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Snowy Trails, Cozy Inns: Skiing Town to Town in Quebec Snowy Trails, Cozy Inns: Skiing Town to Town in Quebec Amid light snow, I skied out of the town of Ste.-Adèle, in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, and headed to Prévost, eight miles away. Only a few minutes earlier, I had walked out of Au Clos Rolland, a historic inn where I’d spent the previous night dining on a decadent three-course meal and resting up from a day of cross-country skiing. Skiing from town to town through forests and meadows, then overnighting near the trail in relative luxury, was something I had never experienced in North America. Au Clos Rolland is just a few blocks from the P’**** Train du Nord, a former railroad line turned multiuse trail that is groomed for cross-country skiing. My guide and I glided across it for a few minutes before veering off into the forest on the narrow, ungroomed Whizzard Trail. That’s where the real fun began. For the past two days I had been following the east route of Les Routes Blanches, a new series of ski tours on the vast network of Nordic backcountry trails in the southern Laurentians, many created a century ago. There are three options. The 28-mile route I skied connects three small towns over three days, with two overnights near the trail, meals and luggage transport (about $700 per person, double occupancy); skiers can go with a guide, as I did, or try it on their own (about $42 for maps and parking; lodging and meals are extra). The north route, based at Mont Tremblant, includes two days of guided skiing on expert-level trails. On the more rugged 32-mile west route, skiers are currently responsible for booking a yurt and a backcountry cabin; next winter guided trips will be offered. I have my own history in the area, too. I learned to downhill ski when I was 5 at a former resort called Gray Rocks. My ******* immigrant parents loved the area so much, they bought a lakeside cottage, which my mom sold when I was 13. I now live in Colorado, but the Laurentians still pull at my heart, a gentle tug that is impossible to ignore. Pioneer trail builders The Laurentians have been a ski destination since the early 20th century. In the late 1920s, a Norwegian immigrant and avid skier, Herman Smith-Johannsen, known as Jackrabbit, moved to the town of Shawbridge, becoming a prolific designer of backcountry trails. He promoted the idea of a trail that would approximately parallel the existing train line and allow skiing between towns, and recruited volunteers to help clear it. The approximately 80-mile Maple Leaf Trail opened in 1933. Sections of that trail still exist, as do other trails from the era. But awareness of them plummeted, especially after the Laurentian Autoroute was finished in 1959 and people began driving to the slopes instead of taking the train. Now, Les Routes Blanches is changing that. Through the woods and to a shower The first day of my tour began on the P’**** Train du Nord trail, which quickly turned off onto an ungroomed trail, scribed with tracks from just a few skiers. My guide, Will Hotopf, and I would follow paths like this all day. I had rented a Nordic touring setup in Val-David, where we’d started. Unlike the cross-country skis I use at home, these were slightly wider and had metal edges for better control and maneuverability. We skied past thickets of alder bushes before gliding along rolling terrain through eastern white pine and red cedar. A detour led to a lean-to atop a knoll, where we gazed out at Mont Alta, a former alpine ski area now open to skiers willing to ascend by the power of their own quads to ski down. Though the trail ran near Val-David’s outskirts, the town seemed far away. “You feel like you’re in the wilderness but you’re not at all,” Mr. Hotopf said. The yin-yang of being in the backcountry yet close to creature comforts embodies the appeal of Les Routes Blanches. At times we were seemingly deep in the woods, all on our own; other times, we skied by houses and backyards, the scent of wood smoke tickling our noses. Occasionally we crossed roads. Yet we saw only a handful of other skiers. After my trip, I spoke with Jean-François Girard, a guide based near Montreal who spearheaded the idea of Les Routes Blanches. In 2009, he had discovered the meandering paths during day trips. “I was intrigued by these trails,” he told me. “And I got lost on them a couple of times.” He started researching them and was soon inspired to revive the tradition of town-to-town skiing. Mr. Girard found a partner in SOPAIR, a nonprofit dedicated to trail conservation and development in the region, which now oversees Les Routes Blanches. When I skied it, Les Routes Blanches, which just started up this winter, was still so new that Mr. Hotopf occasionally stopped to affix directional signs to trees. One well-marked intersection led to the Gillespie Trail, built by Gault Kerr Gillespie, another trail builder in the 1930s. In the early 1920s, Gillespie and his siblings would ski to school, and their route was along part of this trail. Late in the afternoon, we skied across a frozen lake, passing spots where residents had cleared out small skating rinks by their docks. Sidestepping up a steep incline at the lake’s far end brought us to the Mustafa Trail and another detour to the top of a peak. A monochromatic landscape was spread out below us as the light faded. Less than half an hour later, and a little more than nine miles from the day’s starting point, I clicked out of my skis at the Far Hills Resort Hotel on the outskirts of Val-Morin, where a hot shower awaited. Time travel on skis I awoke to four inches of new snow, which muffled everything in the forest as we set off to tackle the day’s 12.4-mile route. Lingering copper and faded gold beech leaves accented the dark green conifers. Occasionally snow would tumble off a cedar branch, like a soft exhalation. If this was forest bathing, it’d be a cold plunge. Soon we hit the legacy Maple Leaf Trail, where I was transported to an earlier time, one in which I fell in love with skiing amid a landscape like this one and felt welcome within the Quebecois culture, where a woodsy conviviality prevails and my last name is pronounced without the “H.” Even though I got cell service almost the whole time, I still felt unplugged for those few days, as if in a snow globe. We traversed five lakes that day. Gliding across the snow-covered ice, I imagined living in one of the lovely lakeside houses that punctuated the shoreline. At Lac Lucerne, Mr. Hotopf mentioned Emile Cochand, a Swiss immigrant who established Canada’s first ski school, along with trails, near this spot in the late 1910s. On Lac Deauville, we picnicked on a floating dock encased in the ice. Toward the end of a long, gently rolling descent, we stopped at a shelter in a clearing, warmed up by a wood-burning stove, then skied to the P’**** Train du Nord for the last 2.5 miles into town. Skiing is life At dinner that night at Au Clos Rolland, I learned more about the trails from James Jackson, the board president of SOPAIR; his wife, Rebecca MacDonald; and Chris Schlachter, a cross-country skier. Mr. Jackson described the Routes Blanches project as “joining backyards” across the region. Some of the routes have been lost to development or to new property owners who no longer grant access to trails that cross their land. “What we’d like to get to is that landowners want the trail on their land,” Mr. Jackson said. The final day’s route included an ascent of Sommet Olympia, a bump of a ski hill. We affixed climbing skins to our skis to go up the slope, then skied off the backside, still following the Whizzard Trail. Eventually, we arrived at another section of the P’**** Train du Nord, skiing a final mile or so, then ending steps from the Microbrasserie Shawbridge, where the chance to celebrate with beer brewed on site awaited. But first, more skiing. The snow sparkled in the sun; barren trees formed a backdrop of dark lines going every which way. Johannsen, the rugged pioneer, may have considered me soft for the cushy ski experience I’d just had. And I wouldn’t dispute it. There’s something to be said for his stamina; he lived to be 111. I’ll gladly take a shorter life span, as long as I can ski until the end. Source link #Snowy #Trails #Cozy #Inns #Skiing #Town #Town #Quebec Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Book Review: ‘How to End a Story,’ by Helen Garner Book Review: ‘How to End a Story,’ by Helen Garner She is, in her telling, the kind of person who gets mistaken for the staff at book festivals. People walk up to her out of the blue and ask, “What’s the matter?” (This is a special hatred of mine, too.) She fears for her table manners. Photographers say things to her like, “Your profile, it is not the best.” If you have ever looked at a photograph of yourself and were floored by your own unsightliness, well, Garner is a laureate of this experience: He showed me some photos he’d taken of me last year and I was shocked by my ugliness: spotted skin, lined face, ugly haircut, dark expressions. I mean I was shocked. I quailed at the possibility that I will be alone now for the rest of my life. Her sense of unworthiness extends to her own writing. “I’m just a middle-level craftswoman,” she writes. And: “Grief is not too strong a word for what one feels before one’s own weakness and mediocrity.” She battles nuclear-grade levels of impostor syndrome. Writers have kept diaries for myriad reasons. Anaïs Nin wished to taste life twice. Patricia Highsmith longed to clarify “items that might otherwise drift in my head.” Anne Frank wanted to go on living after her death. Sheila Heti felt that if she didn’t look at her life closely she was abandoning an important task. These are Garner’s instincts, too. But she also says, charmingly: “Why do I write down this stuff? Partly for the pleasure of seeing the golden nib roll over the paper as it did when I was 10.” This writing served a more serious purpose. Garner told The Paris Review: “The diaries are how I turned myself into a writer — there’s my 10,000 hours.” The quotidian details of life shine in this book — her pot plants, shopping trips (“Kmart, fount of all goodness”), dinner parties, washing her knickers in a bucket, defleaing a dog, mending a skirt, going to the movies, keeping a copy of “Paradise Lost” in the outdoor bathroom. Sometimes she lives in small urban apartments, and at others in a rural house where she sees koalas and kangaroos and eagles and kookaburras. Source link #Book #Review #Story #Helen #Garner Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why Does Every Play Seem Political Now? Why Does Every Play Seem Political Now? But in previews, Toossi, 33, still found herself negotiating, and sometimes resisting, the reaction of her audience. In one scene, Elham, a young, fiercely intelligent aspiring medical student, struggles with an oral presentation and splutters to her classmates, in halting English, “I want everyone to know I am not ******.” The instructor corrects her, and Elham’s next line, “I am not an ******,” gets a reliably huge laugh. “Then she starts crying, and everyone’s stomach drops,” says Toossi, who began to weep herself when she first heard the Broadway audience roar at the line. “The intention is to implicate the audience in that laughter because the desire to get an audience to interrogate its privilege sounds to me like what a political play is or can be,” she says. On paper, “English” can read as a deeply observed group character study. But when it’s performed in front of a mostly white, mostly affluent crowd, it becomes something else as well. “Because of who we’re talking to — and that’s who I wanted to talk to,” she says, “yes, I think it’s a political play, and I’ve made my peace with that.” She’s not alone right now. This spring, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a Tony winner last season for the political-meets-personal Southern drama “Appropriate,” jumps back into the fray with “Purpose,” a satire about a ****** family dynasty in Chicago that bears some resemblance to Jesse Jackson’s. It will be joined on Broadway by at least three plays that, though they weren’t planned in anticipation of this political era, may be defined in the public conversation by the degree to which they do or don’t feel right for it. Aside from a big-ticket revival of Shakespeare’s “Othello” in which Denzel Washington faces off against Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney will star in a stage adaptation of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” his 2005 movie about the mainstream media and McCarthyism; and a revival of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” (1984) with Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk will test New York’s appetite for a conservative playwright’s signature work about remorseless hustlers. Political shows, whether new work or revivals, always vie for relevance but don’t want to be seen as pouncing on a particular issue in a way that could be mocked as too on-the-nose; there’s no greater praise for a play than saying it speaks to the moment without straining to do so. It will be a spring of auspicious timing (or not) and unplanned and/or fortuitous resonance, since we’re not likely to get our first look at work directly inspired by the 2024 election or what has followed it until the fall of 2026 at the earliest. That will arrive in a world we can only pretend to be able to predict, and that lag may be the steepest hurdle political theater faces during the second Trump term. Breakneck speed is, in theater, not generally achievable. And at a time when many people feel we tumble over the edge of a new cliff every day, it’s almost impossible to imagine what a timely artistic response might look or sound like. Will it offer catharsis, or solidarity, or pushback, or hope or outrage? Or will it just feel like a hand to hold on to while in free fall? Source link #Play #Political Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Greenland’s Minerals: The Harsh Reality Behind the Glittering Promise Greenland’s Minerals: The Harsh Reality Behind the Glittering Promise More than a decade ago, ********* miners prospecting for diamonds in western Greenland saw on the horizon a huge white hump. They called it White Mountain and soon discovered it was a deposit of anorthosite, a salt-and-pepper color mineral used in paints, glass fibers, flame retardants and other industries. The same mineral creates a ghostly glow on the moon’s surface. The White Mountain deposit proved to be several miles long and several miles wide, and “only God knows how deep it goes,” said Bent Olsvig Jensen, the managing director of Lumina Sustainable Materials, the company mining the area. Lumina is backed by European and ********* investors, but Mr. Jensen said it wasn’t easy to turn the deposit into a mountain of cash. “You cannot do exploration all year round; you are in the Arctic,” he explained. He told of fierce winds grounding helicopters and knocking out communications, pack ice blocking ships and temperatures dropping to such a dreadful low — sometimes minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit — that the hydraulic fluid powering the company’s digging machines “becomes like butter.” Sitting in Lumina’s humble offices in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, with wet snow flakes scissoring down outside the windows, Mr. Jensen brought a dose of sobriety to all the talk of Greenland as the land of incalculable mineral riches. He noted that though the island has dozens of exploratory projects, there are only two active mines: his and a small gold operation. The gigantic semiautonomous island in the Arctic has seized the world’s attention after President Trump insisted in January that the United States take it over. Part of the attraction is its rare earths minerals that are vital to high-tech industries and a source of competition across the world. China dominates in the world’s critical minerals, and has severely restricted the export of certain minerals to the United States. The Trump administration, determined to secure mineral assets overseas, has turned to high-pressure tactics. The natural resources agreement that Ukraine was all set to sign with the administration until the talks spectacularly blew up on Friday was focused on critical minerals. The European Union is just as fixated. It recently signed a strategic minerals deal with Rwanda, which is suspected of fomenting instability in mineral-rich Congo next door. It should be no surprise, then, that Mr. Trump and his allies are excited about Greenland’s mineral scene. Vice President JD Vance has spoken of Greenland’s “incredible natural resources,” and Republican senators recently held a hearing on “Greenland’s Geostrategic Importance,” highlighting its rare earths. Tech giants like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, along with some of Mr. Trump’s allies, including Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary, have invested in companies prospecting here. According to a recent Danish study, 31 of 34 materials defined as critical by the European Union, like lithium and titanium, are found on the island. But for every square on the periodic table that Greenland can fill, there’s an even longer list of challenges. Besides the extreme weather, the island has fewer than 100 miles of roads, only 56,000 residents (which means a tiny labor pool) and a few small ports. Equally daunting for miners is Greenland’s environmentalist lobby. Many Greenlanders say they need more mining to become economically and politically independent of Denmark, which keeps it afloat with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual subsidies. But Greenlanders have also expressed caution about any new heavy industry. They are protective of their environment, which is being shaken up by climate change: The Arctic is warming nearly four times as fast as the rest of the world, which will most likely make the mineral resources more accessible. The island’s governing political party swept into office four years ago on an environmentalist platform and shut down one of the most promising mining projects. The next elections are on March 11, and, along with independence from Denmark and closer relations with the United States, safeguarding the environment is at the top of the agenda. For many Greenlanders, nature is a part of their identity and something they connect to through fishing, hunting, hiking and spending time outdoors. “We have lived with nature for as long as we have been here, in sustainable ways,” said Ellen Kristensen, an environmentalist in South Greenland. Not far from her community is the small gold mine. Amaroq Minerals, which is backed by Icelandic, ********* and other Western investors, extracted its first gold in November. Its chief executive, Eldur Olafsson, says the remoteness of his mine means the company has to be self-sufficient in energy, supplies and transportation — just about everything. “Operating in Greenland is unlike anything else,” he said. The Danes, who have controlled Greenland for more than 300 years, have had mixed success. Danish engineers discovered a huge supply of cryolite in the late 18th century. Cryolite used to be a component of aluminum production, and Danish operators mined it until the 1980s, when synthetic alternatives became widely available. The Danes made billions, and many Greenlanders say they were exploited. The same complaints have been lodged against a large coal mine that Denmark developed last century, though it closed in the 1970s. Greenland is littered with shuttered projects and abandoned sites. A ruby mine near the east coast closed in 2022 amid soaring debts. Around the same time, Greenland’s government formally abandoned its oil ambitions, citing the lack of commercial viability and the unacceptable environmental risks. Even the search for diamonds has yet to lead to a commercially viable mine. These days, much of the interest lies in rare earths, but a big rare earth mine in southern Greenland remains a cautionary tale. Energy Transition Minerals, an *********** mining enterprise with a sizable investment from a ******** company, claims its site in Greenland has one of the world’s largest deposits of rare earth oxides. The company spent more than $100 million developing it, only to have Greenland’s governing party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, which had campaigned on killing the project, do exactly that. The opposition was strongest in Narsaq, the town closest to the site, where residents feared radioactive contamination. Uranium is often found in deposits of rare earth minerals, and the concern was that the mine could send toxic dust floating over the community. Among the residents leading the protests was Ms. Kristensen, whose husband is a sheep farmer. “Nobody wants to buy meat from sheep grazing next to a uranium mine,” she said. Like many others, she marched through Narsaq’s snowy streets carrying bright yellow signs that said in Greenlandic language, “Urani? Naamik,” which means: “Uranium? No.” The mining company says that its operations are safe and that it has completed copious environmental studies proving so. It is fighting the decision, and the dispute is tied up in arbitration and court cases. China has invested in other joint ventures in Greenland, but none have panned out, either because of stalled production or heavy financial burdens. Still, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has pushed to expand cooperation with Denmark in the Arctic, promoting his country as a polar power. China has built research stations and icebreakers to stamp its presence at each end of the earth, and it has proposed a “Silk Road on Ice” — a web of shipping routes and investments that would embed China in the Arctic. Part of the reason Mr. Trump is so covetous of Greenland is he wants to box out China. He said that China has “boats all over the place.” One Greenlander working to help Mr. Trump is Jørgen Boassen, a bricklayer who says he has followed American politics since he was a teenager and was instantly drawn to Mr. Trump. Mr. Boassen campaigned door to door for him in the United States last election and was invited to inauguration activities. Mr. Trump, Mr. Boassen says, is “a man worth betting on.” In January, Mr. Boassen helped organize a visit by Donald Trump Jr. to Nuuk. The younger Trump insisted it was a private trip, and it seems he didn’t do much besides sightseeing for a few hours and hosting a dinner for Trump supporters and some people off the street. A few weeks later, Mr. Boassen guided around Tom Dans, an adviser on Arctic affairs to Mr. Trump during his first term. Mr. Dans said he had come to explore investment opportunities and connect with entrepreneurs. Mr. Dans said Greenland’s minerals scene was “very exciting.” But he cautioned, “There’s no quick buck.” Source link #Greenlands #Minerals #Harsh #Reality #Glittering #Promise Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

At Supreme Court, Mexico to Offer Culprit for Cartel Violence: Gun Makers At Supreme Court, Mexico to Offer Culprit for Cartel Violence: Gun Makers Mexico’s president offered a warning last month in response to news that the Trump administration planned to designate drug cartels as terrorist groups. “If they declare these criminal groups as terrorists, then we’ll have to expand our U.S. lawsuit,” Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said at a news conference. She was referring to an unusual lawsuit that will be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in which Mexico argues U.S. gun manufacturers have aided in the trafficking of weapons used by the cartels. The case reverses longstanding complaints by President Trump that ******** cartels have contributed to rising violence in the United States. Instead, Mexico argues the majority of guns found at ******** crime scenes come from the United States. It seeks some $10 billion in damages from U.S. gun makers. The dispute comes before the justices at a time of heightened tension between the two countries as the Trump administration leans on Mexico to crack down on ******** migration and cartel organizations. Tariffs on imported goods from Mexico are scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday — the same day the justices are set to consider the guns lawsuit. President Trump has cited drug trafficking from Mexico as one of the factors driving the decision to impose tariffs. His administration has taken a number of steps to push back on the cartels, including designating more than a half-dozen of the criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. That move could result in penalties, including criminal charges, for companies found to be entangled with the cartels, but it has also raised concerns from the ******** government of a potential violation of Mexico’s sovereignty. Lawyers for Mexico argue that U.S. manufacturers and gun dealers are complicit in what they call an “iron river” of firearms pouring into the country and arming cartels. They point to strict controls on gun purchases in Mexico, where civilians are not allowed to purchase the types of rapid-fire, powerful military-style weapons favored by the cartels, as evidence that as many as half a million firearms are smuggled from the United States into Mexico each year. “It is far easier and far more efficient to stop the crime gun pipeline at its source and to turn off the spigot,” said Jonathan Lowy, president of Global Action on Gun Violence and a longtime litigator against the gun industry who has worked on the case on behalf of Mexico. The gun makers, joined by a slew of gun groups including the National Rifle Association, have argued the lawsuit would undermine gun rights in the United States. “Mexico has extinguished its constitutional arms right and now seeks to extinguish America’s,” the N.R.A. said in a brief in support of the gun makers. “To that end, Mexico aims to destroy the American firearms industry financially.” The case may be viewed skeptically by the Supreme Court, where the 6-3 conservative supermajority has worked to expand gun rights. But at a time when Mr. Trump has targeted the country, it has offered a forum for Mexico to publicize its counter case that U.S. gun manufacturers share the blame for cartel violence. The ******** government has also sued several gun stores in Arizona and could expand the effort by filing additional suits. At a conference last month in Latin America, Pablo Arrocha, a legal adviser for Mexico’s foreign ministry, said that two lawsuits filed so far marked only the beginning of a broader legal strategy to push back against the flow of guns across the border. For years, Mexico has pushed the United States to do more to curtail the trafficking of American manufactured guns over the border. When Mr. Trump announced he would delay tariffs against Mexico earlier this month, both nations had agreed to address their respective concerns: ******** authorities promised to work to stem the flow of drugs across the border while U.S. authorities would try to combat gun trafficking. In recent days, there have been signs of improving relations between the two countries, including when the ******** government this week sent to the U.S. nearly 30 top cartel operatives wanted by the American authorities. But inside the White House, Mr. Trump’s advisers remain split over whether to take more substantial action in Mexico, including carrying out military strikes against ******** drug cartels. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Mexico first sued multiple gun companies in 2021, arguing that the cartel bloodshed was “the foreseeable result of the defendants’ deliberate actions and business practices.” A trial court judge dismissed the case, finding it was barred by a 2005 federal law that limits litigation against gun manufacturers and distributors and has provided immunity from actions brought by the families of people killed and injured by their weapons. A unanimous panel of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, overturned that decision. They found that the lawsuit met the criteria for a part of the law allowing for litigation in cases where knowing violations of firearms laws are a direct cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. Gun makers asked the justices to hear the case, Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, No. 23-1141. Lawyers for Smith & Wesson argued Mexico had presented a legal theory that was an “eight-step Rube Goldberg, starting with the lawful production and ***** of firearms in the United States and ending with the harms that drug cartels inflict on the ******** government.” The lawyers contend the gun makers acted lawfully in the United States and cannot not be held responsible for ******** cartel behavior in Mexico. They cited a 2023 Supreme Court case in which the court ruled unanimously that social media companies could not be sued for aiding terrorism because they hosted posts from ISIS. A trial court judge dismissed Mexico’s case against six of the defendants on other grounds, leaving the Supreme Court’s decision in the case to apply to claims against Smith & Wesson, a gun manufacturer, and Interstate Arms, a wholesaler. Zolan Kanno-Youngs contributed reporting. Source link #Supreme #Court #Mexico #Offer #Culprit #Cartel #Violence #Gun #Makers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How Trump’s Canada Tariffs Could Impact Both the U.S. and Canada How Trump’s Canada Tariffs Could Impact Both the U.S. and Canada It is not an exit anyone would have expected. Justin Trudeau will end his final days as Canada’s prime minister with the country tossed into economic turmoil if President Trump follows through on his plan Tuesday to impose 25 percent tariffs on ********* exports. While ********* officials have spent much of last week in Washington trying to fend off the president’s tariffs, which will also apply to Mexico, those efforts have so far been futile. If tariffs do go into effect, Canada is poised to retaliate, setting off a trade war. Mr. Trump has offered various rationales for the tariffs, which were supposed to go into effect at the beginning of February but were suspended for 30 days. He says the United States has been destabilized by large numbers of unauthorized migrants, as well as large quantities of fentanyl, crossing the border from Canada and Mexico. U.S. government statistics do not support either claim. Mr. Trump has also claimed that Americans “subsidize Canada” by providing hundreds of billions of dollars a year — though he has not provided any evidence — and has urged companies to move their plants out of Canada to the United States. Mr. Trump has complained about Canada’s trade surplus with the United States, which is mostly driven by oil and gas exports and totaled $63 billion last year. Whatever the reason, there is widespread consensus in Canada that tariffs would inflict major damage on the country’s economy, which is dependent on exports as well as industries that are tightly integrated with the American market. Jean Simard, the president of the Aluminium Association of Canada, recalled the effect of a 10 percent U.S. tariff on ********* aluminum exports during the first Trump administration. “The 10 percent tariffs years ago were highly disruptive,” Mr. Simard said. “Twenty-five percent tariffs will be highly destructive.” Border Response Just 19 kilograms of fentanyl were intercepted last year at the Canada-U.S. border, compared with almost 9,600 kilograms at the border with Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. And an investigation by The Globe and Mail, a newspaper in Toronto, found that the ********* figure was inflated by the inclusion of seizures that were not related to the border. U.S. authorities last year arrested roughly 24,000 people crossing illegally from Canada into the United States, compared with more than two million people who were apprehended at the southern border. Still, Mr. Trudeau’s government moved swiftly to placate Mr. Trump’s concern about both issues by investing 1.3 billion ********* dollars (about $900 million) on a series of measures to fortify the border. They included the appointment of a “fentanyl czar,” providing the Royal ********* Mounted Police with two ****** Hawk helicopters to monitor the 5,525-mile-long border, assigning a large number of its officers to border patrol and purchasing of a variety of electronic surveillance devices, including drones. The increased border security has led to the apprehension of a small number of people entering Canada from the United States. While Mr. Trump said last week that he had seen improvement at both borders on migration, he added that he was not satisfied with how Canada and Mexico handled fentanyl smuggling. While Mr. Trump insists that ********* exporters will cover the cost of the tariffs, the levies would have to be paid by American importers. It is unclear if they would be able to recover the cost from ********* firms. The result, an overwhelming majority of economists agree, would be inflation and supply disruption in the United States, while ********* industries could face large-scale layoffs. Mr. Simard said that just the threat of the tariffs had already significantly raised the cost of aluminum in North America. If the tariffs go into effect, he estimates, the resulting aluminum price increases will add about $3,000 to the cost of making a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Automotive trade between the two countries is roughly equivalent, and many auto parts cross the border several times before winding up in an assembled vehicle. Because 25 percent is far higher than the profit margins on cars and trucks, as well as the parts used to make them, industry executives predict that parts makers would soon stop shipping and factories would quickly close in all three countries, laying off thousands of workers. “A 25 percent tariff across the Mexico and ********* border will blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we have never seen,” Jim Farley, the chief executive of the Ford Motor Company, said last month. American farmers would also face increased prices for potash, a vital fertilizer. About 80 percent of potash in the United States comes from Canada because of limited U.S. reserves. No Desirable Choices Mr. Trump has repeatedly suggested that the easiest way for Canada to avoid tariffs is to become the 51st U.S. state. His call for Canada’s annexation, as well as his repeated denigration of it as a viable nation, has infuriated many Canadians. That’s already led to calls to boycott American goods, caused Canadians to cancel U.S. vacations and rekindled affection for the maple leaf flag. Mr. Trudeau has promised that Canada is prepared to respond with tariffs on U.S. imports. It would initially target 30 billion ********* dollars’ worth of products, including Kentucky bourbon, from Republican states whose elected officials might have sway with Mr. Trump. There have been proposals to cut off shipments of oil, gas and electricity to the United States or impose steep export taxes on those products. While the tariffs are a clear violation of the free trade deal among Canada, Mexico and the United States that Mr. Trump renegotiated during his first administration, using its dispute-settlement system to strike levies down could take years. Nor is it clear that Mr. Trump would accept any ruling against the United States. More to Come Canada also faces a global 25 percent tariff Mr. Trump has promised to apply on steel and aluminum. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of both materials to the United States, and Mr. Trump has suggested that those tariffs will be stacked on top of the 25 percent tariff he has promised will come on Tuesday. He has also talked about creating specific tariffs against automobiles and copper. And next month, Mr. Trump plans to introduce a worldwide reciprocity-based tariff system. It would set tariffs based on other countries’ policies that affect trade with the United States, such as tariffs, taxes and subsidies. These were the terms of the trading relationship between Canada and the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The potential effect on Canada is unclear. Because of the free-trade agreement between the three countries, Canada charges relatively few tariffs on American goods, so reciprocal tariffs from Washington would be similarly limited. The tariffs Canada does impose are mostly on dairy, poultry and eggs. Source link #Trumps #Canada #Tariffs #Impact #U.S #Canada Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

What Hormone Therapy Can Do For Menopause and Long-term Health What Hormone Therapy Can Do For Menopause and Long-term Health At Dr. Monica Christmas’s clinic these days, she sees two kinds of menopausal patients. The first, she said, is suffering from the symptoms associated with this life phase, but is also wary of hormone therapy because she’s heard there are health risks associated with it. The second kind of patient is almost the exact opposite: she may not have symptoms at all, but nonetheless is asking for hormones because she’s heard they will make her healthier. “We seem to like these extremes,” said Dr. Christmas, the director of the Menopause Program and Center for Women’s Integrated Health at the University of Chicago. Prescription data reflects a persistent anxiety around the health risks: In a study published in September, researchers found that only 5 percent of menopausal women used hormones in 2020 despite the fact that roughly 80 percent of women experience symptoms. On the flip side, in the last few years, a growing number of social media influencers and celebrities, like Oprah Winfrey, have loudly endorsed hormone therapy, presenting it as a “magic elixir,” Dr. Christmas said. “Now there’s this messaging that every woman who is menopausal should be on hormone therapy,” she said. But women need more clarity around what hormone therapy can and can’t do. “We’ve got to find our way back to the middle ground.” What is menopausal hormone therapy? Menopausal hormone therapy, or M.H.T., supplies some of the estrogen and progesterone lost in menopause. The Food and Drug Administration has approved dozens of types of therapies that have been shown to alleviate a narrow set of symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms — like hot flashes and night sweats — and genitourinary syndrome, which refers to painful sex, ******** dryness and ******** tract infections. Hormone therapy can also be used to prevent postmenopausal bone loss. There are two broad categories of hormone treatment: systemic, in which the hormones can affect the whole body, and local, which are applied just to the *******. Systemic treatments contain either estrogen alone or a combination of estrogen and progestogen (a synthetic version of progesterone), and come in the form of a pill, patch, gel, cream, spray or ******** ring. They tackle hot flashes and night sweats, and can prevent osteoporosis. Systemic estrogen on its own can lead to the thickening of the uterine lining, which increases the risk of endometrial *******, said Dr. Stephanie Faubion, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Women’s Health and medical director of the Menopause Society. Women who have had their uterus removed can safely use estrogen alone but others need to take some form of progestogen as well to counter its effects. Local treatments applied to the ******* are lower-dose estrogen, and are mainly intended to address symptoms like ******** dryness and pain with sex. M.H.T. isn’t approved to treat the dozens of other menopause symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, frozen shoulder, weight gain or hair loss, said Dr. Makeba Williams, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. But, the Menopause Society, which sets treatment guidelines, noted in its annual position statement that some patients who start hormone therapy do see small improvements in some of those symptoms too. Earlier versions of F.D.A.- approved hormone therapy, which are still available today, contain what is called conjugated estrogen, derived from the ****** of pregnant horses, while the products that are more commonly prescribed today (also approved by the F.D.A.) contain what is called bioidentical estrogen, which is derived from plant sources and has a more similar molecular structure to the hormones that the body creates. There are no quality studies comparing conjugated hormones head-to-head with bioidentical hormones, Dr. Faubion said, so we don’t yet have a detailed understanding of how their risks and benefits differ. Who is it for? According to the Menopause Society, hormone therapy provides more effective relief and carries fewer risks for a woman who is suffering from vasomotor symptoms or genitourinary syndrome and is younger than 60 or less than a decade from their last *******, compared to one who begins it later in life. Hormone therapy is not recommended for women with a history of stroke, heart attacks, blood clots, liver disease, unexplained ******** bleeding or estrogen-sensitive cancers, like those of the breast or uterus, as it might make those conditions worse. What do we now know about the risks and benefits of hormone therapy? The landmark Women’s Health Initiative study, which was and still is the only long-term, large randomized trial of hormone therapy, was prematurely halted in 2002 because researchers found that the treatment elevated the risks for breast ******* and cardiovascular events. The study created widespread panic that led to women abandoning their treatments. Since then, however, researchers have reanalyzed the data, and follow-up studies have found a more nuanced picture: Dose, delivery method and the age when therapy is initiated all make a big difference to the risks, Dr. Makeba said. And, in many cases, the benefits — including an improved quality of life — can outweigh the risks, she added. Among symptomatic women younger than 60, the reanalyzed W.H.I. data showed that out of every 10,000 women using hormone therapy (specifically conjugated estrogen and a progestogen pill), there were six additional cases of breast *******, though not breast *******-related deaths, and five additional cases of coronary heart disease and stroke. Meanwhile, the hormone therapy significantly reduced the risks of fractures, all-cause mortality and diabetes. For women taking estrogen alone, studies have consistently found that hormone therapy reduced breast ******* and cardiovascular risks — a finding that is still not fully understood. Untreated menopause symptoms have been linked to long-term chronic health conditions later in life, including neurodegenerative diseases, though it is still unclear if the symptoms cause the poor health or if they are markers of another underlying problem. The Menopause Society warns that for women who begin hormone therapy after 60, the risks for breast ******* and cardiovascular events increase. “If you read the package labeling, it’s going to say ‘this may give you breast *******, this may give you a heart attack’ so there is that legacy of fear that still exists,” Dr. Makeba said. But “we have to continue to educate about what are the real risks, the benefits, and for whom hormone therapy is appropriate and not.” Source link #Hormone #Therapy #Menopause #Longterm #Health Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How to clean your AirPods How to clean your AirPods It didn’t take long for wireless earbuds to become ubiquitous. Apple’s AirPods launched back in September 2016, joining notable true wireless headphones from Jabra, Sony, Samsung, and others. Shortly after, they became the go-to choice for many of us when listening to music, podcasts and streaming services on our phones and tablets. But wireless earbuds can get very dirty very quickly, because not only are we using them a lot, but we take them everywhere: to work, on public transport, on flights and everywhere in between. This is especially true if you’re using them to cancel out noise in a busy office – or are simply working from home at the same time as family or roommates.This means they will come into contact with ear wax, oils and skin cells. Hygiene aside, you should clean your earbuds (and their charging case) because it may result in better-sounding, longer-lasting headphones. Here’s how you can do that quickly and efficiently. If you’re still a wired headphone holdout (or tempted by DAC-capable buds) most of our cleaning tips hold true – and you don’t have to worry about refreshing a charging case. How to clean your wireless earbuds Mat Smith/Engadget The cleaning process differs depending on what kind of buds you have. First, there are wireless earbuds with removable silicone (or plastic) buds, like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, Sony’s WF-1000XM5 buds or most Beats buds, and several models with a single solid body, like Apple’s AirPods. The main difference is that the detachable tips are easier to deep clean. They are also replaceable and spare tips often come in-box. You can also use soapy water or other mild cleaning products on particularly messy tips without fear of damaging the electrical parts of your headphones. Wipe down the earbuds and removable tips with a microfiber cloth. As most wireless buds are stored in a case, you may find that dirt from the tips has shifted to the headphones, too. Apple says you can use “70-percent isopropyl alcohol wipe, 75-percent ethyl alcohol wipe or disinfectant wipes” to clean the exterior of its wireless headphones, but advises that you shouldn’t use wet wipes on the speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. Samsung’s guidance sticks to soft dry cloths and cotton swabs. Remove the tips, and gently trace the inside of each bud with cotton swab, or a toothpick if you need something thinner. If any detritus sticks around, upgrade to a metal loop on the end of an earphone cleaning tool, but just go carefully. Metallic objects are more likely to scratch and pierce things. The cleaning tool also has a brush at the other end to pull out any loose dirt. Once clear, wipe the sides of the tips with a slightly damp cloth. The AirPods Pro tips each have a delicate mesh membrane, making it easier to clean than membranes on the headphones themselves, but they’re also fragile. Apple itself advises that you can rinse the tips with water, adding you shouldn’t use soap or other cleaning products on them. If you do use a damp cloth or rinse them, make sure to set them on a dry cloth and let them dry completely before reattaching them. Apple advises using cotton swabs or a dry cloth for the microphone and speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. You can also use a bulb air blower, which should provide a mild amount of force to dislodge dirt without harming electrics. However, while it might be stronger, don’t use canned air. Sony says this can force dust further into the microphone or sound outlet holes. How to clean your wireless earbuds’ charging case Mat Smith/Engadget You might find that your charging case is in a worse state than your buds. With deep crevices to pick up dirt from your buds when they’re charging, the case can also pick up pocket-lint from being in, well, pockets and your bag. These cases typically use metal contacts to connect to and charge the buds, so any build-up of dirt or earwax can actually affect recharging your headphones. It pays to keep those charging contacts clean. A soft cloth, or a cotton swab for more difficult-to-reach locations, should be able to capture anything blocking your buds from charging. You could also use a bit of air from a bulb air blower – I find the ones with a brush attached are perfect for this. For both the earbuds and the case, you can use a thin toothpick to pull away any grime or wax trapped in the seams of the device. Most earbuds are molded plastic, but some have edges and lines that collect dirt together. If you find your AirPods case or other buds’ case is getting a little grubby – or picking up a blue hue from jeans – you could also invest in a case for your case. There are infinite themed and silicone cases for Apple’s AirPod family, but plenty of options exist for buds made by Samsung, Sony, Google and other companies. The ubiquity of wireless buds has several companies now offering all-in-one cleaning kits, too. These include established peripheral companies like Belkin, which has a single-use kit that features cleaning fluid to loosen up any tough build-up of wax and grime, and Keybudz, which offers a reusable kit that includes different brush head attachments that can also be used to clean other devices. That said, you may not need an entire kit, but suitable tools will make things easier. You should always use the gentlest cleaning equipment before going ham with rubbing alcohol or a metallic tool. Doing so will reduce the chances of damaging your headphones’ often glossy plastic casing and lessen the chances of damaging the delicate membranes that many buds (and some eartips) have. I speak from experience, having perforated two AirPod membranes due to over-enthusiastic cleaning. Even when removing the tips, take care: With Sony’s WF-1000XM5, you need to twist and pull them off. Just follow the manufacturers’ guidance (we list several guides below), along with our best tips below. How to keep your wireless earbuds clean Now your buds are looking pristine, try to keep them looking that way. If you’re using your AirPods or Galaxy Buds during your workouts, wipe them down with a cloth afterward to reduce the chances of moisture getting inside. The more frequently you check on the state of your wireless earbuds, the easier they are to clean. We’ll finish this guide with a little bit of digital hygiene: make sure any companion TWE apps are up-to-date. These updates can sometimes add notable new features or improve performance. Your smartphone will usually transmit firmware updates to your earbuds automatically after OS and app updates, so make sure you keep them nearby to your phone. This is especially true with iPhones and AirPods, which will not notify you when firmware updates are available. Check that you’ve got the latest version of the firmware in iOS settings (you probably do), and if it’s not up-to-date, make sure both your iPhone and AirPods are plugged into power and (crucially) near each other. The update should be beamed to the AirPods pretty quickly, but you can also leave the devices next to each other overnight to ensure the update happens. Source link #clean #AirPods Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Snowy Trails, Cozy Inns: Skiing Town to Town in Quebec Snowy Trails, Cozy Inns: Skiing Town to Town in Quebec Amid light snow, I skied out of the town of Ste.-Adèle, in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, and headed to Prévost, eight miles away. Only a few minutes earlier, I had walked out of Au Clos Rolland, a historic inn where I’d spent the previous night dining on a decadent three-course meal and resting up from a day of cross-country skiing. Skiing from town to town through forests and meadows, then overnighting near the trail in relative luxury, was something I had never experienced in North America. Au Clos Rolland is just a few blocks from the P’**** Train du Nord, a former railroad line turned multiuse trail that is groomed for cross-country skiing. My guide and I glided across it for a few minutes before veering off into the forest on the narrow, ungroomed Whizzard Trail. That’s where the real fun began. For the past two days I had been following the east route of Les Routes Blanches, a new series of ski tours on the vast network of Nordic backcountry trails in the southern Laurentians, many created a century ago. There are three options. The 28-mile route I skied connects three small towns over three days, with two overnights near the trail, meals and luggage transport (about $700 per person, double occupancy); skiers can go with a guide, as I did, or try it on their own (about $42 for maps and parking; lodging and meals are extra). The north route, based at Mont Tremblant, includes two days of guided skiing on expert-level trails. On the more rugged 32-mile west route, skiers are currently responsible for booking a yurt and a backcountry cabin; next winter guided trips will be offered. I have my own history in the area, too. I learned to downhill ski when I was 5 at a former resort called Gray Rocks. My ******* immigrant parents loved the area so much, they bought a lakeside cottage, which my mom sold when I was 13. I now live in Colorado, but the Laurentians still pull at my heart, a gentle tug that is impossible to ignore. Pioneer trail builders The Laurentians have been a ski destination since the early 20th century. In the late 1920s, a Norwegian immigrant and avid skier, Herman Smith-Johannsen, known as Jackrabbit, moved to the town of Shawbridge, becoming a prolific designer of backcountry trails. He promoted the idea of a trail that would approximately parallel the existing train line and allow skiing between towns, and recruited volunteers to help clear it. The approximately 80-mile Maple Leaf Trail opened in 1933. Sections of that trail still exist, as do other trails from the era. But awareness of them plummeted, especially after the Laurentian Autoroute was finished in 1959 and people began driving to the slopes instead of taking the train. Now, Les Routes Blanches is changing that. Through the woods and to a shower The first day of my tour began on the P’**** Train du Nord trail, which quickly turned off onto an ungroomed trail, scribed with tracks from just a few skiers. My guide, Will Hotopf, and I would follow paths like this all day. I had rented a Nordic touring setup in Val-David, where we’d started. Unlike the cross-country skis I use at home, these were slightly wider and had metal edges for better control and maneuverability. We skied past thickets of alder bushes before gliding along rolling terrain through eastern white pine and red cedar. A detour led to a lean-to atop a knoll, where we gazed out at Mont Alta, a former alpine ski area now open to skiers willing to ascend by the power of their own quads to ski down. Though the trail ran near Val-David’s outskirts, the town seemed far away. “You feel like you’re in the wilderness but you’re not at all,” Mr. Hotopf said. The yin-yang of being in the backcountry yet close to creature comforts embodies the appeal of Les Routes Blanches. At times we were seemingly deep in the woods, all on our own; other times, we skied by houses and backyards, the scent of wood smoke tickling our noses. Occasionally we crossed roads. Yet we saw only a handful of other skiers. After my trip, I spoke with Jean-François Girard, a guide based near Montreal who spearheaded the idea of Les Routes Blanches. In 2009, he had discovered the meandering paths during day trips. “I was intrigued by these trails,” he told me. “And I got lost on them a couple of times.” He started researching them and was soon inspired to revive the tradition of town-to-town skiing. Mr. Girard found a partner in SOPAIR, a nonprofit dedicated to trail conservation and development in the region, which now oversees Les Routes Blanches. When I skied it, Les Routes Blanches, which just started up this winter, was still so new that Mr. Hotopf occasionally stopped to affix directional signs to trees. One well-marked intersection led to the Gillespie Trail, built by Gault Kerr Gillespie, another trail builder in the 1930s. In the early 1920s, Gillespie and his siblings would ski to school, and their route was along part of this trail. Late in the afternoon, we skied across a frozen lake, passing spots where residents had cleared out small skating rinks by their docks. Sidestepping up a steep incline at the lake’s far end brought us to the Mustafa Trail and another detour to the top of a peak. A monochromatic landscape was spread out below us as the light faded. Less than half an hour later, and a little more than nine miles from the day’s starting point, I clicked out of my skis at the Far Hills Resort Hotel on the outskirts of Val-Morin, where a hot shower awaited. Time travel on skis I awoke to four inches of new snow, which muffled everything in the forest as we set off to tackle the day’s 12.4-mile route. Lingering copper and faded gold beech leaves accented the dark green conifers. Occasionally snow would tumble off a cedar branch, like a soft exhalation. If this was forest bathing, it’d be a cold plunge. Soon we hit the legacy Maple Leaf Trail, where I was transported to an earlier time, one in which I fell in love with skiing amid a landscape like this one and felt welcome within the Quebecois culture, where a woodsy conviviality prevails and my last name is pronounced without the “H.” Even though I got cell service almost the whole time, I still felt unplugged for those few days, as if in a snow globe. We traversed five lakes that day. Gliding across the snow-covered ice, I imagined living in one of the lovely lakeside houses that punctuated the shoreline. At Lac Lucerne, Mr. Hotopf mentioned Emile Cochand, a Swiss immigrant who established Canada’s first ski school, along with trails, near this spot in the late 1910s. On Lac Deauville, we picnicked on a floating dock encased in the ice. Toward the end of a long, gently rolling descent, we stopped at a shelter in a clearing, warmed up by a wood-burning stove, then skied to the P’**** Train du Nord for the last 2.5 miles into town. Skiing is life At dinner that night at Au Clos Rolland, I learned more about the trails from James Jackson, the board president of SOPAIR; his wife, Rebecca MacDonald; and Chris Schlachter, a cross-country skier. Mr. Jackson described the Routes Blanches project as “joining backyards” across the region. Some of the routes have been lost to development or to new property owners who no longer grant access to trails that cross their land. “What we’d like to get to is that landowners want the trail on their land,” Mr. Jackson said. The final day’s route included an ascent of Sommet Olympia, a bump of a ski hill. We affixed climbing skins to our skis to go up the slope, then skied off the backside, still following the Whizzard Trail. Eventually, we arrived at another section of the P’**** Train du Nord, skiing a final mile or so, then ending steps from the Microbrasserie Shawbridge, where the chance to celebrate with beer brewed on site awaited. But first, more skiing. The snow sparkled in the sun; barren trees formed a backdrop of dark lines going every which way. Johannsen, the rugged pioneer, may have considered me soft for the cushy ski experience I’d just had. And I wouldn’t dispute it. There’s something to be said for his stamina; he lived to be 111. I’ll gladly take a shorter life span, as long as I can ski until the end. Source link #Snowy #Trails #Cozy #Inns #Skiing #Town #Town #Quebec Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

A Jazz Quintet Bubbling With Good Vibes? Meet the Women of Artemis. A Jazz Quintet Bubbling With Good Vibes? Meet the Women of Artemis. “Is it true that all of you, except me, have never played there?” Rosnes asked her bandmates when they gathered for a video interview in late January. Excited chatter ensued. Several have taken the stage as side players or with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra at the 90-year-old club. “One thing I’m excited for you all to feel there is the sound,” said Rosnes, who has played there since the late 1980s, as a member of bands led by Shorter and Joe Henderson, and eventually as a headliner herself. “You can just hear each other so well.” Close listening is always crucial to jazz, especially in an ensemble that offers individual players such freedom. Rosnes praised how Ueda keeps audiences and musicians alike “glued to her joyousness, to the logic of her line and how she tells a story.” Miller, she said, is “the center of our gravity, always uplifting us.” Rosnes brings to Artemis the skills and focus that made her the first-call pianist for top bandleaders as soon as she arrived in New York from Vancouver, in late 1985. By 1990, she was releasing Blue Note albums herself; she’s recorded 10 for the label aside from her work with Artemis, including a duo album with her husband, the pianist Bill Charlap. The saxophonist Chris Potter, who has played with Rosnes since the 1990s, said her compositions and arrangements always bear her hallmark. “It’s not exactly straight ahead, it’s not avant-garde, it’s not fusion, it’s Renee music,” he said in an email. “You hear the jazz tradition, you hear classical influences, you hear the music she grew up listening to, you hear the music she’s studying now, but most importantly you hear a sound that only a woman who grew up in western Canada and got carried away by jazz music could create.” But no one artist’s identity defines Artemis. “Sometimes I feel more myself in this band than my own bands,” said Miller, an in-demand drummer. “In Artemis, I feel all of the things that I fell in love with when I first heard jazz and discovered the ways that I wanted to approach music.” Source link #Jazz #Quintet #Bubbling #Good #Vibes #Meet #Women #Artemis Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Oil recovers as upbeat ******** manufacturing data increases some optimism – Reuters Oil recovers as upbeat ******** manufacturing data increases some optimism – Reuters Oil recovers as upbeat ******** manufacturing data increases some optimism ReutersChina’s factory activity growth hits 3-month high in February, as millions return to work after holidays CNBCChina Factory Activity Picks Up, Showing Economy’s Resilience BloombergChinese manufacturing returns to growth despite threat of higher Trump tariffs The Guardian Source link #Oil #recovers #upbeat #******** #manufacturing #data #increases #optimism #Reuters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Travis Hunter: Which NFL team will draft him? And what is a two-way player? Travis Hunter: Which NFL team will draft him? And what is a two-way player? NFL teams got a chance to assess the best of this year’s draft prospects over the weekend at the Scouting Combine. Although Hunter chose not to take part in any of the drills, he spoke to team officials and the media, making it clear he wants to keep playing full-time on offence and defence. Last season he played all 13 of Colorado’s games, claiming four interceptions and 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns. He played 714 (87%) of their offensive snaps and 748 (83%) of their defensive. But few have played both regularly in the NFL. Chuck Bednarik is the last true two-way player, having played centre and linebacker for Philadelphia from 1949-56. Since 2006, Patrick Ricard is one of six players to have played 200 offensive and 200 defensive snaps, but the Baltimore full-back has seldom played on defence since 2019. William ‘the Refrigerator’ Perry, Troy Brown, Mike Vrabel and Julian Edelman also played both, but none did both regularly in the same season, as Sanders did with the Dallas Cowboys in 1996. After being drafted, Woodson played almost entirely on defence, and Sanders has told teams not to draft Hunter if they do not plan on giving him the chance to play both. “They say nobody has ever done it the way I do it, but I tell them I’m just different,” said Hunter. Source link #Travis #Hunter #NFL #team #draft #twoway #player Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

IN PICTURES: Albany Town Square filled with rainbows for Albany Pride 2025 Fair Day and Dog Show IN PICTURES: Albany Town Square filled with rainbows for Albany Pride 2025 Fair Day and Dog Show Hundreds flocked to Albany Pride Fair Day on Saturday to celebrate the local LGBTQIA+ community and their beloved pooches with the annual dog show returning in style. Source link #PICTURES #Albany #Town #Square #filled #rainbows #Albany #Pride #Fair #Day #Dog #Show Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Crews battle South Carolina wildfires amid dry conditions and gusty winds Crews battle South Carolina wildfires amid dry conditions and gusty winds Crews battle South Carolina wildfires amid dry conditions and gusty winds Source link #Crews #battle #South #Carolina #wildfires #dry #conditions #gusty #winds Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Dozens found alive in metal containers after India avalanche Dozens found alive in metal containers after India avalanche Dozens of construction workers have been pulled out alive from metal containers after they were buried by an avalanche in the Himalayas in India’s Uttarakhand state. They survived as the containers, which the workers were living in, had enough oxygen to sustain them until rescuers could dig them out, Indian media reported quoting officials. On Friday, 54 workers were buried when the avalanche hit a construction camp near Mana village. Eight were killed. The other 46 were rescued in an operation that lasted almost 60 hours in sub-zero temperatures and concluded on Sunday. Most of the labourers, who were working on a highway expansion project, were able to “withstand the wrecking avalanche” because of the containers, rescuers told The Indian Express newspaper. “These metal shelters saved most of them. They had just enough oxygen to hold on until we got them out,” a senior rescue official told The Times of India. The newspaper reported that the force of the avalanche had hurled eight metal containers and a shed down the mountain. Uttarakhand state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has thanked rescue teams for their efforts in challenging conditions. Members of the Indian army, national and state disaster response forces and local administration had worked to free the workers, using helicopters and drones for the operation. Many of the rescued workers are receiving treatment at hospitals in the state’s Joshimath town and Rishikesh city. Satyaprakash Yadav, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh who was among those rescued, said the “avalanche hit our container like a landslide”, according to a video released by the army. He added that the container he was in broke apart when the snow hit and it ended up near a river. “We managed to get out on our own and reached a nearby army guest house, where we stayed overnight,” he added. Rajnish Kumar, a worker from Uttarkhand’s Pithoragarh town, said most of them were sleeping when the avalanche struck. “When the snow hit the container, it sank about 50 to 60 metres down [the mountain]. The Army arrived quickly and rescued us,” he said, according to the army video. Gaurav Kunwar, a former village council member of Mana, told the BBC on Friday the area where the avalanche hit was a “migratory area” and that it had no permanent residents. “Only labourers working on border roads stay there in the winter,” he said, adding that it had rained for two days prior to the avalanche. The India Meteorological Department has warned of rainfall and snow in the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as Jammu and Kashmir until Tuesday. Avalanches and landslides are common in the higher regions of the Himalayas, especially during winter. Experts say that climate change has made extreme weather more severe and less predictable. There has also been a rapid rise in deforestation and construction in Uttarakhand’s hilly areas in recent years. In 2021, near 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a piece of a Himalayan glacier fell into the river, triggering flash floods. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Source link #Dozens #alive #metal #containers #India #avalanche Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Former soccer leaders Blatter, Platini back in court Former soccer leaders Blatter, Platini back in court Former FIFA big-wigs Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have arrived at court in Switzerland for a second trial on fraud, forgery and misappropriation charges. Source link #soccer #leaders #Blatter #Platini #court Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Hillary Clinton Shreds Donald Trump Over Putin With Scathing One-Liner Hillary Clinton Shreds Donald Trump Over Putin With Scathing One-Liner Hillary Clinton needed just six words to make her feelings about President Donald Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin crystal clear. On Sunday, the former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee shared a Gizmodo report on X (formerly Twitter) detailing a reported decision by Trump’s newly appointed Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. The article reported that Hegseth had ordered U.S. Cyber Command to “stand down from all planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.” Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clinton’s response? A biting caption: “Wouldn’t want to hurt Putin’s feelings.” The post came as Trump faced growing backlash for his recent Oval Office tirade against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where he echoed Russian talking points on the ongoing war that (contrary to his false claims) was launched by Putin in February 2022. As criticism mounted, a 2016 presidential debate clip of Clinton warning about GOP rival Trump and Russia also resurfaced and quickly went viral again. Related… Source link #Hillary #Clinton #Shreds #Donald #Trump #Putin #Scathing #OneLiner Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What to Know About Israel’s Decision to Halt Aid to Gaza – The New York Times What to Know About Israel’s Decision to Halt Aid to Gaza – The New York Times What to Know About Israel’s Decision to Halt Aid to Gaza The New York TimesWhite House backs Israel’s decision to halt Gaza aid shipments until ****** accepts ceasefire extension Fox NewsMiddle East crisis live: Israel accused of using ‘food as weapon of war’ in aid blockade on Gaza The GuardianLIVE: Israel accused of war crimes for blocking aid into Gaza Al Jazeera EnglishWith Cease-Fire Shaky, Israel and ****** Consider Both Diplomatic and Military Options The New York Times Source link #Israels #Decision #Halt #Aid #Gaza #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

National offer day: When do parents find out secondary school places? National offer day: When do parents find out secondary school places? You can appeal against a school’s decision, but the process varies across the ***. In England, appeals are decided by an independent panel, external. To succeed, parents might have to show that the proper admissions process was not followed, or set out what a school can offer your child that other schools cannot. If the appeal is successful, the child will be given a place at your school of choice. If not, the child can still be added to the school’s waiting list. On average, just over 20% of appeals are successful, according to government data for 2024. In Wales, you can challenge the decision during an initial appeal hearing, external. If the panel does not find in the child’s favour, the appeal can move to a second stage where parents set out their argument, and the admission authority responds. In Northern Ireland, you can appeal against a decision, external if you think the school didn’t correctly apply its published admissions criteria. An Independent Admissions Appeal tribunal hears the case, and if successful, your child will be offered a place at the school of choice. In Scotland, most appeals will be dealt with by your local authority, external. Appeals for children with additional support needs can be made to a tribunal, external. Source link #National #offer #day #parents #find #secondary #school #places Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Pakistan free to contest Asian Cup after FIFA lifts ban Pakistan free to contest Asian Cup after FIFA lifts ban Pakistan are set to rejoin international soccer in time for this month’s Asian Cup qualifiers after FIFA lifted a ban it imposed last month. On February 6 the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was hit by a third international suspension in less than eight years after rejecting FIFA’s recommended amendments to its constitution. At an extraordinary congress in Lahore last week, the PFF unanimously voted to accept the reforms in time to be eligible to contest qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup. Pakistan are scheduled to kick off Group E of qualification against Syria on March 25. “We thank FIFA and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) for their continued support of Pakistan football and extend our heartfelt congratulations to the Pakistan football community,” the PFF said in a social media post responding to Sunday’s decision. The AFC had earlier informed Pakistan soccer administrators the ban had to be lifted by March 4 for the men’s national team to be allowed to participate in 2027 Asian Cup qualification. Source link #Pakistan #free #contest #Asian #Cup #FIFA #lifts #ban Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

********* Cafes Are Renaming Their “Americano” Due To Donald Trump’s Recent Threats, And Everyone Is Loving The Pettiness ********* Cafes Are Renaming Their “Americano” Due To Donald Trump’s Recent Threats, And Everyone Is Loving The Pettiness Since returning to the presidency, Donald Trump has not left Canada (arguably our closest ally) alone. Despite significant pushback from Canadians, he’s threatened “economic force” to make Canada join the US and become the 51st state. Map showing the United States with an arrow pointing to the Pacific Northwest region And he’s declared 25% tariffs on ********* goods beginning this month. Person in suit and red tie signing a document at a desk in an official office setting Well, Canadians are fed up, and they are protesting Trump’s threats via coffee menu. Latte art featuring a floral design on a foamy coffee, in a teal cup on a metal table ********* cafes from Ottawa to Toronto are now renaming their “Americanos” to “Canadianos.” Cafe menu on chalkboard listing coffee drinks, their sizes, and prices. Options include espresso, latte, and iced latte. Specialty flavors available A Toronto cafe owner named William Oliveira said in an interview with the Washington Post that his shop made the change to “stand up for being ourselves and reminding other people…that we’re not to be pushed around and bullied by others.” Smiling man in a striped apron stands in a cozy cafe with tables and chairs in the background Another cafe owner in Ottawa said his shop renamed their Americano to “make light of a serious situation.” “We don’t need any American products right now,” he said to CTV News. “It seems like a really good way to say we’re *********.” A smiling person stands behind a cafe counter with pastries and a cash register, ready to serve customers. Shelves with jars are in the background The Americano renaming has widespread online support so far: “This is exactly the type of petty ***** that I enjoy,” this person said. Comment by NahDawgDatAintMe: “This is exactly the type of petty ***** that I enjoy” with 3.3K upvotes “That some Gulf of America energy,” another person agreed. Comment from “send-****,” marked as a Top 1% Commenter, saying “That some Gulf of America energy.” This person believes ********* cafes should go a step further: “American here. May I suggest a ‘Gulp of Mexico’ and a ‘Denali Decaf’ be considered for the menu? Some of us, including the Associated Press, refuse to bow to the the Orange Mussolini and his ridiculous renamings.” Comment suggesting a “Gulp of Mexico” and “Denali Decaf” for a menu, criticizing renaming trends by a public figure As this person said, there’s nothing like some “good old-fashioned ********* snark!” Comment praising ********* passive-aggressive humor and encouraging continuation Source link #********* #Cafes #Renaming #Americano #Due #Donald #Trumps #Threats #Loving #Pettiness Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

First private moon lander to touch down safely starts sending selfies – The Register First private moon lander to touch down safely starts sending selfies – The Register First private moon lander to touch down safely starts sending selfies The RegisterFirefly’s Blue Ghost lander successfully touches down on the moon CNNTouchdown! Carrying NASA Science, Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lands on Moon NASAFirefly Aerospace Becomes First Commercial Company to Successfully Land on the Moon Firefly Aerospace Source link #private #moon #lander #touch #safely #starts #sending #selfies #Register Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Poco M7 5G With Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, 50-Megapixel Main Camera Launched in India: Price, Specifications Poco M7 5G With Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, 50-Megapixel Main Camera Launched in India: Price, Specifications Poco M7 5G was launched in India on Monday. The handset comes with a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, an IP52-rated build for dust and splash resistance, and a 5,160mAh battery. It is equipped with a 50-megapixel dual rear camera unit and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. The phone is claimed to arrive with the segment’s largest display and has triple TÜV Rheinland certifications. It joins the Poco M7 Pro 5G variant, which was unveiled in the country in December 2024. Poco M7 5G Price in India, Availability Poco M7 5G is available in India starting at a price of Rs. 9,999 for the 6GB + 128GB option, while the 8GB variant is priced at Rs. 10,999. These prices are applicable only for the first day of *****, that is, March 7 and it will be available via Flipkart starting 12pm. The phone is offered in Mint Green, Ocean Blue, and Satin ****** colour options. Poco M7 5G Features, Specifications The Poco M7 5G sports a 6.88-inch HD+ (720 x 1,640 pixels) display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate, up to 600 nits of peak brightness level, TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light, Flicker Free and Circadian certifications. It is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The phone ships with Android 14-based HyperOS. For optics, the Poco M7 5G carries a dual rear camera unit including a 50-megapixel Sony IMX852 primary sensor and an unspecified secondary sensor. The front camera holds an 8-megapixel sensor for selfies and video calls. Both rear and front cameras support 1080p video recording at 30fps. The Poco M7 5G packs a 5,160mAh battery with 18W wired charging support. However, the phone ships with a 33W charger in the box. Connectivity options include 5G, dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, GLONASS, a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB Type-C port. For security, the handset has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. It has an IP52 rating for dust and splash resistance. The phone measures 171.88×77.8×8.22mm in size and weighs 205.39g. Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details. For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2025 hub. Source link #Poco #Snapdragon #Gen #SoC #50Megapixel #Main #Camera #Launched #India #Price #Specifications Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ben O’Shea: How federal pollies have sucked the oxygen out of WA’s election Ben O’Shea: How federal pollies have sucked the oxygen out of WA’s election With ‘unofficial’ federal election campaigning in full swing, Ben O’Shea explains why it’s hardly surprising voters are confused by what party candidates stand for here in WA. Source link #Ben #OShea #federal #pollies #sucked #oxygen #election Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Inside Florida’s brewing condo crisis as property values drop in once-coveted retirement haven Inside Florida’s brewing condo crisis as property values drop in once-coveted retirement haven A slow-motion crisis is unfolding in Florida’s condo market, threatening to upend the state’s image as a haven for retirees and reasonably priced beach living. Owners of the state’s older condos are bracing for steep special assessments, while racing to sell their homes and receiving only tepid buyer response. Amid a property market that’s still vibrant for nearly every other segment, Florida’s aging condominiums are losing value. And nearly 1,400 buildings are now blacklisted from receiving mortgage financing, making those apartments an even-tougher sell. Thousands of Florida condo units face special repair assessments which are making them difficult to sell — and causing them to lose value quickly. oldmn – stock.adobe.com At the heart of this turmoil is a basic reality: Florida’s aging condo buildings desperately need repairs, and state officials are forcing them to assess (and pay for) those long-overdue upgrades. Under a law enacted after the tragic 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which saw 98 people lose their lives, condo boards may no longer defer major structural improvements to another day — or decade. The “Building Safety Act” required every condo tower in Florida aged 30 years or older to complete a structural integrity study by the end of 2024, to get a full grasp of what problems need fixing. This year, the tab for those repairs comes due. Condo boards must now set aside funds to fix the issues found in those studies — from concrete restoration to balcony overhauls. And the assessments on individual condo owners are looking both pricey and unsettling. “You’re going to see a massive reduction in the value of these buildings based on these giant special assessments and the work that has to be done,” said Orest Tomaselli, CEO of Strategic Inspections, which advises condo boards nationally on how to shore up their reserves. In Florida buildings he’s worked with, Tomaselli has seen special assessments as low as $250 per month, to a property that levied $2,500 per month, per unit owner, for a three-year stretch. The assessments result from inspection and repair mandates stemming from the 2021 Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people. AP “There are real people in these units that may be displaced,” Tomaselli said of the assessments, “that may lose their nest egg and may lose tremendous amounts of value in their units.” At Aventura’s Mediterranean Village, a waterfront condo complex with a marina out front, unit owners were hit with six-figure special assessments last year, some as high as $400,000, according to published reports. At Miami’s Cricket Club, a 50-year-old waterfront tower burdened with $134,000 special assessments per condo, 23 of the building’s 217 condos are currently for *****, according to brokerage Compass. In a Miami market where the median condo price was $445,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, condos at the Cricket Club are seeking buyers with prices as low as $220,000 for a 1,950-square-foot two-bedroom on the 19th floor. (The owner initially sought $330,000). The Summit Towers in Hollywood, FL is facing a $56 million assessment. Google Maps Meanwhile, at Summit Towers in Hollywood, a building-wide special assessment of $56 million led to the ousting of four board members in a January election, in favor of new members who promised “a more moderate approach” to building up reserves, said Amy Greenberg, a broker and resident of the building with several listings there. “A lot of people moved here to be able to retire and live their life here, and they’re on fixed incomes,” said Kathleen DiBona, a 50-year resident of Hollywood who serves as president of the Hollywood Beach Civic Association. “They’re having a difficult time being able to manage all that’s coming and hitting them.” Many owners whom DiBona knows in Hollywood, a city dotted with older towers, are seeking to off-load units with little success. Others, she said, have dropped insurance coverage for their condos so they can manage to pay their special assessments. According to insurance giant Fannie Mae, 29% of America’s insurable buildings are located in Florida. Failure to pay these assessments will impact more than just the individual owners who can’t afford them. If 15% of unit owners in a building default, the entire property could become ineligible for mortgage financing, according to Tomaselli of Strategic Inspections. “What happens if nobody can get a loan to buy a unit in your building?” says Joseph Hernandez, a Miami-based partner in the real estate group of law firm Bilzin Sumberg. “It essentially makes the units in your building unsaleable and it makes the value of those units go down. “We may see a lot of condo projects go into distress.” “The fear of the unknown is scaring the hell out of potential buyers,” said Craig Studnicky, ISG’s chief executive officer. Some could already be getting close. In February, Fannie Mae, the national mortgage finance agency, updated its running list of “unavailable” US condo buildings, meaning they are no longer eligible for mortgage financing. Of the 4,885 buildings currently on the list, 29% are located in Florida, the highest share of any state. The top reason: “critical repairs or deferred maintenance,” according to a person familiar with the roster. One newly flagged example is 4000 Island Blvd., a 32-story condominium in Aventura’s exclusive Williams Island, which was built in 1985 and added to Fannie Mae’s no-lending list in January. At least 24 unit owners are trying to sell, according to Compass. Barry Sytner, the condo board’s president, called the building’s inclusion on Fannie Mae’s list “incorrect,” noting that the property just secured a bank loan commitment to cover expenses tied to its 40-year inspection. There are roughly 1.1 million condo units in Florida that are 30 years old or more, and subject to the new law, according to the Florida Policy Project. Of those, 58% are concentrated along the Southwest and Southeast coastal counties, in places like Tampa, Clearwater and the greater Miami metro area, including Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach County. Around two dozen condos are up for ***** in this Aventura, FL condo building, according to reports. miamiresidence.com That means the law’s reach extends to more than half of all condo owners in Florida’s famed retirement enclaves. According to brokerage ISG World, apartments that are over 30 years old accounted for 86% of all Southeast Florida condo listings in the fourth quarter of 2024 — a total of 17,198 properties for ***** across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Yet even as thousands of newcomers flock to the region, these abundant and discounted units are languishing on the market, weighed down by the threat of special assessments and uncertainty over looming repair costs. “The fear of the unknown is scaring the hell out of potential buyers,” said Craig Studnicky, ISG’s chief executive officer. “If nobody can get a loan to buy a unit in your building?” says Joseph Hernandez, a Miami-based partner in the real estate group of law firm Bilzin Sumberg. “It essentially makes the units in your building unsaleable.” “Remember that show, ‘Let’s Make a Deal?’ ” Studnicky said. “They may get a special assessment and it could be quite modest, which means you just made one hell of a deal. But what if you’re wrong, and the special assessment is gargantuan? Not only is the special assessment big, but the scope of construction is big, and you’re going to be living in a construction site for the next two years.” The full extent of special assessments is still an open question for many Florida properties. While the state deadline for condos to submit their structural integrity studies was on Dec. 31, only 39% of buildings in Southeast Florida have done so, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Some of that’s because engineers were simply not available, amid a statewide rush to get these studies completed. Others could be gambling that enforcement won’t be robust or swift, said Peter Zalewski, a Miami-based broker, analyst and condo investment consultant. “You’re going to see a massive reduction in the value of these buildings based on these giant special assessments and the work that has to be done,” said Orest Tomaselli, CEO of Strategic Inspections. “You have buildings that are shopping for studies, because maybe they’re coming in too high, and maybe they can find someone who can lowball it,” Zalewski said. “People are figuring out what to do,” Zalewski added. “They think there will be a silver bullet, some kind of cure in the upcoming Florida legislative session” amid outcry from condo owners The state legislature, which convenes its 2025 session March 4, has no plans to bail out condos or offer reprieve from the deadlines to fund repairs, Florida legislative leaders said at a condo conference last month held by Miami Realtors, according to Homes.com. “A lot of people moved here to be able to retire and live their life here, and they’re on fixed incomes,” said Kathleen DiBona. Courtesy of Kathleen DiBona Lawmakers, however, might consider financing solutions to help condos cover the cost of structural studies and maintenance, including allowing reserve funds they set aside to be invested. Despite some maintenance challenges, Florida’s older condos still reflect the only affordable opportunity at homeownership for those who can’t swing the price tags of Miami’s new crop of ultra-luxury developments, says Scott Diffenderfer, a Miami-Beach-based broker for Compass who specializes in sales of older units. He says he’s pretty upfront with potential buyers these days about the scope and costs of repair that some of his listings will undergo. Brokers view the new regulations and mandatory repairs as a necessary correction to Florida’s once-lax condo standards, Diffenderfer explained. The Surfside condo collapse has changed Florida real estate forever — with much of the impact still yet to come. AFP via Getty Images Previously, buyers had little insight into a building’s true condition — much like purchasing a used car without a Carfax report. Now, with stricter enforcement requiring proper reserves and full disclosure of maintenance history, brokers say the condo market could become more transparent and ultimately unlock greater value for owners. “For probably 75% of the buildings in South Florida, when the dust settles, people are going to say, ‘You know what? That was painful. But look at these buildings!’ ” Studnicky said. “They’re in great shape.” Oshrat Carmiel is the publisher of Highest & Best, a newsletter on South Florida real estate and wealth migration, and a former real estate reporter for Bloomberg News. Source link #Floridas #brewing #condo #crisis #property #values #drop #oncecoveted #retirement #haven Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]