Monthly Archives: March 2017

Hike along Bayocean Spit Road, learn about coastal bays and estuaries, and discover the history of a lost town Saturday.

The guided hike is part of the Explore Nature series of hikes, walks, paddles and outdoor adventures. Hosted by a consortium of volunteer community and non-profit organizations, these meaningful nature-based experiences highlight the unique beauty of Tillamook County and the work being done to preserve and conserve the areas natural resources and natural resource-based economy, according to organizers.

The unique four-mile journey is an easy to moderate walk that winds along and over dunes at the intersection of the ocean and Tillamook Bay. Expect to navigate through puddles and mud, scamper up sand banks, and navigate around storm washed trees.

The event is free and open to the public. The hike will be led by Chrissy Smith of Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS and Kristen Penner of Garibaldi Cultural Heritage Initiative.

Experience the unique story of this coastline, the story of a long lost town buried beneath the salal, and learn about new efforts to preserve Tillamooks historical legacies. Join organizers in discovering the natural wonders and history of this special place.

Hike is scheduled from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

There are no bathrooms or drinking water facilities on this hike. Organizers request hikers to bring water and snacks.

Weather on the Oregon Coast is unpredictable and trails can be slick and muddy, be prepared and bring appropriate gear and clothing.

The hike is described as an easy to moderate four-mile hike over flat gravel road, sand, moderate to steep sand dunes.

The hike will be at Bayocean Peninsula County Park near Cape Meares. The park is a 20 minute drive from downtown Tillamook. Please register for driving directions.

There is no charge to participate. Tax-exempt donations to Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS to enable programs like this are encouraged, but not required.

Registration is required and available at EventBrite.com. For a link to the registration page, visit netartsbaytoday.org or the Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS Facebook Event page.

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Free hike of Bayocean spit set | Community ... - Tillamook Headlight-Herald

Wednesday, March 22, may go down as one of the more important in recent memory because both the Saskatchewan and federal budgets for 2017-18 were unveiled.

It will also be remembered as confusing since social media and coffee shop talk will soon intertwine the two budgets to the point where what is good and what is bad, and which government is the culprit will be shrouded in uncertainty.

It may be a cynical position to take, but its hard not to imagine the decision not to change their release date, at least provincially, was because of some anonymity of decision associated with the dual release.

There is little secret the provincial government is not going to be people friendly.

When your budget is off course by a billion plus, and the plus seeming to creep higher every time the books are looked at again, something needs to be done as Premier Brad Wall has indicated.

The managers we the voters elected in the Saskatchewan Party are now scrambling to get the books back in order, and there is little doubt our collective pocket books will be thinner because it.

The federal budget has tended to be big picture in recent years. The individual seems less directly impacted, although broader programs such as capital gains taxes, and investment rules, can have an effect.

The combination of the two releases today though will make this year interesting.

We have a federal government that has suggested it wants to see Canada move to a more innovative economy.

For example the Conference Board of Canada ranked the country 14 out of 16 nations in terms of the number of patents per capita, so streamlining the system, and encouraging more patents seems a direction they may go today.

It is part of a vision which sees an economy less resource based moving forward.

It has been a vision Wall has not been supportive of in the past with Saskatchewans resources; uranium, oil, gas and potash, being seen as cornerstones.

But of late Wall has spoke of a new reality, one where resources may not be the government wealth generator they have been.

Strangely, Wall and Trudeau may actually be on the same page in terms of recognizing change is coming in terms of economics, but how they see us adapting is not likely to sync very well.

See more here:

Editorial - Confusion will arise from dual release - Yorkton This Week (press release)

Vancouver Sun

Opinion: Working together a surefire way to protect First Nations interests in resource development Vancouver Sun A resource-based economy is a big reality of living and working in the north. Resource economies bring well-paying jobs, stability for many families and prosperity to our communities. But, ensuring that the right voices are heard is crucial when trying ...

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Opinion: Working together a surefire way to protect First Nations interests in resource development - Vancouver Sun

Emma Okonji

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu has that development and deployment of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can propel the small and medium enterprises (SME) to increase its present contribution of one percent to the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said despite the fact that 96 per cent of Nigerian businesses are SMEs, compared to 53 per cent in the United States and 65 per cent in Europe, the sector contributes only one per cent of Nigerias GDP, a development attributable to several constraints which are not limited to lack of funding, infrastructure and low level of productivity. Shittu, however, was optimistic that the country could leverage ICT to further increase productivity for it to become a critical leader in the fourth industrial revolution as declared sometimes ago in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Minister in a keynote address delivered at the University of Ibadan, School of Business Lecture Series at the weekend said: ICT, more than ever, is now a leveler that will help transform and diversify the economy. He spoke on the theme: Maximising The Potentials of The Telecommunications Industry For Reversing Recession and The Economic Growth of Nigeria.

According to him, the pervasiveness of technology in terms of transforming the way economic activity is organised, suggest that ICT and telecoms have features of general purpose technology, adding that the digital economy holds potential for entrepreneurs and SMEs.

According to him, New digital tends such as cloud computing, mobile web services, bid data, smart grid and social media, are radically changing the business landscape, reshaping the nature of work, the boundaries of enterprises and the responsibilities of business leaders.

Given its immense contribution to the growth of the economy and the fact that ICT is an enabler for all the sectors of the economy, the present administration, he said, would continue to explore ways of maximising the potentials of the telecoms and ICT, for reversing the recession and the economic growth of Nigeria.

Diversification of Nigerias economy into various sectors is not enough to take the country out of recession, until the process is done by leveraging on ICT in an effective and efficient manner to be driven by a digital government strategy that aims to deliver government modernisation, greater value for citizens and businesses as well as transparency and open government, Shittu said.

The country is presently in recession, but it is not because we are in it that we are concerned. We are concerned because each time there is a sharp drop in prices, we enter into a recession and we want to make sure that this cycle does not continue and the only way we can do so is to diversify the economy by leveraging on ICT and move the economy from being resource-based, which it has been since independence, he stressed, promising that, the Ministry of Communications is determined to making sure that the country break away from the cycle.

Revealing that the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is convinced that ICT is the bedrock of Nigerias change agenda and development, the minister said, having worked assiduously on setting the proper policy and strategic environment for the development of ICT in the country, government is determined to expand its investments in ICT infrastructure and extend connectivity to unserved and underserved areas.

Change, therefore, he said, would mean a specific, deliberate and spirited reconstructive framework, for recalibrating existing policies and institutional configurations, as well as the value that underpins them.

Shittu promised that government would pursue policies that incentivise investment and promote development of digital economies, so as to be able to build an inclusive digital future for the citizenry.

He also said attention would be paid to the issue of multiple taxation of ICT infrastructure in addition to having ICT infrastructure designated as critical national infrastructure and investment on the capacity and harnessing the talents of the ICT savvy youth through increased accelerators and incubators.

More here:

Shittu: ICT Can Boost SME Contribution to GDP | THISDAYLIVE - THISDAY Newspapers

National Post

John Ivison: The Liberals may have slowed their spending, but their spin is relentless National Post It never happens, for a variety of reasons the preponderance of branch plant companies; complacency bred from regulatory protection; currency depreciation; easy access to U.S. markets; our having a resource-based economy. Perhaps that should not ... Federal Budget 2017: Trudeau Government Unveils Its 2nd Federal BudgetHuffington Post Canada Actress Naturi Naughton expecting first childNews1130 Budget 2017: EI premiums, sin taxes, cheater crackdown to finance Liberal visionCanoe CP24 Toronto's Breaking News -iPolitics.ca (subscription) all 295 news articles »

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John Ivison: The Liberals may have slowed their spending, but their spin is relentless - National Post

Regina Leader-Post

Taxes impact Saskatchewan across the board as spending gets cut to combat deficit Regina Leader-Post Despite the talk of moving away from being a resource revenue based economy, Saskatchewan is still expecting revenue from oil to pay for 10 per cent of its budgeted expenses. Doherty acknowledged there is volatility in natural resource prices and ... and more »

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Taxes impact Saskatchewan across the board as spending gets cut to combat deficit - Regina Leader-Post