Column

A drop-in COVID vaccination clinic at the Langley Events Centre on Sunday, April 25. (Langley Advance Times files)

Painful Truth: Exhaustion is the mood as pandemic approaches 2 years old

Everyone is tired, and tired of being tired

 

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is shown in Ottawa on April 12, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Painful Truth: All governments are fragile

There’s nothing that protects Canada from stress on our democracy

 

The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Painful Truth: Election no time for odd ideas

But that doesn’t mean that weird ideas aren’t worth talking about

 

Conservatives Leader Erin O’Toole, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. (The Canadian Press)

Painful Truth: Election campaign rocks – literally

Gravel thrown at Trudeau brings up a family legacy he’s hoping to use to stay PM

Conservatives Leader Erin O’Toole, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. (The Canadian Press)
Editor and columnist Ryan Uytdewilligen. (Mariana Aramburu/Special to The Star)

Ryan’s Regards: So long, farewell, thanks for the dream come true

Editor and columnist Ryan Uytdewilligen departing newspaper after two-and-a-half years

Editor and columnist Ryan Uytdewilligen. (Mariana Aramburu/Special to The Star)
Anti-lockdown and anti-mask protesters take part in a rally outside the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on Monday, April 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Painful Truth: Deniers are martyrs to foolishness

Denialism is now a way of life for millions of people

Anti-lockdown and anti-mask protesters take part in a rally outside the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on Monday, April 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Researchers determined that the extreme summer temperatures during the 2017 British Columbia forest fire season were made over twenty times more likely by human-induced climate change. Extreme high temperatures combined with dry conditions increase the likelihood of wildfire ignition and spread. (Photo BC Wildfire Service)

Painful Truth: Science deniers are martyrs to their own foolishness

The same stubborn refusal to face reality is behind climate change and COVID denial

Researchers determined that the extreme summer temperatures during the 2017 British Columbia forest fire season were made over twenty times more likely by human-induced climate change. Extreme high temperatures combined with dry conditions increase the likelihood of wildfire ignition and spread. (Photo BC Wildfire Service)
Troy Clifford, president of president of the Ambulance Paramedics Of BC hopes recently announced changes help restore province’s “renowned ambulance service.” (File - Black Press Media)

Painful Truth: Our health and emergency systems need more slack

From nurses to social workers, we can’t run lean when it comes to essentials

Troy Clifford, president of president of the Ambulance Paramedics Of BC hopes recently announced changes help restore province’s “renowned ambulance service.” (File - Black Press Media)
Black Press Media files

Ryan’s Regards: ‘The Media’ does not exist

News outlets are not working together through some secret organization bent on world domination

Black Press Media files
Members of the band "The Monkeys" peer out from a vinyl record cover at Canada Boy Vinyl, the only vinyl record factory in Canada, at the facility in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Painful Truth: Magic in a record’s spin

Owning recorded music is still a magical thing

Members of the band "The Monkeys" peer out from a vinyl record cover at Canada Boy Vinyl, the only vinyl record factory in Canada, at the facility in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A map created by the Ministry of Forests shows the activity of the Bea Fire in Beaverdell, B.C. in 1989, including one house in particular (at bottom right) that was nearly completely surrounded by flames. (Ministry of Forests)

COLUMN: Looking back on historic fire that nearly destroyed a B.C. town

Enormous firefighting effort saved Beaverdell from destruction in 1989

A map created by the Ministry of Forests shows the activity of the Bea Fire in Beaverdell, B.C. in 1989, including one house in particular (at bottom right) that was nearly completely surrounded by flames. (Ministry of Forests)
(Black Press Media files)

Ryan’s Regards: Let us celebrate each other together

Canada Day isn’t about flags, beavers, or syrup – it’s about people, the past, and their future

(Black Press Media files)
Sunset at Crescent Beach. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

Painful Truth: When memory meets money

The nostalgia-industrial complex just doesn’t get it

Sunset at Crescent Beach. (Photo: Tom Zillich)
Graduation ceremonies will look different for the class of 2021. (Black Press Media files)

Ryan’s Regards: 2021 grads deserve more than a round of applause

Students have had a difficult 15 months, incomparable to most eras other classes graduated into

Graduation ceremonies will look different for the class of 2021. (Black Press Media files)
Neuroscientists say that people are 70 per cent more likely to recall your brand after seeing it in print. Other studies have shown that 82 per cent of consumers report that they trust print ads in relation to other media. ADOBE STOCK IMAGE

IT’S YOUR BUSINESS: A case for print

Print is still a highly effective medium for helping businesses reach their customers, according to Joe Smith

  • Jun 12, 2021
Neuroscientists say that people are 70 per cent more likely to recall your brand after seeing it in print. Other studies have shown that 82 per cent of consumers report that they trust print ads in relation to other media. ADOBE STOCK IMAGE
(Aldergrove Star files) (Aldergrove Star files)

RYAN’S REGARDS: Everyone’s a hero with a phone at the ready

Every social interaction seems to come with cell phones documenting the situation

(Aldergrove Star files) (Aldergrove Star files)
COVID cases in the Bella Coola Valley have dropped to just four active cases (file photo)

Painful Truth: End of pandemic means end of roller coaster of punditry

There’s no one cause, one villain, one hero, in this worldwide catastrophe

COVID cases in the Bella Coola Valley have dropped to just four active cases (file photo)
(File photo)

Ryan’s Regards: COVID brain is fogging life, death, and the rest of all things

There is so much more to planet earth that the coronavirus pandemic

(File photo)
(Black Press Media files)

Painful Truth: Spring in Langley is a balm in the pandemic

Everything is finally green!

(Black Press Media files)
Black Press Media files

Ryan’s Regards: Teachers need far more faith and respect in this day and age

Constant news stories about ‘over-dramatized’ suspensions are creating havoc in the education world

Black Press Media files