Welcome to the Homestretch


FEBRUARY 9, 2010
Alberta's new finance minister Ted Morton delivered his first budget in the legislature this afternoon.

Graham Thomson
Graham Thomson is a long time political observer based in Edmonton, where he writes a column for the Edmonton Journal. He presents his analysis.

Homestretch political panel
Keith Brownsey teaches political science at Mount Royal University in Calgary and Peter McCormick is a political science professor at the University of Lethbridge. They give their views on the budget.

Wildrose Alliance
The leader of the Wildrose Alliance Danielle Smith with her thoughts on today's budget.

Alberta Liberals
The leader of the Alberta Liberals and MLA for Calgary Mountainview David Swann reacts to the budget.

Alberta NDP
The leader of the Alberta NDP Brian Mason with his thoughts on today's budget.

Ted Morton
Alberta's new finance minister Ted Morton speaks about his first budget.

FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Caniwi athlete
A Canmore woman is going to the Vancouver Olympics, but not for Team Canada, for Team Kiwi. Sarah Murphy will become the first biathlete to compete for New Zealand at a Winter Olympics.

Rush hour towing
CBC reporter John Spittal talks about a proposed one year pilot project to have standby tow trucks at five key congestion points in the city.

William Yang's CHINA
William Yang is a third generation Australian, of Chinese decent. His work as a playwright and a photographer has explored some of the most controversial and taboo subjects of our time, from the treatment of the Australia's first nations to the devasting sweep of AIDS. William Yang talks about his latest show running at Theatre Junction at the Grand Theatre.

FEBRUARY 5, 2010
China accreditation dispute
Irving Hexham  a professor of relgious studies at the University of Calgary gives his opinion why China has taken the University of Calgary off its list of accredited universities.

Prostate cancer
NDP Leader Jack Layton has prostate cancer, but he says he will stay on both as an MP and party leader while he's being treated. Preston Manning was also diagnosed with prostate cancer when he was still in office as a Calgary MP.

FEBRUARY 4, 2010
Throne speech analysis
Alberta's Lieutenant Governor Normie Kwong delivered the government's Speech from the Throne this afternoon. Graham Thomson is a long time political observer based in Edmonton, where he writes a column for the Edmonton Journal.

Driving advice
Glitches with the gas pedals, and now unreliable brakes, Toyota's problems keep coming. Today, the company added Prius to the list of cars found to have potentially dangerous faults. Jil Mcintosh is an automotive journalist with Canadian Driver and the Toronto Star and she has some advice for drivers.

Degree controversy
There are nearly 600 students from mainland China and Hong Kong studying at the University of Calgary. The Chinese government has taken the U of C off its list of accredited universities. The university recently bestowed an honorary degree on the Dalai Lama. Colleen Turner is the Vice President of External Relations at the University.

FEBRUARY 3, 2010
Clean keyboard
Randy Marsden of Edmonton is the creator of Cleankeys. It's a keyboard that can be cleaned with soap and water!

Restrictive by-law
A proposed by-law to restrict demonstrations outside Calgary city hall has been shot down. The CBC's Elizabeth Snaddon is following this story.

Afghanistan
Brigadier-General Jonathan Vance spent ten months in Kandahar province as the commander of Canadian and NATO Forces. His term ended in November. During his time in Afghanistan, General Jonathan Vance was responsible for over 2500 NATO and Canadian soldiers. General Vance spoke to the Canadian International Council and the University of Calgary's Centre for Military & Strategic Studies today. Guest host Holly Preston spoke with him this afternoon on the Homestretch.

FEBRUARY 2, 2010
Coaching the coaches
Behind every athlete there is a coach, but coaches also need coaching. Guest host Holly Preston speaks with Calgary's Debbie Muir. She's an Olympic Coach Leader.

Ken Griffey Senior
Major League Baseball legend, Ken Griffey Senior, is speaking at a fundraiser dinner tonight for the U of C Dinos. Guest host, Holly Preston, spoke with the two-time World Series winning player.



The Homestretch traffic reporter, Jenny Howe, with baseball legend Ken Griffey Senior. (photos taken by Danielle Nerman)






FEBRUARY 1, 2010
City snow removal
The City of Calgary is taking up to $10-million out of its reserve funds to pay for more snow removal. City managers are planning to make residential streets a higher priority. Dean Bell is the manager of road maintenance for the City of Calgary.

JANUARY 28, 2010
Panorama
A group of homeowners and local business people have bought Panorama. The Invermere ski resort belonged to Intrawest, but creditors have effectively seized control of that company. And they're trying to auction off it's assets. Rick Jensen is the CEO of the group's new owners Panorama Mountain Village Inc.

Tuition hikes
Charlotte Kingston president of the Student's Union at the University of Calgary talks about proposed tuition hikes for some programs at the university.

JANUARY 27, 2010
Edmonton baby
A three month old baby boy at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton will remain on life support for at least the next few weeks. The CBC's John Archer brings us the story of Isaiah May. Doctors say he has severe brain damage and were planning to remove a ventilator but the boy's parents got a court order to stop that last week. Today, they were back in court.

Haitian arrival
This afternoon Brady and Heidi Van Ry are living their dream. Their Haitian-born son has finally landed on Canadian soil. The Van Ry's are from Alberta and we've been following them throughout this experience.

JANUARY 26, 2010
Iron science
Calgary teens learned about science today with the help of gumballs, liquorice and lollipops. They were watching the regional Iron Science competition at the Telus World of Science.

Glacial melt
Most of Alberta's Rocky Mountain glaciers will melt away by the end of this century. That's the prediction of a team of researchers from the University of Calgary. They have mapped the spreading retreat of glaciers in the Rockies. They also say the pace of change has accelerated over the last 20 years. Shawn Marshall is part of the study. He's a climate change specialist and geophysicist at the U of C.

Calgary Flames
Eric Duhatschek a sports columnist for the Globe and Mail speaks about the team's losing streak.

JANUARY 25, 2010
Chinatown fire
A fire destroyed a building in the 200 block of Centre Street changing the face of Chinatown. Harry Sanders is a historian and writer in Calgary.

Olympic family
Randy and Kathy Gregg have competed at Olympic Games in the past. In a few weeks their children Jamie and Ryan Gregg will represent Canada at the 2010 games in Vancouver. The CBC's Rod Kurtz had a chance to speak to the proud parents.

JANUARY 22, 2010
Jeff Rubin
Jeff Rubin is a former CIBC chief economist and the author of Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization. He's in Calgary as a keynote speaker for Kiewit Energy Canada.

Ken King
Guest host Holly Preston speaks with the president of the Calgary Flames, Ken King, about the team and the Saddledome.

From Calgary to Bollywood
After winning an online contest, Calgary-born dancer Shivani Thakkar was flown to Mumbai. You can see her dancing with Bollywood heartthrob Shahid Kapoor in his new film, Chance pe Dance. It's screening nightly at 8:45 p.m. at Moviedome in Calgary.

Photos taken by Ivan Karabobaliev and Blaine Andrusek.



JANUARY 21, 2010
Gary Bettman
David Gray speaks with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.


Alberta paleontologists distressed over dinosaur fossil poachers
Dr. Philip Currie and Eva Koppelhus often travel from Edmonton to Mongolia to excavate dinosaur fossils. But they keep finding fewer and fewer specimens. The CBC's Danielle Nerman bring us that story from Mongolia's Gobi Desert.


JANUARY 19, 2010
Rescue dogs
Search and rescue teams continue to comb the rubble in Haiti. They're hoping to find people still alive under the buildings that collapsed a week ago. Edmonton's Sylvie Montier and her rescue dog took part in the search.

Olympic torch designer
The torch for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancovuer was designed by the Canadian train and plane manufacturer, Bombardier. Tim Fagan is the lead designer.

JANUARY 18, 2010
Haiti update
Calgarian Bettina Pierre-Gilles has family in Haiti. She updates us on what is happening with her family and friends. If you live in Calgary and want to donate to people affected by the earthquake, contact Samariatan's Purse at 1-800-663-6500.

Torch bearer
The last time the Olympic torch was in Calgary was 1988. Robyn Ainsworth remembers it well. At the time, she Robyn Perry, the 12-year old who lit the massive flame that burned throughout the 1988 Winter Games.

Mongolian yurts
A yurt is a circular tent, lined with sheep's felt. The frame is made of wood, and held together by ropes made from horsehair. Yurts are the most common type of housing in Mongolia. You'll also find them in Canada.


However, they're usually copies of the Mongolian variety, mass-produced in factories and made with synthetic materials. Yves Ballenegger is the only person importing authentic Mongolian yurts to Canada. The CBC's Danielle Nerman met him when he came through Calgary on a delivery run.



JANUARY 6, 2010
Calgarian brings farm training to Mongolia
The CBC's Danielle Nerman traveled to Mongolia through a media fellowship with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She met up with Calgarian, Deb Rasmussen, who works for Agriteam Canada.


Deb Rasmussen and the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture have designed a farm traning program that teaches rural Mongolian families how to grow vegetables.