision and all the tools that you need. I think for me personally, his speed helps me out. He’s great on the forecheck, and I kind of just read off him while he goes barreling in there.”

If the Canes are going to knock out the Lightning, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Foegele score a big goal or two.

Thanks, Andrew. Look forward to a fun series between two teams that have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup this season.

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The Secret To Getting Five-Star Reviews - Forbes

Reviews are a powerful way to market a business. Be it a small entrepreneurial venture or a large Fortune 50 enterprise, testimonials coming from happy customers build credibility and help you sell whatever it is you sell. Reviews are not just found on retail sites such as Amazon, Walmart and Target, and they also go beyond Yelp, Trip Advisor, Facebook, Google, and similar apps and platforms. There are industry forums where customers from all types of businesses leave comments and write about their experiences.

Today’s customers expect a better experience. And whatever the experience is, they talk about it. In some cases, they write about it, and the world gets to read what they are thinking. So, it makes perfect sense that any organization would want to create an experience that gets praise from customers.

Five years ago I interviewed Danno Vivarelli of Starloop for an article about how to get hundreds of positive online reviews. As important as an online review was five years ago, it is even more important today. I recently reconnected with Vivarelli and we discussed more ideas, concepts and strategies to get you those coveted five-star ratings and reviews.

Before I get into Vivarelli’s concepts, I need to share one of my own. Before you can get a five-star review …

You must be good enough to earn a five-star review!

And with that in mind, here are some of Vivarelli’s secrets to getting five-star ratings and reviews.

Three Reasons to Focus on Ratings and Reviews:

1.      Social Proof Builds Confidence – Vivarelli sums it up in eight words: “The business with the best online reputation wins.” Reviews offer the proof that some customers need to move forward with their purchases. Customers rely on reviews, which research says can be even more important than price.

2.      We Are in the Trust Economy – Positive reviews and comments from customers build trust. It makes social proof more important than ever. Having hundreds more reviews than your competition makes your business an obvious choice. People believe friends, family and other customers more than they believe you. Reviews provide a much louder and more persuasive voice in the marketplace. They create credibility. That turns into trust. This is what you need to move a customer from thinking about buying to taking action.

3.      The Golden Lead – Vivarelli talks about the “Five-Star Gold Rush,” in which businesses rush to accumulate as many five-star reviews as possible. The result is what he calls a “Golden Lead,” a lead that puts you far out in front of the competition. My take is that a “Golden Lead” could be someone who has done their research on the company and knows coming in that they want to do business with you. Same impact. You have a lead over the competitor.

Two Reasons Why Customers Won’t Leave a Review

1.      It’s Not Important to Me – While accumulating ratings and reviews may be important to you, some of your customers don’t view it the same way. Typical customers are too busy with their own lives to find the time to share their opinions.

2.      Review Exhaustion – When is the last time you did business with a company that didn’t send a survey and/or ask for a review? (That’s a rhetorical question.) Sure, there are many that don’t, but more and more businesses are asking customers to take time to share their opinions. Happy, loyal customers are willing to do so, but they too will experience fatigue. Just today I was asked to review or rate a restaurant experience, an Amazon purchase, my insurance company and a recent flight. And that was all before 9 a.m.!

Four Ways to Get Customers to Write Reviews

1.      The Law of Reciprocity – Starloop discovered a way to get people to write reviews. Give them a compelling reason. Do something nice for them, and they will do something nice for you. For example, Starloop has a program in which it plants trees for each online review its clients receive. For people who are concerned about sustainability and being “green,” this is a very nice gesture. Note that more and more customers want to do business with brands and organizations that are behind a cause or are involved with the community.

2.      Use the Right Words – Asking a customer, “Can you write us a review?” is better than not asking at all, but according to Vivarelli, not much better. As mentioned above, Starloop offers to plant a tree for a review, giving the customer an incentive that is good for the earth, and increasing the chance of getting that review. If you want to increase your chances even more, consider a slight variation on the lesson from Dr. Robert Cialdini’s classic book, Influence. After the customer agrees to write a review, say, “Thank you, and if for some reason you choose not to write the review, would you please let me know?” When the customers answers, “Yes,” to that request, it adds a subtle layer of a deeper commitment. That innocent line is more powerful that you might think.

3.      Timing Matters – Asking for a review a week after the customer’s interaction with you is a waste of time. It needs to be timely. If the customer is buying in person, why not ask while they are still there? The best time for an online sale could be within a day after the customer receives a package. Contact customers within hours after their interaction with you, not days.

4.      Gentle Reminders are Appropriate – There is nothing wrong with giving your customer a gentle reminder to leave a review. Even your most well-intentioned customers are going to forget. You can use technology to automate your reminders, as long as it appears genuine and thoughtful.

Recognizing the power of the review or rating is the first step. Then, it is time to put a tangible strategy in place. You now have several reasons to focus on the ratings, and you understand at least two reasons customers may not leave a review. But you also have four tactics to get your customers to act. You can’t leave it to chance. You have to ask the customer at the right time, with a compelling reason, and if necessary, remind them. If you want your review strategy to be a success, don’t leave it to chance!

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The Secret To Getting Five-Star Reviews - Forbes
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