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January 2011 Archives

Egyptian tours in turmoil

Getting Canadians out from under the escalating political violence in Egypt has become a priority for Foreign Affairs. But it's also a priority for Emil Habib. He's a local tour operator and president of Sun Ray Travel who specializes in Egyptian vacations. We heard about his efforts to help his customers leave Cairo.

If you have family vacationing in the region and need information about the Canadian government's evacuation efforts, call 613-996-8885 or 1-800-606-5499 or send an e-mail to sos@international.gc.ca.

Raptors on the wrong kind of streak

The Toronto Raptors hope to put an end to an 11-game losing streak as they play the Indiana pacers tonight. If they lose, the Raptors will tie the franchise record for consecutive losses. This kind of poor play was to be expected, according to Eric Koreen of the National Post. He spoke to Laura about what Raptors' fans can expect for the rest of the season, and speculated about the job security of General Manager Bryan Colangelo and coach Jay Triano.

Handling the politics of Egypt's uprising

All eyes are on the thousands of protestors who continue to fill the streets of Cairo. But attention is also turning to the West -- in particular the U.S. -- and how it's responding to the situation.
The Obama administration says it's not choosing between the Egyptian people and the government.And the Canadian government is doing the same...promoting democracy and non-violence instead.
Bessma Momani says this is the appropriate response.She's a Senior Fellow at the Centre For International Governance and Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario. We spoke with her Monday about how Western nations are handling the politics of the situation in Egypt.

ON STAGE: Love is in the air...and the ear

Toronto's Talisker Players get into Valentine's Day season early with a two-night concert of loveletters read and sung aloud. Laura spoke with actors Deborah Tennant and Brian Paul, who are also married, and will be reading some of the loveletters by ordinary Canadians that are part of the performance.

LOVE LETTERS plays Tuesday Feb 1 and Wednesday Feb 2 at Trinity St.Paul's Centre near Bloor and Spadina. Find out more here.

HEALTH: Dr. Brian Goldman on aging doctors

According to the Canadian Institute of Health Information, Canada's core of doctors is getting older. House Doctor Brian Goldman says for some physicians, with age comes wisdom, but for others it may be wiser to make a graceful exit before a patient gets hurt. Listen audio (runs 6:09)

Egyptian politics of squash

The political protests and violence in Egypt are being felt not just in Cairo but around the world -- including here in Toronto, where a professional squash tournament has been affected.
The $45,000 Ludwig Financial Recruitment Cambridge Cup starts today, featuring 8 of the world's best players, including several from Egypt. One Egyptian player, Shahier Razik of Toronto is the lone Canadian in the field and one of the organizers. He is also from Cairo, originally. He spoke with Laura about the tournament, as well as his own concerns for his parents, who are currently in Cairo.

ON STAGE: Anton Piatigorsky's ETERNAL HYDRA

Toronto's Factory Theatre is bringing back one of the hit plays of 2009: ETERNAL HYDRA, a piece examining creativity, genius, art and voice as it shifts time periods to reveal a complex literary mystery.
Vivian, a scholar, unearths a long-lost manuscript by firebrand Irish-Jewish author Gordias Carbuncle that is supposedly a work of staggering genius. When African-American Selma Thomas's connection to Carbuncle is discovered, it sparks a controversy reaching from the high-powered publishing world of present-day New York, to 1930's Paris, and the American Civil War.
We played an excerpt from ETERNAL HYDRA featuring actors David Ferry and Cara Ricketts. It continues at the Factory Theatre to February 12. Find out more here..

Exercising the power of the purse

The race for mayor of Toronto was a cut-throat campaign last fall, but tonight, the candidates are united in the Harmony Dinner. It's a fund-raising event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, to help the candidates offset their election campaign debts.
Of the 5 main contenders, only George Smitherman finished the campaign without any debt. The others, including Mayor Rob Ford, have significant shortfalls.
Sarah Thomson falls into that group. It was her first run for political office, and it was an eye opener. She spoke with Laura about the need for more women to become political contributors

Cellphone hell

Everyone likes to complain about their cellphone bills, and insists theirs is the worst, most expensive plan ever. Well, tomorrow you can find that out for sure, right here at the atrium of the Broadcasting Centre.
CBC Television's consumer show Marketplace will be there between 10:30 and 11:30 offering an expert analysis of YOUR cellphone bill. It's part of their coverage on the Worst Cellphone Bill in Canada, a segment they are preparing for later this season. We heard more from Tom Harrington, one of the hosts of Marketplace.

SCIENCE: Michael Bhardwaj on the secret lives of babies

At work, knowing who the people of influence are and figuring out how to impress them can make all the difference to your career.
But you may be surprised to learn that even tiny babies pay a great deal of attention to their social hierarchy--something that starts happening even before they can walk or talk.
A study published in today's Science uncovers some of the techniques preverbal children have developed to help them figure out who's the boss. Our science columnist, Michael Bhardwaj, joined us with the details.

Non-Torontonians heart T.O.

Tourists are saying they love Toronto. Visits to our city are at an all-time high. We spoke with David Whitaker, the president and CEO of Tourism Toronto to find out what's drawing them to the Big Smoke. Find out more about what;'s drawing the visitors at the See Toronto Now website.

Order of Ontario winner

For the past thirty years, Lynn Factor has advocated on behalf of children who've suffered abuse. This afternoon, her work was recognized with the province's highest civilian honour, The Order of Ontario. Laura spoke to Lynn about her work, and how this award will help further her efforts.
For more information on her work, go to the website for BOOST.Child Abuse Prevention and Intervenion.

Generation Y in the workforce

Clashes between generations are nothing new. But now, they're taking place in a new arena: the workplace. Tomorrow, the Toronto Board of Trade is hosting a breakfast panel on what employers and people who belong to Generation Y, those in their twenties, should expect for one another. We heard from Anne Sado, president of George Brown College, who'll be taking part in the panel. Find out more here.

PRIDE avoiding a fall

Traci Sandilands, Pride Toronto's executive director for the past three years, resigned today, citing personal reasons.The surprise announcement came a day after financial statements for the organization showed a large deficit. The organization went more than $400 ooo over budget. Even after reserves from previous years were applied to the deficit, it still sits at more than $100 000.
That's got some people worrying that this city's plans to host the international gay pride festival World Pride in 2014 could be in jeopardy.
Pride Toronto officials are NOT among them though. They say the budget problems are now under control - although the belt-tightening could mean a smaller festival this year. Joining me now to explain what's changing was Pride Toronto's co-chair, Francisco Alvarez.

Hep A concerns in North York

Toronto Public Health is warning anyone who ate at a particular restaurant in North York earlier this week to get a Hepattits A vaccine. Apparently, an employee at the Sierra Grill at Bayview and Sheppard has been diagnosed with the disease. We got a primer on the illness and the situation from Dr, Barbara Yaffe, Toronto's associate medical officer of health.
Anyone who ate there this past Sunday is being asked to show up at one of three free clinics Public Health is organizing at the North York Memorial Hall. Look for details here.

TASTE OF T.O. : Sarah Elton tastes turnip soup

Our food columnist Sarah Elton visited us with her final instalment in January's comfort food series. This week, she spoke about turnip soup, an Afghan winter comfort food. The soup combines turnips with onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric powder and olive oil with turnips, potatoes and water. Dress with coriander if you have it and serve!

Latifa's Turnip Soup

Ingredients:


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrots, thinly sliced

2 Medium size turnips cubed
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric


Directions


1. Heat olive oil in a medium size cooking pot. Add onion and garlic, ginger, turmeric and sauté 4 minutes. Add turnips, carrots, salt and chili powder, sauté 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

2. Add 2 cups of water, Cover and Cook for 3 minutes.

3. Serve soup hot with a garnish snipped fresh cilantro


Follow Sarah on Twitter : @TheLocavore

Toronto INCENDIES actor's career on fire

If you saw the Oscar nominations yesterday, you may have noticed that a Canadian film is up for best foreign language film, and it's one that's been receiving a lot of attention lately. It's the Denis Villenueve film, "Incendies".
And Toronto actor Allen Altman is enjoying all the buzz. He plays a key role in the film. Allen joined Laura in the studio.

Hoarding cats

Animal cruelty investigators have removed 30 cats from a Toronto woman's apartment.But not without a fight. And not for the first time. It seems that two years ago, investigators ALSO rescued thirty cats from the same apartment.
In this most recent case, two of the cats were in such poor shape they had to be put down; and another twelve were in the care of a vet. The rest are now in the care of Toronto Animal Services, and the Etobicoke Humane Society. That's the organization that carried out the investigation.
Joining us to talk about hoarding pets - and what might be done to curb the practice - was Jerry Higgins, one of the Etobicoke Humane Society's investigators.

YOUR MONEY: Donna Guzik on 2011 consumer trends

Trends tell us a lot about our collective way of thinking, including the way you and I make decisions about what to spend money on.
That's something Trendwatching.com looks at every year. Money columnist Donna Guzik sums up some of the company's top 11 consumer trends for 2011, which include:

-- "pricing pandemonium": you've probably heard of these coupon sites like Groupon.com - where you only have a limited time to buy something at a discount, but only if a certain number of people sign up for it - known as group buying

-- "member sales", an online version of the Costco idea , in which you become a member of a site and get alerted to deals for very specific products or services - like Jetsetter.com - that offers higher end travel deals. It's more targeted that just a coupon site.

- "flash sales" either on group sites or member sites where something may alert you on twitter about a sale that might be happening just for the next few hours somewhere

- growth in health oriented technology like apps that track sleep habits, calories, etc., or motion-sensing games like X-Box Kinect

- "ownerlessness", about access to products and services without ownership, i.e Zipcar -- you don't want the expense of owning a car, or renting one - this essentially lets you share a car with other members The same is being done in many cities with bicycles, and expanding with consumers renting lodging to other consumers like on sites like airbnb.com. On the west coast, sites like gottapark.com help people will rent out their parking spaces

-- "going green" is replaced by "eco superior". Consumers are starting to question the value and efficiency of going green - there's a bit of a backlash on products that just claim to be green. So eco-superior is about buying products that are not only eco-friendly, but superior to a polluting similar product in every possible way - superior design/quality, increased durability and efficiency, like the Stealth toilet.

-- a social networking based model that creates "social-lites" and "twin-sumers" Twin-sumers are people with similar patterns, likes and dislikes while social-lites like discovery, and what are called curators - meaning they will actively broadcast, compile, comment and share recommendations on products/services/experiences.


For more, check out the Trendwatching website.


TVs in schools

The Toronto District School Board wants to attract eyeballs to local school news by placing televisions in school common areas. Critics of the idea say if this happens, it'll open the door to advertisers who'll have easy access to a captive audience. Laura spoke with Father John Pungente of The Jesuit Communication Project to talk about the pros and cons of TV in the school.

Fuelling another tax debate

Ontario has a lot to gain by making one little cut. That is the message of a report released today calling on the provincial government to get rid of the aviation fuel tax for transborder and international flights.According to the study, it would create jobs, stimulate the tourism industry, and make airlines and Pearson Airport more competitive.
The study was commissioned by the National Airlines Council of Canada and the International Air Transport Association.
Laura spoke with Professor Fred Lazar of the Schulich School of Business at York University and the author of the report. Read the full report here: .

Crocs to Cuba

A local woman is heading to Cuba early next month. But the reason may surprise you. Dee Doiron is not going for the sun and sand. She's taking down a shipment of the shoes known as Crocs, for Cuban kids.
Dee Doiron joined Here and Now with more. Anyone who wants to help out can call her 416 999 9378 or email her here..

Should the TTC be the OTC?

Mayor Rob Ford's office has been floating a controversial idea: Asking the province to take over the TTC. The provincial Liberals are saying publicly that the idea doesn't interest them. But it's an idea that has come up in the past - and just doesn't seem ready to die.
Joining Here and Now to explain what HE thinks of the idea was Howard Levine. he's a transportation planner and a former city councillor.

More Yorkdale

Yorkdale is a popular mall, in the city... and now, it's hoping to become even busier. Today, the mall's property manager announced it's starting a $220 million expansion, which will be completed in 2012. Over 145,000 square feet of retail space will be added to what's now there.
This renovation comes on the heels of a revamp, which saw Yorkdale transforming itself into a destination for shoppers in search of luxury brands.
To explain what's behind their latest expansion, we were joined by Anthony Casalanguida. He's general manager of Yorkdale Mall.

TECHNOLOGY: Dan Misener on Google's local discount game

By now, Torontonians have probably heard of websites like Groupon, <strong>Living Social and TeamBuy that email one-day daily discounts for local wares and services Now Internet behemoth Google is planning to launch its own local advertising service.Will it succeed, or simply add to the growing daily deal drone? Our technology columnist Dan Misener weighed in with his views.

From words to walls

What does "Home" mean to you? That was the idea behind a national writing contest won by an 11-year-old girl from Guelph, Karson Simpson. Karson is the winner of the 4th annual Genworth Financial Meaning of Home Contest for a story she wrote in which she compared a homeless child living on the street and in shelters with a child in a warm, middle class home.
For winning, Karson is able to donate $60-thousand to the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Guelph, to build a home for a deserving local family. She also won a laptop and a pizza party for her whole school.
Karson spoke with Laura about what inspired her story, entitled "Hope".
To read Karson's winning entry, go here .

More MooLaLa

Business journalist Bruce Sellery advises a different approach for personal finance -- take a holistic approach, and focus on your big goals and dreams as motivation to save and make financial choices. He outlines his theories and advice in a new book launching today at the Intercontinental Hotel, called "MOOLALA: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things With Their Money". It's published by McClelland and Stewart Find out more here.

Toronto's unlikeliest Zamboni drivers

Ivan Jaikaran and Godfrey Ssembeguya are two people who choose to spend time in the cold.
They're Zamboni drivers at the Brickworks. And not so long ago, they were in warmer climates... where driving a Zamboni is a completely foreign concept. They talked to us about how they wound up in this line of work... and perhaps, to give us some advice on what makes a nice sheet of ice.

BILD vs. city Metropass plan for condo owners

Another of former Mayor David Miller's environmental policies may soon be history.
Back in 2009, council voted to force condo builders to offer buyers a free Metropass. And the builders had to cover the cost - which could run hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The problem, according to builders, is they're being forced to pay for transit passes that most buyers don't want.They say Mayor Rob Ford promised during the election campaign to do away with the regulation. We heard more about why builders want that to happen from Stephen Dupuis. He's president and CEO of BILD, an organization that represents GTA developers.
Then we heard from city councillor Glenn DeBaeremaeker, who made the case FOR the Metropass plan.
What do you think? Tweet us @CBCHereandNow, email us (hereandnow@cbc.ca), call the Listener Line at 416 205 2700, or comment below and tell us your thoughts on the idea of scrapping the plan for builders to provide Metropasses for condo buyers
.

Toyota's triumph

Toyota appears to be making a comeback after a veritable car wreck of a year. The Japanese company faced massive recalls in North America over sticky gas pedals and other safety concerns.But despite all that, Toyota has retained its bragging rights as the number one automaker in the world.
Our guest was Phil Edmonston, author of the Lemon-Aid car guides. He says the company will have to work hard to keep that position much longer.

Fraud charges at Bloorview School

Police here in Toronto have charged five people with fraud. But this is no ordinary scam. The target here was the Bloorview School - which caters to disabled children. And one of the accused is the former principal.
Police began looking into the case back in 2008, and discovered that about $700,000 dollars was taken.Today, they announced the arrests of five former employees.
Joining us to explain what happened - and how the fraud came to light - was Saryl Jacobson. She's director of the Bloorview School Authority.
Read more about the story here.

Homophobia or hooliganism in Church/Wellesley?

Jarvis Collegiate has built a reputation as being one of the most diverse high schools in Toronto. But according to local gay rights activist Enza Anderson, some of its students are threatening that reputation.
Anderson says she's seen students throwing objects and making homophobic slurs against locals.She's so angry about what she's seen that she's called for a community meeting on February 9 to discuss what's happening.
But in the meantime... allegations that their students may be involved in bullying off school property is being investigated, both by school officials and the police. Jarvis Collegiate principal Elizabeth Addo spoke with Laura about how the school is handling these allegations and how it addresses bullying on and off campus.

HEALTH: Dr. Brian Goldman on surgeons and confidence

When you think of surgeons, you likely picture heroes deftly using scalpels to pull patients back from the brink. But sometimes, as much as surgeons WANT to save someone....they simply can't.
A new survey finds that some of the men and women doing amazing feats of medicine in the operating room don't think quite so highly of themselves, putting into question the stereotype of the surgeon with an all-powerful "God complex".
Our house doctor Brian Goldman joined us to help us get behind the surgeon's mask.

Running hot and cold....

Toronto was hit with frigid conditions yesterday with a temperature of - 20 degrees Celsius -- and with the windchill it felt more like -33C. But by tomorrow, we're going to be back up to zero degrees. It's that changeability that has characterized this winter, according to Dave Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada. We spoke with Dave about this "pothole weather". He told us the worst of the extreme cold temperatures should be tapering off, but there are still a few months of winter still to come.

Gladstone Hotel @ 5

The Gladstone Hotel celebrates a milestone tonight.Five years ago, it reopened its doors after a major renovation.
For years, the hotel had sat neglected... that is, before arts developer and philanthropist Christina Zeidler stepped in. She and her team transformed The Gladstone, from near destitution to a hub for community members, artists and musicians.
And in doing so, they also changed the local neighbourhood.
Jane Farrow followed the redevelopment of The Gladstone, pretty much from her backyard.She's the executive director of Jane's Walk, and a neighbourhood resident, and she talked to us about how the hotel has become an institution in the area.
The Gladstone is celebrating its fifth anniversary tonight, with an Open House. You'll be able to see many of its artist-designed rooms. Doors open at 8 p.m.. For more info, go to the Gladstone Hotel's website.

Beyond Emma, Ava, Mohamed and Jack

What's in a name? A lot it would seem, depending on which Toronto neighbourhood you live in.Recently, news site Open File decided to map the most popular baby names according to postal codes, based on Statistics Canada information. But some parents -- who aren't celebrities -- are choosing to give their children unique names. They draw inspiration from a number of sources... literary characters, liquor bottles... and occasionaly, even fruit.

Each weekend, Toronto Star education reporter and Living columnist Kristin Rushowy profiles what goes into selecting a name. Laura spoke with her about the art of the name, and some of the creative combinations Toronto families have come up with..

Have you come across -- or perhaps come up with -- some wildly creative and unusual names for children in your life? Tell us about it in our Comments section!

H$T benefits

At Queen's Park this afternoon, the Liberals are claiming that the HST is actually putting MORE money in our pockets.They're quoting numbers from economists...Numbers that show the various rebates and tax breaks we're getting because of the HST will eventually offset the extra costs.
Back in 2009, TD Economics was ALSO claiming the HST wouldn't cost us extra.
One of the authors of THAT report was TD Bank economist Diana Petramala.
She joined us to explain how the HST is working out to taxpayers' benefit.

POP CULTURE: Stu Henderson on Regis' retirement

Regis Philbin, who has co-hosted the ABC morning show "Live" for 28 years, announced his retirement this week - at the age of 79, and after almost 60 years on TV. Our pop culture columnist Stuart Henderson joined us with his thoughts on Regis, aging in the spotlight, and just who might be chosen to fill his big chair.

Hockey without contact or concussions

One of the big stories this week is that Sidney Crosby has now missed seven games, thanks to a concussion he suffered earlier this month.The injury has some people demanding that the NHL do more to protect its players.
But players in one league right here in Toronto don't have to worry about violence. The Toronto Non-Contact Hockey League is celebrating its first Outdoor Winter Classic this weekend.
The league caters to players aged 11 and older - which is when traditional leagues are introducing body checking.And according to the league's founders, it's growing in popularity.
Joining me now to explain why is Bill Robertson. He's the president, and a founder, of the Tornto Non-contact Hockey L:eague. You can find out more at their website.

The oldest babies ever?

Hor and Sheri are not your typical babies. They don't cry. They don't like toys. And they're never in need of a diaper change. They are also about two thousand years older than the average toddler.
Hor and Sheri are mummies. And they are the new stars of a television series that debuted last night, about the Royal Ontario Museum's vast collection of artifacts. Little is known about the babies, including what their real names are or even when exactly it was they lived in ancient Egypt. But to Gayle Gibson, they're not just ordinary museum specimens. She's a teacher and Egyptologist with the ROM, and she spoke with Laura about the connection these babies have with modern children.

Spot checks on the TTC

Imagine getting a message from your boss, telling you that you'd better be awake and doing your job... just in case their bosses happen to drop by for a surprise visit. It may seem ridiculous. After all, aren't you supposed to be performing at your best, at all times, no matter who drops by?
But earlier this week, that's exactly the message TTC fare collectors got on their voicemails. Apparently, someone got wind that Mayor Rob Ford and some city councillors MIGHT visit TTC stations without notice, to see what workers are up to.
For his take on this, we were joined by Bob Kinnear. He's the head of Amalgamated Transit Union 113, the local that represents TTC workers

What's hot on the ice this weekend

From the promise of double quads to some noteworthy absences...the 2011 Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Victoria this weekend should be a tournament to remember.
Pj Kwong coached figure skating for more than 20 years, and will bring her many years of ice-side experience at national championships covering this year's tournament for CBC Sports. She joined us on Thursday's show. She says this year's tournament should be really exciting because the absence of some figure skating favourites means new stars will have the chance to really shine and at least three new champions will be crowned.

You can catch all the figure skating action on CBC Television and CBC Bold. For more details visit the CBC Sports website.

End of a nightmare

Nineteen years ago, Dinesh Kumar faced every parent's worst nightmare. His five week old son was found dead in his crib. Then, a new nightmare began. Kumar found himself accused of killing his baby. He was charged with second-degree murder, but chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge -- criminal negligence causing death. But throughout his case, and despite pleading guilty, Kumar insisted he didn't kill his son. Today, the Crown overturned his orignal conviction, because evidence used in the case came from now disgraced pathologist Charles Smith.
Dinesh Kumar spoke to Laura about what he and his family have been through over the past two decades..

BOOKS: Canada Reads selection THE BONE CAGE

Each week we're introducing you to the books and authors behind the five novels chosen for Canada Reads. Today Laura spoke with author Angie Abdou. Her novel THE BONE CAGE takes us inside the world of two elite athletes -- a swimmer and a wrestler -- who are trying to qualify for the Olympics.

THE BONE CAGE will be defended by former NHLer Georges Laraque in the Canada Reads debates. They air on February 7, 8 and 9 on CBC Radio One. Find out more at the Canada Reads website, . There you can also enter the weekly contest to win an autographed set of the five books

Homeless/hopeful in Hamilton

A documentary called Home Safe Hamilton launchestonight in Toronto, at 6:30pm at the NFB Cinema at 150 John Street. The film tells the story of, among others, Shamso Elmi. She and her family fled the civil war in Somalia in the mid '90s, and moved to Canada, where they experienced the struggle of finding a decent place to live at an affordable price. The film is co-directed and co-produced by Laura Sky.
We spoke with both Shamso Elmi and Laura Sky about the film.For more information, visit the Skyworks website..

Headshot debate comes to a head

Once again the issue of head shots in the NHL is taking centre ice.This time it's thanks to a couple of hits that Sidney Crosby took earlier this month...leading to a mild concussion and a place on the sideline.A number of player agents are speaking out, calling for stiffer penalities when it comes to blows to the head.And Crosby, for his part, has offered his own criticism of how the NHL has handled the issue.
For his take on the matter wereached Bruce Dowbiggin, a sports columnist with the Globe & Mail.Bruce says that Crosby's recent concussion after sustaining a couple of head shots won't lead to an outright ban or a change in the culture on the ice because that would lead to fighting being taken out of hockey, and many of the highers-up don't want that.

THEATRE 20 takes the stage

A new type pf theatre company is officially launched today. It's called Theatre 20. And it's promising to provide a fresh new twist on traditional musical theatre.an actor driven, story driven company.
One of the founding members is Juan Chioran, and he joined Here and Now to explain what HE thinks will set Theatre 20 apart. Find out more here.

BMX boost

Earlier this week, Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday critized plans to build the $700-thousand Pan-Am BMX track at Centennial Park in Etobicoke, saying it would endanger other people who want to enjoy the park, and it is a waste of green space. But Constable Scott Mills, says as both a police officer and a father, he's a fan of BMX. He joined us to explain why he thinks BMX is a valuable activity for young people in Toronto.
For more information about a BMX event being held in Toronto in March, check out this website.

Telling the true TPS from the poser police

Police are searching this afternoon for a man who posed as a police officer before robbing and beating a man. It happened last week in the Main and Danforth area.Then, on Tuesday, a similar incident happened in Durham Region -- three men dressed as police officers staged a home invasion in Ajax. Six people were handcuffed while their house was ransacked.
It may make you wonder how you CAN tell bogus police from the real thing. So we asked Constable Tony Vella of Toronto Police Services for some tips for identifying legitimate officers. His advice:

-- know that police officers should identify themselves as police and give the reason for stopping to speak with you.

-- ask to see their identification, which should include a picture, badge, and include date of issue, rank, signature, the Chief's signature, the log and badge number

-- if they show any sign of hesitation, or seem uncomfortable with your questions, contact their division and confirm their legitimacy

SCIENCE: Michael Bhardwaj on peer pressure in birds

Have you ever found yourself coveting your neighbours' big-screen television?
Or that new car in their driveway. Or their new hot tub.
Well, it's not just humans who feel the pressure to keep up with the Joneses.Just ask your average Black Kite. These birds of prey also go to great lengths to decorate their nests--all in an effort to outdo the neighbours.
Our science columnist Michael Bhardwaj joined us with the details of a new study just published in the latest issue of SCIENCE that shows that we may have more in common with these birds than we'd like to imagine.

Reimagining King & John as an "Urban Ballroom"

UrbanBallroomWEB.jpg

This is Coryn Kempster's vision for the corner of King and John in front of Metro Hall. He dreams of turning the corner into something he calls an 'Urban Ballroom'. Strings of lights would hang from above and ball shaped sitting areas would adorn the otherwise non-descript corner. Kempster was awarded $5,000 for his design idea. The announcement was made today on Facebook.

Of course right now it's just an idea, but the Entertainment District's Business Improvement Area is willing to put its money where Coryn's head is. To learn more, we spoke with Janice Solomon, the President of the Entertainmnet District's BIA. Visit their website

PRISONER OF TEHRAN moves from page to stage

Marina Nemat's story of imprisonment, torture and rape in Iran's notorious Evin prison got international attention Her memoir, "Prisoner of Tehran", received the first Human Dignity Prize from the European Union in 2007.Now a play on her life story is being developed.
A public workshop is going on tonight (Wednesday January 19) at 7:30 at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace.It's sold out, but there are plans to bring the play to the stage again in future.
Laura spoke with both Marina Nemat and writer-director of the show Maja Ardal about the project.

THE LOCAVORE: Sarah Elton's comfort food chicken

Our food columnist Sarah Elton was in today to with her third installment in January's comfort food series. She told us about the Cantonese dish, White Cooked Chicken. Here's the recipe she was given:


White Cut ChickenKwong suggests heading to Chinatown and looking for a "half old-half young" chicken to prepare this comfort food.


Ingredients:
1 chicken
1 whole onion
2 inches of ginger, peeled and sliced into medallions
pepper corns
salt
about 14 cups of water


- Bring water to a boil with ginger, onions, pepper and salt
- Once the water is boiling, add the washed bird to the pot
- Cover and bring to a boil
- Once boiling, cover, turn down the heat so the pot boils extremely gently and cook until the thigh juices run clear
- (Note: some recipes involve turning off the heat after 20 minutes and letting the bird sit in the water until it is cooked)
- Slice, partially debone and serve on a platter with hot oil dipping sauce


To make the hot oil dipping sauce: chop ginger and spring onion, heat canola oil and pour on top

Counting Canada's bookworms

Counting Canadian readers, one book at a time. The first ever National Book Count has been tallied and today the numbers were released. In just one week, Canadians bought 1,110,568 books and borrowed 1,604,378 books from their public libraries. We spoke with Jamie Broadhurst, the vice president of Marketing for Raincoast Books, and a member of the TD National Reading Campaign which conducted the book count..

For more information, visit the TD National Reading Campaign website.

Help for smokers wanting to quit

Smokers who made a New Years resolution to quit got some encouragement from Queen's Park today.The province is expanding a program that gives smokers free nicotine patches, gum and counselling.Starting in the spring, about 20,000 smokers will be eligible.
But how well do those therapies actually work?
Joining Here and Now with HIS thoughts was Dr. Peter Selby. He's clinical director of addiction programs for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health here in Toronto. That's the organization that'll be administering the project. You can read more about it here.

YOUR MONEY: Donna Guzik on managing workplace conflicts

Most people will tell you they hate office politics. Then there are those who love to play the game. Wherever you stand on the issue, if you want to to get ahead in any organization, you have to figure out how to make the politics of the place work for you.
So, as the economy starts to pick up and employees start to think about that next job, our business columnist Donna Guzik offered some tips on another kind of political correctness.

Donna cited the findings of Linda Hill, a Harvard Business Prof, and Kent Lineback, a long time executive, co-authors of a new book called "Being The Boss: The Three Imperatives To Being A Good Leader". While the book is primarily aimed at managers, many of their points can be applied to most people in any organization.

Coping with dementia and Alzheimer's disease

For anyone who has a relative suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease, the death of a Toronto woman who wandered away from home overnight and died of exposure to the cold will draw shudders.
To help us understand the issues facing people with dementia, and how to keep them safe, we reached Mary Schulz, education director for the Alzheimer Society of Canada She had advice for families of dementia and Alzheimer's sufferers, including
the Alzheimer Society's registry program called Safely Home in conjunction with the RCMP. that involves an id bracelet for patients known to wander.

For more information, contact the Alzheimer's Society of Canada.

The power of real life social networks

Science is discovering that the adage " no man is an island" is absolutely true. We need communities to survive as human beings.
Professor Nicholas Christakis, a physician and Harvard University medical sociologist, explores the power of those relationships in his book "Connected, the Surprising Power of our Social Networks and How they Shape Our Lives." He's in town to give a breakfast lecture at the Sutton Place hotel tomorrow,morning and then at the University of Toronto. He joined Laura in studio to discuss some of his findings about how the people we surround ourselves with influence our health and behaviours. And while most of the research involved face-to-face interactions, Christakis also found that people who have smiling photos on their Facebook profiles have more friends, and are more central in their social networks than those who don't..

See mor eof Christakis discussing his research here.

MLK Day in TO

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. More than 40 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr spoke those words, and today people in Toronto and around the world are celebrating the man and his message.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated at Toronto's Afrocentric Alternative School. We spoke with the principal, Thando Hyman, about the school assembly which included dance, poetry and music.She talked about how the school makes MLK Jr. relatable for the students by talking about the civil rights leader's youth and what he would have learned, and overcome, on the path to creating his message.

Mortgage changes announced

Most Canadians want to live in the home of their dreams. But increasingly, it's a home they can't quite afford. Now mortgages are the target of the government's latest attempt to fight record levels of household debt. Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced new restrictions on mortgages this morning.
Joining us to help explain the restrictions was Peter Majthenyi, a mortgage planner with Mortgage Architects here in Toronto.

Chilling news on Scarborough death

Torontonians woke up today to a cold morning -- and some chilling news.
A Scarborough woman suffering from dementia died early this morning. The 66-year old woman died after wandering from her home and getting lost outside, where temperatures reached -28 degrees Celsius with windchill - the coldest weather Toronto's experienced in two years.
She was found near Midland and McNicoll where she had been walking. Neighbours reported hearing screams but nobody called police.
For more on this, we reached Sergeant David Dube from Toronto's 42 Division, which covers the area where the woman lived. He explained that the police do not just deal with situations like this after the fact but seek to get involved in preventative measures such as special locks on the doors.

Weight and workplace discrimination

Your job skills may be secondary to your body size. That's according to The Canadian Obesity Network, holding the first Canadian Summit on Weight Bias and Discrimination here in Toronto today.The group says discrimination against people with obesity is comparable to racial discrimination.And it can affect workplaces in terms of increased absenteeism due to the negative environment, and poor work performance.
Dr. Arya Sharma is the Scientific Director of the href="http://www.obesitynetwork.ca">Canadian Obesity Network and joined us on the line from the summit.

HEALTH: Dr. Brian Goldman on stopping superbugs

Researchers at Montreal's McGill University cooked up an effective way of taming MRSA and C. difficille superbugs plaguing hospitals. Our house doctor Brian Goldman came by to tell us more about the surprisingly simple solution: Don't share your bathroom.

The researchers conducted a study in the intensive care units of two Montreal hospitals: the Royal Vic and the General. Both serve the same population and have the same infection control procedures with one big difference. In 2002, Montreal General's ICU reopened with single patient bathrooms - which means no sharing with other patients. Patients in the ICU at the Royal Vic continued to share facilities with neighboring patients. The result: after going to individual patient bathrooms, rates of three superbugs at the General - MRSA, C. difficile and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus or VRE - fell by 54 percent.

Dr. Brian Goldman is a Toronto emergency room doctor and host of White Coat, Black Art on CBC Radio One. His new book 'The Night Shift: Real Life in the Heart of the ER', is published by HarperCollins.

Cranes at the Carlu

More than ten thousand cranes are soaring at the Carlu. Origami ones, that is. They're part of a paper crane chandelier created for The Wedding Show at the Carlu that starts today.
And as Here and Now's Joan Chang discovered, every crane has a story. She went over to Carlu at College Park to learn more about the crane chandelier from its creator, Catherine Lash.
You can see the cranes and find out more here.

Around the world and back again

Imagine fighting through the heaving ocean, storms and even pirates -- all by yourself -- in your quest to sail around the world.
Zac Sunderland was just 16 when he started his journey. He finished the trip at 17 -- becoming the first person under the age of 18 to sail around the world solo.
The California teen makes his first Canadian appearance at the Toronto Boat Show this weekend at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place.
Zac came by the studio to tell us more about his wild adventures.Find out more about him here.

POP CULTURE: Stuart Henderson on the Golden Globes

This Sunday, the brightest stars in both TV and the movies will gather in Los Angeles for the 68thannual Golden Globes ceremony, the unofficial kick-off to "awards season". Our Pop Culture Columnist Stuart Henderson came by to talk all things Golden.

Return to THE MILL

THE MILL is a cycle of four plays that tells the tale of a haunted sawmill It's partly a metaphor for Canadian history over the centuries. But it's also a very spooky story involving an eerie little girl who appears and reappears in different eras...provoking questions and wreaking havoc.
The story unfolds over four plays created by four different playwrights, but involving the same cast. The first show, NOW WE ARE BRODY, opened in 2009. The series continued with THE HURON BRIDE and THE WOODS, revealing more and more of the mysterious tale. And now it concludes with the last play, ASH.
All four plays are running in repertory at the Young Centre in the Distillery District. And they are all connected by not just the creepy yarn, but also by a haunting musical theme. We heard from musician and sound designer Richard Feren about how he dreamed up the spooky melody for the shows.
For tickets and information about THE MILL cycle on till January 29th, go to the Theatrefront website.

TARGET-ing Canada

Retail chain Target has announced it will be opening over a hundred retail locations across Canada starting in 2013. The news has shoppers excited...and Canadian retailers anxious.
For more on this,we spoke with John Williams.He's a senior analyst with the JC Williams Group -- a retail consulting firm in Toronto.

Poker face may be hazardous to your health

Chances are you're doing -- or have done -- a job where you have to "stay professional".And that usually means keeping a hold on your emotions while you're dealing with others.But it turns out -- keeping a "poker face" at work can be bad for you -- in more ways than one.
Every day "poker faces" are the topic of a new study that will be published in the next issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.John Trougakos is an assistant professor of management at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.He was one of the co-authors of the study and told Here and Now all about it.

SCIENCE: Michael Bhardwaj on the evolution of clothing lice

Thanks to some helpful parasites, scientists have been able to figure out when people first started wearing clothes. And it turns out out it was tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The startling thing is that David Reed of the Florida Museum of Natural History discovered we started wearing clothes about 170 000 years ago by studying the evolution of lice -- specifically, when head lice evolved into a second species of clothing lice.
Our science columnist Michael Bhardwaj joined us with the details. You can read the study details here.

THE LOCAVORE: Sarah Elton on Moroccan comfort food, couscous

Food columnist Sarah Elton was in to talk comfort food as part of our month-long series. This week: couscous. She suggested Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food for a recipe.
For a demonstration of how to make couscous, search in youtube or check out http://bit.ly/eW6UVt

"THE IMPERFECTIONISTS" Author Tom Rachman

An internationally renowned author is returning to his onetime home.
Tom Rachman is the author of the internationally acclaimed debut novel "The Imperfectionists"., a series of linked stories about the people working in an international newspaper in Rome.
He's also a former U of T student and alumnus of Innis College. Tomorrow night he returns there to give a reading But first -- Rachman joined Laura on Here and Now with a preview.

Smile - you're on Casino Camera

Problem gamblers will soon have a new weapon in their arsenal to fight their addiction.The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation will be implementing a new facial recognition program in all their casinos starting in the spring.
Cameras take photos of every patron as they enter.Self-identified problem gamblers who have signed up for a self-exclusion program are then identified -- and escorted out. But privacy issues have some people worried.
Paul Pellizzari is the director of policy and social responsibility for the OLG.And Nathalie Des Rosiers is the the general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
They both joined us on Here and Now to talk about the new program.

Toronto to Haiti

At this time last year, Antoine DeRose was one of many Haitian-Canadians who were trying to get in touch with his family. They were in Port-au-Prince, an area hard-hit by a severe earthquake.
We spoke to Antoine, who is the President of the Haitian Cultural Network of Toronto, as he tried to learn news of his family. He spoke to us again today, as Haiti -- and the rest of the world -- commemorate a sad anniversary.

TTC meets

Over the past few days, talk of the TTC's budget has had more twists and turns than the University subway line.
On Monday, both Mayor Rob Ford and TTC chair Karen Stintz warned a ten cent fare hike was likely for February 1st.Yesterday, plans for the fare hike were shelved. According to Stintz, the city managed to find some savings at the last minute to make up some of the budgetary shortfall.
TODAY, TTC officials are meeting to talk about -- what else? -- the budget.And it looks as if more surprises are to come. To tell us more, we were joined by Brad Ross. He's spokesperson for the TTC.

MONEY: Donna Guzik on (dis)honest business

A new study by David Larker, professor of Accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business in California, along with a Phd student sheds light on how certain chief executives bend the truth.... and provides some clues that might help you figure out when the head honcho is being less than honest. Our business columnist Donna Guzik came by to tell us more..
The study specifically compared how CEOs talked up their company's performance and contrasted it with financial results down the road David Larker identified some giveaways:

-they overuse words like "we" and "our team" don't say "I" as much (because that shows ownership of the statement)

-they speak in generalities rather than specifics, they make fewer references to shareholders and value creation

-they tendto make reference to other sources - like "you know" or "everybody knows", more evasive things

-they use exaggerated words - like instead of "good" they use great, fantastic, excellent, strong

Larker says there's plenty of work to do on this - this study is just the first shot, and there need to be refinements like men vs. women, and looking at people who are serial liars

Home (land) cooking

If you were pressed to define what Canadian cuisine is...would you know what to say?Toronto chef Suman Roy is used to trying to answer that question.So he wrote a cookbook on it.And it's turning a lot of heads.Recently he found out he's won the Gourmand Magazine Cookbook Award for best culinary history book in English.
His book is called "Pemmican to Poutine: A Journey Through Canada's Culinary History". It showcases uniquely Canadian recipes like vinegar pie, son-of-a-gun-in-a-sack, and more. He'll be receiving the award in Paris in March.
Chef Suman told us all about his book. Find out more at his website.

A Year From Scratch

Toronto's Elizabeth Fraser has decided to abstain from mass consumption and get back to basics. She's dubbed it A Year from Scratch. Elizabeth is trying to make just about everything she consumes by hand.Darell Harvey met with her to find out more about her creative inspiration.
Find out more at Elixabeth Fraser's blog 52 Projects : A Year From Scratch.

True Toronto Sound

The Cameron House on Queen Street West (past Spadina) is a longtime local institution. It's a bar, a theatre and home of Toronto company Videocabaret, and a beloved stage over the years for the likes of Blue Rodeo and the Barenaked Ladies among many others.

Now the Cameron is launching its own record label to promote independent and rising musicians it wants to support. We spoke to Cameron House Records co founder Michael McKeown about the project.

Cameron House Records launches with a show at the Great Hall on January 22nd that will feature acts like Jadea Kelly and David Baxter, and headliners Run With The Kittens. More information at the launch party website.

TECHNOLOGY: Dan Misener on resolution solutions

Our technology columnist Dan Misener came by to bolster your New Year's Resolutions with some online support. Among his recommendations:

-- Stickk. com is a goal setting site that lets you sign up with a goal, and then put your money where your mouth is by adding a credit card number and a dollar amount. If you fail to meet your goal, your card gets charged, and the proceeds go to a charity, friend, or wherever you like. Friends can follow your progress for added incentive and accountability.

- Streak.ly is a site for regular daily goals you want to achieve and lets you report back on your progress. As the days mount, you see a streak of accomplishments grow. It also lets you cheer other people on.

- 43things.com

- My50.com

Snow news is good news

We're expecting a heavy dump of snow tonight -- anywhere from 5-10 cm expected in the city. We spoke with city transportation director and the man who oversees the plows for the city, Peter Noehammer. about what to expect.

ASSASSINS and assassination

Saturday's attempted assassination of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford which resulted in 6 deaths and 14 injuries reverberated with shock waves all over North America. It echoed particularly loudly off the walls of the Theatre Centre at the Great Hall in downtown Toronto.
In a fateful coincidence, a remount of the award winning stage show ASSASSINS was in the middle of its opening weekend. The Stephen Sondheim musical profiles the various people in history who have tried, both successfully and unsuccessfully, to shoot American presidents...from Lincoln to Reagan.
We spoke with actor and the show's director Adam Brazier to find out his reaction to the incident, and what the show reveals about some of the possible motives behind assassination attempts.
ASSASSINS continues at the Theatre Centre till January 23. For information go to the Theatre Centre website.

Budget battles begin

According to Mayor Rob Ford, it's a new era at City Hall. No more vehicle registration tax. No big service cuts. And, to top it off, the next operating budget will be balanced.
But over the past few weeks, his attempts to bring that budget in line has been challenged. Boards for the library, police and public health have asked for raises in their own budgets, defying the mayor's orders that all city departments and agencies find a five percent savings.Now,there's also word that the TTC is looking at raising its fares by ten cents a ride...
Despite these hurdles, Mayor Ford is confident that the draft budget he's introduced today will garner the same support that propelled him to office in October.
We heard from our city hall watchers, for their take. Christopher Hume writes about urban affairs issues for the Toronto Star. And Sue-Ann Levy is the Toronto Sun's City Hall columnist.

TTC = Take Ten Cents?

In just a few weeks, your commute to and from work may end up costing you more...Today, Mayor Rob Ford announced that despite some serious number-crunching, a TTC fare hike will more than likely, have to be implemented.
That's because the transit system is a victim of its own success. Ridership levels are going up, but at the same time, so are costs...And in an attempt to maintain current service, fares may have to go up by ten cents.
To tell us more, we heard from Karen Stintz. She is chair of the TTC.

Transit in the City

Start counting your change.A proposed budget could raise the TTC fare by ten cents as soon as February 1st.
While fare increases are never good news, many are hoping city council makes their transit dreams come true another way -- by saving Transit City.
Supporters held a rally yesterday outside City Hall.And it doesn't stop there.
Patrick Shorter is one of the organizers of Sunday's "Save Transit City" rally and he told Here and Now all about the campaign he and other supporters plan to wage to save the Transit City vision.Anyone interested in finding out more is invited to find Patrick Shorter on Facebook - look for the one with Transit City as the image.

After the Fire

It's been a week since a fire destroyed the century-old building at Yonge and Gould.The structure is still being demolished. And while businesses in the area are reopened, the fire continues to take a toll on their bottom line.
Tom Mayo is the owner of Watch It!, a watch store on Yonge Street. He spoke to Here and Now about how his business has been affected.

Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

Ontario is biting back against bed bugs.MPP for Eglinton-Lawrence Mike Colle announced this morning that the province will be giving $5 million dollars tocommunity groups fighting bedbugs as well as public education.
Mike Colle spoke with Here and Now all about it. For more information, go to the province's website

The Girl With The Golden Boot

One of Canada's brightest soccer stars has been forced to retire at the age of 24. Kara Lang of Oakville was once soccer's version of Sydney Crosby, the young star who would set the soccer world on fire. She made her international debut at the age of 15 and has played in all the major tournaments, including the Olympics in Beijing. Her soccer talent led to a scholarship at UCLA, from which she recently graduated. Lang says she can no longer continue playing because of repeated knee injuries. She spoke to us from her home in Oakville where

For more about Kara Lang, her career and her decision to retire, visit CBC Sports

Varenyky: Ukrainian pyrogies


Our food columnist Sarah Elton launched our comfort food series that will run this cold month of January. We started our celebration of the home cook with a piece about the Ukranian varenyky. Sarah visited Lesia Kohut of LPK's Culinary Groove, who was preparing varenyky with her mom. They shared their recipe! Here it is:

Lesia's Varenyky

Lesia and her mom were making about 500 pierogies so this recipe will serve 20! Feel free to cut the quantities in half. Or better yet, prepare the entire recipe and freeze the uncooked pierogies to pull out of the freezer one of those busy nights when you need to make dinner in 10 minutes or less. Freeze the uncooked dumplings on a tray so they don't stick to each other and, once they are frozen, put them into a container or a freezer bag.

\Varenyky Dough:
4 cups potato water (This is the water that Lesia used to boil the potatoes she then mashed, mixed with dill and used to stuff the dumplings)
3 cups water
2 cups olive oil (canola works too)
20 cups of flour
1/4 cup salt

If you are working with the large quantity of dough, it would be best to use a mixer with a dough hook to work the dough for about 10 minutes, or more, until it is supple and soft. Lesia said to make it softer than your earlobe.
Let the dough rest for an hour. You can make this a day ahead but if you do, keep it in the refrigerator and allow time for the dough to come to room temperature before you start working with it.
Cut off a workable sized chunk and roll it out until it is very thin. Use a round cookie cutter or glass to cut out circles. Ensure your filling is at room temperature and pack as much in as possible.
Fillings can be: mashed potato and cheese, sauerkraut, and Lesia made a caramelized squash filling too. But make sure your filling is not too liquid.
When you want to cook your varenyky, bring a pot of water to a boil and drop them in. They are done when they float.
Serve with olive oil and caramelized onions.

A New Man

At this time last year, Martin Moran of Burlington resolved to lose weight, and quit smoking
His love of food and distate for exercise had caused his weight to balloon to close to 300 pounds. And while he considered himself just a social smoker, he was using socializing as an excuse to smoke -- a lot.
Today, he's 90 pounds thinner and a non smoker, following a regime he put together with websites online -- no gyms. Martin Moran joined Laura in studio to talk about his resolutions... and what's happened in the past year.

Some of the sites he used in his quest for fitness:
C25K

Podrunner Podcasts which work exactly per the C25K above (also available through iTunes):

One Hundred Pushups Challenge:

Two Hundred Situps Challenge:

He also mentioned three books he found helpful::

Eat This not That! (revised for 2011):
The Volumetrics Eating Plan:
The Omnivore's Dilemma:

Be It Resolved

It's only been three days since 2011 began...but it's already happening.People are struggling to keep up with their New Year's resolutions.
According to a new survey by Dr .Tim Pychyl, an associate professor of psychology at Carleton Unversity, there are a ton of psychological barriers that are keeping us from reaching our goals. Only 8 percent of people keep their New Year's resolutions, and only 15 percent writes them down, which studies suggest is a boon to effectiveness.
Among Pychyl's suggestions for succesful resolution keeping:
- write down your goals and put them somewhere you can see them often
- make only a few changes at a time; it's easier to track, and stick to, one or two commitments than many
--forgive yourself. If you fall off the wagon, get back on - don't give up if you stumble.

TECHNOLOGY: Dan Misener on health apps

For the next six months, CBC is challenging Canadians to live healthier with the"Live Right Now" initiative.Whether it's dropping a few extra pounds or cleaning up your diet -- the idea is that small changes can mean big differences to your health.
And if you have a smartphone, there's no shortage of apps to help you get there.
Tech columnist Dan Misener told us about the best apps to keep you motivated, including:

- a free web service called The Daily Plate that lets you enter what you eat and figures out the calories

- WebMd Mobile and iTriage l are like medical reference websites that let you research symptoms (although beware of cyberchondria!)

-blood glucose meter for your smartphone

- comng soon : Alivecor's iPhone case and app that allow you to turn your ohone into an electrocardigram for heart monitoring

Gould Street Fire Update

Brian Fisher is a fire investigation supervisor for the Fire Marshal's office. We spoke with him from the site of Monday's fire at the corner of Yonge and Gould for an update on the examination of the rubble and what it might reveal. At the time of our conversation there was no indication that anyone was in the building at the time of the fire. However, he acknolwedged that the age of the building raised concerns about asbestos in the structure.

Carrie Bernard's Live Right Now Challenge

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Dr. Carrie Bernard

Carrie Bernard is a family doctor who wants to feel better. The self-described Type A personality feels like if she's going to counsel patients to take care of themselves, she should walk the walk - literally.

Her husband says he's noticed that stress can make her grumpy, so she is tackling her emotional health by improving her physical health. While her body mass index is within a healthy range, she has gained a bit of weight lately and wants to reduce that, and make time for things that are healthy.

Her goals: Lose 11 of the 15 pounds she's gained. Work out four times a week. Drop heart rate to a healthy level.

Her strategy: Dropping a course at school. Involving her husband in helping find time for exercise. Planning meals and shopping trips so that she has meals of thought, not meals of convenience.

JAN 10/11 - UPDATE:
Carrie updated on her first week's progress with her resolutions:

"In my estimation, it has been a fairly good week. As I reflect upon what made it so, three words come to mind: planning, flexibility, and support.

Planning

From the outset I knew that planning would be essential if I was going to achieve my goal of working out four times each week. I mean I love to work out! I know it is good for me. Not just good-- it is actually essential if I am going to cheat my genes. My father developed heart disease in his fifties and my mother has type II diabetes. I need to work out if I am going to remain healthy. And...I have been meaning to work out regularly for some time now. It just never seems to happen. I get caught up in things that seem so very important (supervising my resident in training, home visits for patients who are sick, deadlines for my Master's degree) and the time for working out flies by. So this time I made some plans. I knew which days would be more conducive to getting to workout classes, and I committed to working out on those days. This helped ensure that I got all four in.

Flexibility

Despite my planning efforts, unexpected events threatened my resolve. I had to be flexible in my thinking to minimize the impact of these events. Late Monday night I started to experience extreme tooth pain. I hoped it would simply disappear overnight but unfortunately it did not. This meant that I had to use my lunch hour on Tuesday for a dentist appointment, leaving all of my paperwork until the end of the day. I finished in the office a good two hours later than expected. I was too late for my workout class. I felt deflated--it seemed that although I had planned my week perfectly to allow for my class, I was unable to make it. Rather than coming home and dealing with my disappointment with the glass of wine I was craving, I instead sat my butt on the stationary bike in my tiny condo gym. My disappointment turned into a feeling of pride and well being. I avoided getting derailed when it seemed that I had not attained my goal, by letting go of 'all or nothing' thinking and by being flexible with myself. I will have to remember this lesson in the weeks to come.

Support

OK--I haven't been completely honest in the flexibility section. I omitted one small but extremely important detail. I was REALLY defeated when I arrived home at 6:30 pm (an entire hour after my class) tired, with tooth pain, and wondering how in the world I was going to actually work out in the manner I had committed. I came home to find my husband in the kitchen with all of the components of a healthy chicken stir-fry on the counter ready to be thrown into the Wok. When he realized that I missed my class, he advised me that if, and only if, I went down to the tiny condo gym and worked out, he would finish making dinner so that it would be ready when I finished exercising. Otherwise I would have to finish cooking the meal myself. I quickly changed into my gym clothes and went downstairs. Having his support and instrumental help has been incredibly motivating for me. Committing out loud to what I want to accomplish has been a bit scary (it makes me accountable!!) but it has also allowed others to push me and support me in my endeavour.

I hope that I will continue to make gains in the week to come. I started slowly (25 minutes on the bike my first day, then 30, then 35, culminating in an hour spin class today) and I'm feeling pretty good. We are going away for 5 days, starting tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to weave my exercise plan into our short vacation! "

**********************************************************
Tune in to Here and Now on Monday afternoons to hear more about Carrie's progress, and join up at liverightnow.ca to make your own challenge.

Carlos Rodriguez' Live Right Now Challenge

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Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos Rodriguez is a project manager who used to play a lot of sports, but now finds he comes home from work tired, and he wants to change that.

He's mapped out a whole-health approach that involves physical, mental, social and other factors into his plan, and accommodates his vegetarian diet.

His goals: To increase energy and improve stamina.

His strategy: Use interval workouts instead of running at one pace. Engage his family, like asking kids to make dinner so he can have time to exercise.

Tune in to Here and Now on Monday afternoons to hear more about Carlos' progress, and join up at liverightnow.ca to make your own challenge.

Helen Van Dongen's Live Right Now Challenge

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Helen Van Dongen
Helen Van Dongen is a conference planner whose work involves a lot of travel and eating out. Five years ago she was training for a marathon, but since then she's gained 114 pounds. After surviving a brush with breast cancer last year, she's newly motivated to take control of her health.

Her goals: to lose that hundred pounds, regulate her sleep, and eat better both at home and on the road.

Her strategy: Start cooking for herself, and be held accountable by the listeners of Here and Now, as well as by her blog followers. You can follow too at fatnotstupid.blogspot.com.

Tune in to Here and Now on Monday afternoons to hear more about Helen's progress, and join up at liverightnow.ca to make your own challenge.

Deportation dilemma

For Gao Zhi Xiang, the new year has begun with uncertainty.
Any day now, he could be deported back to China. Since 2009, he has been in Toronto, illegally. When arrived, he was only supposed to be here for a month, to care for his mother, who has since passed away from colon cancer.
But after his visitor's visa expired, he stayed on...And now, according to him, he has one very good reason for why he should stay...
To tell us more, we heard from his lawyer, Avvy Go. She's also Clinic Director of the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic.

TTC employee fighting for council seat

TTC employee and Oshawa resident Mike Nicholson is looking to Mayor Rob Ford and TTC chair Karen Stintz to make his new year a little brighter...He wants them to change a TTC policy which prevents any employee from holding elected office.
Nicholson's quest began after he learned that -- although he won a seat on Oshawa City Council,-- he would NOT be able to serve because of the TTC's rules.
And despite attempts to work something out with his employer, he's wound up quitting his seat, in order to hold onto his job.
To tell us what he believes Toronto's mayor can do, we heard from Mike Nicholson.

Gould Street Fire

The talk of the town today was the fire at the building on the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets, which has the area around Yonge and Dundas shut down today.The building is over a century old.It's the same one where a wall collapsed last spring.It's been shut down since then.

Kristyn Wong-Tam had been trying to find out when repairs were set to begin. She's the new councillor for Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale. She'd been at the intersection throughout the day, which is where she joined host Laura DiBattista for an update at 3:10 today.

During the battle to put out the flames -- four firefighters were injured. Mike Strapko is a spokesperson for the Toronto Fire Services. At 5:10, he gave us an update on where the investigation is now.

Welcome to 2011, and to new host Laura Di Battista!

Laura Di Battista
Laura Di Battista
courtesy beachesliving.ca
The big story here and now in Toronto is the fire on Gould near Yonge and Dundas. We'll bring you the latest on that along with updates for traffic around the area, to help you navigate around it. Today also we're launching CBC's Live Right Now campaign - a project to get Canadians healthy and fit and losing a million pounds collectively. Tune in for tips to help get your health plan off on the right foot. And meet three people who have resolved to make 2011 the year they get into better shape. We'll introduce you and follow them along as they seek to Live Right Now.