Five things to know about Game 1 of NHL Western final - Rocky Mountain Outlook - Bow Valley News

Canadian television broadcaster Chris Cuthbert suggested they raised the speed limit for the Western Conference final series as it took less than six minutes for the high-flying offences to produce two goals and a number of near misses on the starting goalies, who never made it to the end.

There were uptempo rushes, punishing checks, highlight-reel goals and a controversial one, 83 shots and injuries, but so far nobody has thrown a water bottle at Nazem Kadri. Then again, it's still early.

Here are five things to know about Game 1 of the so-called West Side Story that eventually finished with 14 goals, four netminders, 25 players getting on the score sheet and another Game 1 loss for the Oilers:

TWO GOALS OFF A CONTROVERSIAL CALL

Edmonton interim coach Jay Woodcroft didn't like the ruling on Colorado's third goal by Cale Makar as Avs' forward Valeri Nichuskin appeared to be offside. But a video review pointed to a possession definition and the goal stood as called on the ice. The Oilers were penalized for losing the challenge and Nazem Kadri scored on the ensuing power play.

"I think control is a discretionary thought process. It's not as if the player knew someone was tagging up, lifted his stick up, waited for it, and then went back. He's under full control. And anyone that's carrying the puck over a blue line, whether your stick is on the puck or not, that's debatable," said Woodcroft, who was an NHL video coach earlier in his career.

BARRIE SAW MAKAR'S RISE COMING

Edmonton defenceman Tyson Barrie skated with Cale Makar in the 2019 playoffs as part of the Avalanche and instantly realized Makar's potential. So the Colorado defenceman's brilliant showing in Game 1 last night did not surprise the Oiler.

“I knew I was in trouble right when I got on the ice with (Makar) the first time,” said Barrie, who was later traded to Toronto in a deal that landed Kadri in Denver. “I thought, ‘I might be out of here.’ He was exceptional.”

Makar registered his fourth three-point outing in the playoffs, which is closing in on NHL record territory.

GRANDPA'S A HIT IN RIVAL FAMILY

Oilers' assistant coach Dave Manson finally got to meet his granddaughter in Denver on Monday. And grandpa was a huge hit as two-year-old Emma Grace was all over him, playing, hugging and laughing.

Josh Manson, the Colorado Avalanche 30-year-old defenceman and son of Dave, said the long-awaited family reunion was long overdue as the COVID-19 pandemic and busy schedules made travel plans tricky.

"We had some good times Monday," said Josh, adding there was no way father and son would avoid contact during the series. “Family comes first. That’s been my dad’s motto, always. It’s different now because he’s behind the bench.”

When asked who Gemma Grace will be cheering for, Josh smiled and offered: "She does love her grandpa. But she better be pulling for me. Or we’ll have words.”

KANE STREAK QUICKLY FORGOTTEN

When Evander Kane opened scoring at 5:04 of the first period, it was his 13th goal in 13 playoff games. Like many stats on this night, it was quickly overshadowed by all the other drama inside Ball Arena. The Avalanche's eight goals were tied for the most in a playoff game in franchise history. And the 14 goals scored by both teams was the most in a conference finals game in 37 years.

MIND'S ON GAME 2, NOT HOOK

"When you're giving up touchdowns in the last two series in Game 1 … that's not a good sign," Oilers' netminder Mike Smith said last night. "But I think it shows a lot of our team that when we're down, we're not out of the fight, and continue to battle right to the end. But lots to clean up."

Smith was pulled after giving up six goals on 25 shots. He promised to be much better in Game 2, which goes Thursday night in Denver. 

---

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.

Gord Kurenoff, The Canadian Press

Adblock test (Why?)

Five things to know about Game 1 of NHL Western final - Rocky Mountain Outlook - Bow Valley News
Read More

Emily's Taking a Break from Nine-to-Five - HBR.org Daily

AMY GALLO: So, Emily, you’re leaving us. Tears.

EMILY CAULFIELD: I know. It’s sad.

AMY GALLO: Tell us what you’re going to do.

EMILY CAULFIELD: So, if you guys remember, we did an episode on side gigs, side hustles, with Brianna Caza, and that was when I talked about starting this little side business of selling vintage clothing. I am obsessed with searching for vintage treasures. It’s my favorite thing to do and has been for many years. So, I started selling items on Etsy and started doing outdoor vintage markets. I’m not expecting to make a lot of money, but hopefully I’ll make enough to continue shopping.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Sourcing.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Continue sourcing inventory.

AMY GALLO: Was it a hard decision to leave?

EMILY CAULFIELD: In a lot of ways, it was very easy. I felt like it was a long time coming. I was considering it for a really long time, and I felt like I had been putting off the decision to finally do it. But I would say that this is a great work environment, and I have really liked working for HBR. I think there’s good work-life balance, and I love the people that I work with. But I think coming out of the pandemic, it’s been a long time of feeling like, Oh, all this shit is happening at me, to me, on me, and then feeling like, OK, time for me to make some decisions. My job was not overwhelming in any way or too difficult in any way, but I am definitely feeling burnt out. I’m not feeling creative anymore. I’m not feeling like I’m producing my best work anymore. I don’t feel like I’m contributing how I want to contribute. So, at this point, it’s like I can’t continue to spend a third of my life – because that’s what a work day is. I can’t continue to spend a third of my life feeling this way in my job, and I want to feel challenged in new ways. I want to feel like I’m creating great work, and I just… I still am desiring that feeling and I’m getting little bits and pieces of that from just doing the vintage stuff on the side. But having limited time to do that, I want more of it.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Are you thinking of maybe turning the vintage clothing gig into a full-time?

EMILY CAULFIELD: I think it’s going to probably be full-time for a few months until I can no longer stand it anymore, or until I have no more money left.

AMY GALLO: I like that.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Yeah. I want to give myself some time to find a little clarity and think about what comes next, because I’m not in a position right now to job search. I just cannot job search right now. People are like, “How is the job search going?” I’m like, “There’s no job search.”

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh my God, keep your anxiety to yourself.

EMILY CAULFIELD: I’m not doing it. I am not job searching and there’s no plans for it, for at least a little bit of time. But I want to take classes and I want to learn about other fields, and I want to look at design from different angles. My only other plan for this time is I’m going to sign up for a yoga studio because I really miss doing yoga.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh, good for you.

EMILY CAULFIELD: And I really miss feeling healthy in that way, and so, that’s my only goal – is to just feel healthy.

AMY BERNSTEIN: That’s an amazing goal.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Yeah.

AMY GALLO: Well, and it’ll put you in the right head space to make these decisions.

EMILY CAULFIELD: And I’ll make this decision now, but then you know what, in a few months I might say, “OK, I want my 9:00 to 5:00 back.” I just need to take a break, and I’m like, “Why doesn’t everybody else need to take a break?”

AMY GALLO: They do.

AMY BERNSTEIN: They do. They just don’t have the wherewithal to do it.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Yeah. I was privileged enough to live with my parents for a year and a half, so I saved up some money while I was with them so I could be able to do this, because I need to be able to still pay rent and pay for my life. But I’m going to be frugal.

AMY GALLO: Yeah.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I mean, I have such respect for you for doing this – recognizing what you need and making it happen for yourself.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Mm-hmm. I didn’t feel like I had any other choice, to be honest. I think I was thinking about this for such a long time, and our last season, I felt like all the episodes were speaking to me. I was like, “Uh-oh, everybody knows,” because we talked about quitting your job and the Great Resignation, and we talked about freelancing and we talked about small businesses.

AMY BERNSTEIN: So, I have been dying to ask you, Emily: How much of that – what you just described – influenced, or how did it influence, your thinking as you made the decision to take a break?

EMILY CAULFIELD: I felt like whenever we covered this stuff in episodes, it inched me a little bit closer in the direction. So, it was, I think, reassuring in some way to cover all of these topics. Not that any of this sounds easy, but just being exposed to those ideas in a really complete way every time we did an episode, it made me even more curious about it – even more wanting to jump into it, even more wanting to try it. Instead of talking about it and being on the outside, I was like, “Oh, I want to be one of those people. I want to be part of the Great Resignation. I want to be part of this.”

AMY GALLO: So, all those episodes we did about freelance and quitting… is there any advice or insights from those episodes that you’re taking into this next phase?

EMILY CAULFIELD: So, I think it was on an episode of The Essentials when I talked to Alice Boyes, and I don’t think we were recording at the time, but she mentioned this idea that really stuck with me. Do you want to live a good life or do you want to live a rich life? Some people want to live a good life. Some people want to live a life where there’s stability, consistency. Or, are you somebody who wants a rich life – who seeks those really high highs, and I guess, in response to that, sometimes has low lows? But you’re in this position of being exposed to new experiences all the time, learning a lot. And I’m really not doing this justice, but when she explained this, I was like, “I really do seek a rich life. I do not seek the stability and the consistency.” I do seek newness and experiences and challenging myself. But that stuck with me. I want to live a rich life.

AMY GALLO: All right. I like it. So, I’m feeling like if we don’t end this episode, then she can’t leave.

AMY BERNSTEIN: She can’t leave.

AMY GALLO: Buckle up, listeners. This is a seventeen-hour —

AMY BERNSTEIN: This a seventeen-year episode so Emily never leaves.

AMY GALLO: You want to go?

AMY BERNSTEIN: I don’t know, I’m not saying goodbye.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. OK. Well, we’re not saying goodbye.

AMY BERNSTEIN: No, we’re not say goodbye.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Yeah. Do not say goodbye.

AMY GALLO: Let’s not say goodbye, because we’re going to see you. We’re going to see you at your markets. You’re going to come visit us. You’ll come have lunch with us?

EMILY CAULFIELD: Yes.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I’m really going to miss you though. I’m really going to miss you as a colleague and as a co-host and as a presence in the office, even though we weren’t in the office very much, these last hideous two years. It’s just been wonderful getting to know you and working with you, and you made us better.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. You made this podcast better.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah, that’s for sure.

AMY GALLO: It’s been a weird two years to do this together in, but your voice has always been a comfort and just thank you for bringing yourself to the show.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah, and your honesty.

EMILY CAULFIELD: That’s so nice of both of you to say. I feel like I’ve learned so much from the two of you. You’ve helped me so much. I’ve reached out to both of you when I’m like, “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’m scared.” I’m still scared, still doing scary things. So, I really admire both of you and I’ll be looking up to you.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Well, we’re going to miss you behind that microphone.

AMY GALLO: Yeah.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Thank you.

AMY GALLO: Come back and visit.

EMILY CAULFIELD: I will.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I want to come find you at one of these markets.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Yeah. It’s called Still Cute Vintage.

AMY BERNSTEIN: OK! And what’s your Etsy store called?

EMILY CAULFIELD: It’s Still Cute Vintage. And so on Instagram, it’s @stillcutevintage. I have about 100 followers, so I need more.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Thank you. You have 101 now, I think 100 —

AMY GALLO: 102.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Great.

AMY GALLO: Thank you, Emily.

AMY BERNSTEIN: We’ll see you soon.

EMILY CAULFIELD: Thank you, Amys.

Adblock test (Why?)

Emily's Taking a Break from Nine-to-Five - HBR.org Daily
Read More

Junior A Thunder extend streak to five – Aldergrove Star - Aldergrove Star

Make it five in a row to open the season for the Langley Thunder.

Stuart Phillips goal with 7:20 remaining broke the deadlock as the Thunder went into Nanaimo’s Frank Crane Arena on Saturday afternoon and returned with the 7-6 victory, improving to 5-0 on the BC Junior A Lacrosse League season.

Brayden Wandler finished the game with 34 saves on 40 shots, improving to second in the BCJALL with an .847 save percentage on the season. He is also second with a 6.18 goals against average and leads all goalies with five victories.

READ ALSO: Junior A Langley Thunder 4-0 in the season

Cody Malawsky led the offence with a goal and four helpers while Kyle Brunsch and Drew each popped in a pair of goals and had three-point games. Phillips and Ben Gagnon rounded out the scoring with a goal and an assist apiece.

Zander Torres (three goals), Andrew Bowman (one goal, three assists) and Arthur Miller (two goals) did the offensive damage for the Timbermen while goaltender Justin Geddie made 43 saves on 50 shots.

Up next for the Thunder is a home game on Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. when they host the Coquitlam Adanacs at Langley Events Centre. It is one of two home games for Langley this week as they also welcome Nanaimo to LEC on June 5 (5 p.m.).

RECENT: Langley Thunder open BC Junior A Lacrosse season with back-to-back wins

---

Have a story tip? Email: news@langleyadvancetimes.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

LacrosseLangleyLangley Events Centre

Adblock test (Why?)

Junior A Thunder extend streak to five – Aldergrove Star - Aldergrove Star
Read More

The five most important things to watch at the U.S. Women's Open - ESPN

10:08 AM ET

• 

  Paolo UggettiESPN

PINE NEEDLES, North Carolina -- The U.S. Women's Open is back at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines for a record fourth time with a purse of $10 million -- more than double last year's purse of $4.8 million -- and plenty of storylines.

Between Michelle Wie West's impending retirement, the return of three-time champion Annika Sorenstam, and the crop of young players at the top of the game, here are five things to keep an eye on this week:

Michelle Wie West's last dance (sort of)

As one USGA staffer quipped on Monday afternoon, when Wie West arrives at a tournament, there's a palpable buzz. On Monday it wasn't there. Wie was supposed to play a practice round but couldn't make it on time, so on Tuesday, as she stalked putts on the practice green and cycled through different putters, fans crowded around and watched as she prepared for her last tournament of the year.

Wie West announced last week that she would be stepping back from the LPGA Tour after this U.S. Open. She plans to play the 2023 tournament at Pebble Beach. In her Tuesday news conference at Pine Needles, she said the decision was "bittersweet," but something she had been thinking about for a while.

"I would say I have zero regrets in my career," Wie West said. "There's always that inkling of wishing I had done more. But I feel like no matter what, no one's ever going to be 100% satisfied. And I've definitely had an up-and-down career. But I'm extremely proud of the resiliency I've shown."

The former U.S. Open champion, who won this tournament back in 2015 when it was held at nearby Pinehurst, said she's managing expectations in part because she hasn't had the practice routine she normally has leading into a U.S. Open, but "obviously the competitive side wants to win." As she noted, if she hadn't won the 2014 U.S. Open, she would not be stepping away and would still be chasing that title.

How will Nelly Korda fare in her first tournament back?

To hear Korda tell the story, she didn't want to have the U.S. Open be her return to competitive golf after undergoing surgery for a blood clot in the subclavian vein in her left arm. But there she was Tuesday, wearing a compression sleeve on that left arm and talking about how she's likely going to wear a sleeve on her right to avoid getting a bad tan.

2 Related

"Once I was 100 percent, I was going to set eyes on what event I wanted to come back at," Korda said. After this week, she's defending victories at the Meijer LPGA Classic and the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Despite missing the past few months, Korda is still the second-ranked player in the world.

"I'm not expecting too much," she said. "Girls are already in the middle of their season, they have a lot of rounds under their belts."

Korda detailed her rehab, which took place in California and involved a number of shoulder and back exercises. She was eventually allowed to swing at about 60 percent capacity before getting cleared to take full swings. The time away from competition was difficult, Korda said, and it made it hard to watch much golf. She caught only the last round at the Chevron Championship.

"I just missed it so much," Korda said. "As I got closer to this week, I started hitting it a little longer. I think the juices started flowing a little bit more, but I'm so happy to be out here against everyone."

Annika Sorenstam is back in the game

Nobody knows Pine Needles like Sorenstam knows Pine Needles. She's the only player who has played this course as a U.S. Open venue three different times, including in 1996, when she won the whole thing. The 51-year-old retired in 2008 but made a comeback on the senior tour once she turned 50. Her 8-shot victory at the Senior U.S. Open last August earned her a spot in this week's field. Since then, she has been trying to balance her family life and off-course endeavors with practicing for this tournament.

No one knows her way around Pine Needles quite like Annika Sorenstam does. Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images

"She was practicing so much last year, I was like, 'Uh-oh guys, be careful, the GOAT is coming up,'" said world No. 3 Lydia Ko, who practices at the same facility in Orlando, Florida.

As Sorenstam noted, there's graduates from Sorenstam's own academy in the field this week. One of those is 24-year-old Megan Khang, who played alongside Sorenstam in Tuesday's practice round.

"I hit a shot [on the 15th hole] and it felt good, but I felt my body starting to stiffen up," Sorenstam said. "Then Megan hit a shot, she ripped it and she goes, 'Finally, I'm getting loose.' I just told [husband and caddie Mike McGee], 'I'm stiffening up and she's getting loose.'"

Sorenstam said that approaching the green and working around it will be the keys this weekend. And while she acknowledged she can't go for tough pin locations the same way she did earlier in her career, she did say her chipping game is probably as good as it has ever been.

"I know to play well here I got to max out my game," she said. "I'm where I can be and we'll see where that takes me."

After losing a 5-stroke lead in the final round of last year's U.S. Open, Thompson comes into Pine Needles with extra motivation and perspective. The 27-year-old said Tuesday she's taken the time over the last year to focus on her positivity, including viewing last year's loss as a learning experience, not a failure.

"I'm just enjoying life more, realizing that golf isn't life or death," said the sixth-ranked player in the world, who has been playing professionally since she was 15. "I think that's more important than sometimes grinding on practice facilities. It's more helpful just to get your mind to relax and your body a little time off."

Thompson, who hasn't won on the LPGA tour since 2019, said she is no longer working with a mental coach. She did credit her instructor, Martin Hall, for helping her get through the ups and downs of the past year and keeping her positive. He also helped her through some swing changes.

As far as her approach for this week, Thompson said the course, and especially the greens, call for being conservative and taking long putts instead of having the ball run off the green after chasing a pin.

Rose Zhang leads the amateur field

Following her team and individual victories at the NCAA championships, golf's rising star is having to spend her week at the U.S. Open finishing up essays and projects for her freshman year at Stanford. Zhang's last few months have been a whirlwind, but she keeps winning. Just last week, as she turned 19, she received the Annika Award, given to the top female U.S. collegiate golfer.

"It's been crazy," Zhang said after a range session Monday. "I had to move out of my dorm. ... I'm still in class, but [the school year] is basically over and I'm at another event, so I feel like it's been hectic."

Zhang has also been busy off the course, signing name, image and likeness deals with Callaway, and most recently this week with Adidas. She is the company's first NIL student-athlete.

"It's just another step to the real world where you're able to kind of get used to having agents, having contracts," Zhang said. "It shows me a little bit of the real world."

The U.S. Women's Open presents Zhang with her toughest challenge yet. Players of all ages and levels have pointed out the tough greens that have a lot of runoff, and Zhang emphasized the importance of her short game as well.

Zhang's group is a fascinating one given it includes two other teenagers. She will be playing alongside Lucy Li, who is also 19 and once played this tournament at 11, as well as 16-year-old Anna Davis, who won the Augusta National Women's Amateur Championship. There are a total of 30 amateurs in the field.

Adblock test (Why?)

The five most important things to watch at the U.S. Women's Open - ESPN
Read More

Five things to know about Game 1 of NHL Western final - Delta Optimist

Canadian television broadcaster Chris Cuthbert suggested they raised the speed limit for the Western Conference final series as it took less than six minutes for the high-flying offences to produce two goals and a number of near misses on the starting goalies, who never made it to the end.

There were uptempo rushes, punishing checks, highlight-reel goals and a controversial one, 83 shots and injuries, but so far nobody has thrown a water bottle at Nazem Kadri. Then again, it's still early.

Here are five things to know about Game 1 of the so-called West Side Story that eventually finished with 14 goals, four netminders, 25 players getting on the score sheet and another Game 1 loss for the Oilers:

TWO GOALS OFF A CONTROVERSIAL CALL

Edmonton interim coach Jay Woodcroft didn't like the ruling on Colorado's third goal by Cale Makar as Avs' forward Valeri Nichuskin appeared to be offside. But a video review pointed to a possession definition and the goal stood as called on the ice. The Oilers were penalized for losing the challenge and Nazem Kadri scored on the ensuing power play.

"I think control is a discretionary thought process. It's not as if the player knew someone was tagging up, lifted his stick up, waited for it, and then went back. He's under full control. And anyone that's carrying the puck over a blue line, whether your stick is on the puck or not, that's debatable," said Woodcroft, who was an NHL video coach earlier in his career.

BARRIE SAW MAKAR'S RISE COMING

Edmonton defenceman Tyson Barrie skated with Cale Makar in the 2019 playoffs as part of the Avalanche and instantly realized Makar's potential. So the Colorado defenceman's brilliant showing in Game 1 last night did not surprise the Oiler.

“I knew I was in trouble right when I got on the ice with (Makar) the first time,” said Barrie, who was later traded to Toronto in a deal that landed Kadri in Denver. “I thought, ‘I might be out of here.’ He was exceptional.”

Makar registered his fourth three-point outing in the playoffs, which is closing in on NHL record territory.

GRANDPA'S A HIT IN RIVAL FAMILY

Oilers' assistant coach Dave Manson finally got to meet his granddaughter in Denver on Monday. And grandpa was a huge hit as two-year-old Emma Grace was all over him, playing, hugging and laughing.

Josh Manson, the Colorado Avalanche 30-year-old defenceman and son of Dave, said the long-awaited family reunion was long overdue as the COVID-19 pandemic and busy schedules made travel plans tricky.

"We had some good times Monday," said Josh, adding there was no way father and son would avoid contact during the series. “Family comes first. That’s been my dad’s motto, always. It’s different now because he’s behind the bench.”

When asked who Gemma Grace will be cheering for, Josh smiled and offered: "She does love her grandpa. But she better be pulling for me. Or we’ll have words.”

KANE STREAK QUICKLY FORGOTTEN

When Evander Kane opened scoring at 5:04 of the first period, it was his 13th goal in 13 playoff games. Like many stats on this night, it was quickly overshadowed by all the other drama inside Ball Arena. The Avalanche's eight goals were tied for the most in a playoff game in franchise history. And the 14 goals scored by both teams was the most in a conference finals game in 37 years.

MIND'S ON GAME 2, NOT HOOK

"When you're giving up touchdowns in the last two series in Game 1 … that's not a good sign," Oilers' netminder Mike Smith said last night. "But I think it shows a lot of our team that when we're down, we're not out of the fight, and continue to battle right to the end. But lots to clean up."

Smith was pulled after giving up six goals on 25 shots. He promised to be much better in Game 2, which goes Thursday night in Denver. 

---

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.

Gord Kurenoff, The Canadian Press

Adblock test (Why?)

Five things to know about Game 1 of NHL Western final - Delta Optimist
Read More

Council mulls five year stabilized funding request from Key City Theatre Society - Cranbrook Townsman

Cranbrook city council is mulling a request for a stabilized five-year funding request from the Key City Theatre Society, as staff are reviewing the budgetary impact of the proposal.

While the Key City Theatre Society already receives annual grant funding from the city, the amounts vary from year to year. By requesting a five-year agreement with stabilized and reliable annual funding at $120,00 per year, the Society hopes to leverage that into successful grant applications from other sources, such as Columbia Basin Trust and senior levels of government.

“This type of funding is really, really important and the stability is really important, and the partnership is important,” said Landon Elliot, president of the Key City Theatre Society, during a presentation to city council on Monday night.

“One thing that you’ve noticed in here, we’ve never asked for any increases over the five years. What we really want is to have a good partnership with the city to show we can move forward, we can create a stable environment and to be able to leverage that money for future years so we can keep bringing people back.”

In fact, Elliott noted that with the $120,000 already committed by the city in the current fiscal year, the Society was able multiply that sixfold — three times through successful grant applications to other public organizations, and three times through actual ticket sales.

While the COVID-19 pandemic had a brutal impact on live events over the last two years, the Key City Theatre has seen significant growth long-term over the last eight years.

Galen Olstead, Managing Director, says revenues and expenses have doubled from 2014 to 2019, going from $450,000 to just shy of $800,000.

And coming out of the worst of the pandemic, the desire for live events and performances is strong.

In typical seasons, there are, on average, four to eight true sold out shows — meaning every single available ticket has been sold.

This year, just through half a season, there have already been seven sold out shows, featuring performances such as Johnny Reid and BeeGees Gold.

“What I think it’s showing, is even in that short amount of time, we’re seeing the appetite and seeing the support to get back to live events and we keep hearing again and again from our patrons about how valuable it is to be back in experiencing live events together,” said Olstead.

In an average year, the Key City Theatre hosts 120 events covering 180 booked nights. The organization has four full-time staff, seven part-time contractors, and boasts a team of 60 volunteers.

Annual attendance is approximately 50,000, but those aren’t necessarily all for ticketed events, as that traffic may include high school graduation or other free events.

On average, 25,000 tickets are sold through the Key City Theatre box office, which brings in roughly $900,000.

On the capital project side of things, the Key City Theatre building has undergone a number of renovations over the past few years, which included roof, structural and electrical and HVAC upgrades, as well as equipment acquisition, all of which came in at just under $4 million.

“The Society’s been really successful in leveraging partnerships and accessing substantial grants to accomplish the upgrades,” said Olstead.

“Now that we’re completed in those upgrades, we’re now looking ahead at more specific projects, things like the replacement of our 30-year-old seats. We’re now just undertaking an upgrade of our kitchenette area, again targeting grants to help do those projects.”

In terms of successful grant applications, the Regional District of East Kootenay recently approved a $50,000 request from the Key City Theatre for renovations to the kitchenette and theatre staging areas.

Adblock test (Why?)

Council mulls five year stabilized funding request from Key City Theatre Society - Cranbrook Townsman
Read More

Canada's Big Five banks move away from mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy - The Globe and Mail

As public health restrictions, such as gathering limits, masking and vaccine mandates across provinces have eased, banks appear to be changing their policies accordingly.Evan Buhler/The Canadian Press

Nine months after imposing them, all of Canada’s Big Five banks have suspended or removed mandatory vaccine requirements for staff, amid the broader lifting of COVID-19 restrictions across the country.

Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal and Toronto-Dominion Bank all lifted their compulsory vaccine policies for employees over the past six weeks, allowing unvaccinated people to work in offices and branches without being subject to additional safety measures such as rapid testing.

All of the five largest banks took a firm stand on vaccines last August, requiring staff to attest that they were fully vaccinated by a certain date in order to enter any bank premises. Some, such as CIBC and BMO, made it compulsory for all employees, even those who worked from home, to be vaccinated.

But public-health restrictions, such as gathering limits, masking and vaccine mandates across provinces, have since eased, and banks appear to be changing their policies accordingly.

“It was becoming increasingly more challenging to have a higher standard of what was required from employees in the workplace, than what was in broader society,” said Helena Gottschling, RBC’s chief human resources officer, in reference to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

RBC suspended its vaccine requirement on May 23 for American and Canadian staff after consulting with public-health officials, Ms. Gottschling said.

“We have very high vaccination rates at the bank. Having a mandate was the responsible thing to do at the time, and we really saw our vaccination numbers increase after imposing it,” she added. RBC had allowed unvaccinated employees to work on its premises, as long as they showed proof of a negative COVID-19 rapid test and were masked. Those requirements have since been suspended.

In a statement to The Globe and Mail, Scotiabank said it has paused its vaccination policy, and unvaccinated employees are no longer required to follow masking and rapid testing procedures to enter offices. The bank said 94 per cent of its employees in Canada are fully vaccinated as of this week.

CIBC also told The Globe it has dropped its vaccine requirement after taking into consideration “government and public health direction.” BMO, too, told The Globe it currently does not have a mandatory vaccination policy. TD confirmed that it had lifted all of its vaccine mandates in May.

CEOs keep up positive talk while preparing for a recession

Canada’s big banks grapple with rising expenses as inflation climbs

Vaccine mandates have been one of the most controversial aspects of the pandemic, a clash of rights that pitted individual liberties against the communal protection of people more broadly. Across the country, hundreds of health care workers, government employees and private-sector workers were fired or put on unpaid leave for not getting vaccinated, spawning numerous legal challenges on the issue, some of which are still working their way through the court system, lawyers say.

But the frenzy surrounding compulsory vaccinations appears to be subsiding in tandem with the decline of hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19.

“I understand why employers would pause or remove vaccine mandates right now. These policies were controversial to begin with, and it’s a nice time to end them,” said Kelly O’Ferrall, a partner in labour and employment law at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Ms. O’Ferrall said she’s seen employers go one of three routes with vaccine policies over the past few months: pause them, remove them altogether or stop enforcing them.

So what will happen to unvaccinated employees who were terminated or put on unpaid leave by employers who have since backtracked on their vaccine mandates?

“It depends if you’re a provincially or federally regulated employee,” said Andrew Monkhouse, partner at the Toronto-based labour and employment firm Monkhouse Law. “Federally regulated employees, like bank employees for example, could potentially ask for reinstatement under the unjust dismissal clause of the Canada Labour Code. But the vast majority of cases like this would be settled with a lump sum payment to the worker.”

Kathleen Chevalier, a partner in employment law at the Bay Street firm Stikeman Elliott LLP, said it would be unlikely that an unvaccinated employee would have a strong case against an employer that changed its vaccine policy.

“These policies were put in place when COVID was present enough to constitute a real health and safety risk. The employer’s position would be that the decision was justifiable at the time it was made and for the duration it was covered,” Ms. Chevalier said.

PwC Canada has also removed all of its COVID-19-related protocol including masking indoors for employees returning to the office. The accounting firm made these changes in April, after the majority of provincial public-health authorities had dropped vaccine mandates. Staff who are uncomfortable with unmasked colleagues have the option of sitting on a floor meant only for masked employees.

Some employers, however, continue to stick to their vaccine mandates. In statements to The Globe, Canada Life and Sun Life said they still require everyone who enters their offices to be vaccinated. Canada Life said it will re-evaluate that policy on July 1.

Ms. Chevalier says there is a risk in removing a vaccine mandate and then reintroducing it later if circumstances warrant: If new unvaccinated workers have been hired, it would be challenging to figure out how to deal with them.

“I have to say that on balance, there are few employers that have decided to get rid of vaccine policies altogether. There is a reluctance to say mission accomplished just yet,” she said.

Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.

Adblock test (Why?)

Canada's Big Five banks move away from mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy - The Globe and Mail
Read More