News

Dale Woodard Lethbridge Herald Small businesses in Alberta are being offered a helping hand. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hinder small businesses, the province is offering supports to help owners through a tough time with additional pandemic support through a new financial relief program, the Enhanced COVID-19 Business Benefit, beginning in April. The Enhanced COVID-19 Business Benefit provides [...] Read More »

Tim Kalinowski Lethbridge Herald tkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com Blood Tribe members are calling for the reform of the current electoral system after about 300 people were not allowed to vote in the municipal election at the Lethbridge polling station back in November. A separate problem happened in Calgary when the location of the vote was changed the day [...] Read More »

Andrea Bourque-White, Library Assistant, Lethbridge Public Library People have been eating versions of pizza for centuries. What we know as pizza can be traced back to late 18th century Naples, Italy, but it wasn’t a family favourite like it is today. So, how did pizza become one of the world’s most popular foods? Back in [...] Read More »

Many people no longer attend religious services. According to the sociologists, this percentage of people is increasing as the years go by. While many who are active in religious groups decry this trend, others of us want to warn “Be careful before you assume that we’ve rejected all sense of the Great Mystery!” I’m one [...] Read More »

Are you thinking of using cannabis? Are you already using? Cannabis is a psychoactive substance that has many short- and long-term health risks including: impairment, memory issues, mental health problems, lung damage and risk of dependency and cannabis use disorder. If you are using, ensure that you read the product labels. Know what and how [...] Read More »

Delon Shurtz Lethbridge Herald dshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A Fort Vermillion man who was expected to resolve dozens of criminal charges, but then fired his second lawyer late last year, is still hoping to resolve his matters without having to stand trial. During a brief hearing Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court, lawyer number three, Ingrid Hess, said she [...] Read More »

Cole Parkinson Southern Alberta Newspapers It would be hard to find anyone who did find a new set of challenges throughout the year 2020, and Mayor Andrew Prokop counts himself among those people. With the vast majority of the year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Prokop reflected on the strange year that provided plenty of [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com City council voted to reject a motion from its Community Safety Standing Policy Committee which would have allowed the City’s current Temporary Face-covering Bylaw to expire on Tuesday as previously planned, and instead voted to extend the bylaw until at least April 30. As chair of SPC, Coun. Ryan Parker brought the committee [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com Trying to take on three police officers at the same time didn’t turn out well for a 43-year-old Lethbridge man. Daniel Edward Collier was a passenger in a motor vehicle that was stopped by police last month, after police noticed the vehicle had a burned out taillight and licence plate light. The officer [...] Read More »

Holly Kletke’s passions and her presence both in school and in the community have earned her a trip to Ottawa. Virtually, at least. The Lethbridge resident and student at the University of Lethbridge where she’s in her third year of education and music was recently selected to take part in the third iteration of Daughters [...] Read More »

An agreement to delay logging of an old-growth stand of British Columbia forest is giving a one-year reprieve to one of Canada’s most endangered species. Just a tiny handful of spotted owls remain in the Canadian wild, with some estimates putting the number as low as three. B.C., the federal government and a First Nation [...] Read More »

POUCE COUPE, B.C. – The mayor of a village in northeastern British Columbia says she is sorry for an online post that was not meant to be racist against Indigenous Peoples, but now she wants people to stop bullying her. Lorraine Michetti, who was first elected in Pouce Coupe in 2016, said through tears that [...] Read More »

OTTAWA – The Public Health Agency of Canada is launching an investigation and reviewing its practices after two returning travellers were allegedly sexually assaulted during their mandatory quarantine periods. A spokesperson for Health Minister Patty Hajdu said allegations of assaults reported in the media this week are “really concerning.” Cole Davidson said the public health [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – Antony Blinken will meet virtually Friday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau in a day of online diplomacy for the U.S. secretary of state. Blinken will meet with Trudeau, Garneau and other members of the federal cabinet as part of a “virtual trip” to Canada and Mexico, Blinken’s [...] Read More »

OTTAWA – The federal government has been granted one more month to expand access to medical assistance in dying. Quebec Superior Court Justice Martin Sheehan has agreed to give the government a fourth extension – until March 26 – to bring the law into compliance with a 2019 court ruling. The decision comes just one [...] Read More »

EDMONTON – An Edmonton Police Service officer has been charged with sexual assault. Alberta’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), says the alleged assault happened on Jan. 20 when the officer was off duty. In a release, ASIRT says the man knows the woman and during an encounter committed a sexual assault. [...] Read More »

CALGARY – Many Albertans hoping to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments for older loved ones Wednesday instead spent hours being kicked off the government’s booking website or getting busy signals on the phone. Some 230,000 people born in 1946 or earlier are now eligible to be immunized at 58 sites across the province. Appointments are being [...] Read More »

CALGARY – Many Albertans hoping to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments for elderly loved ones Wednesday morning instead spent hours being kicked off the government’s booking website or getting busy signals on the phone. Some 230,000 people born in 1946 or earlier are now eligible to be immunized at 58 sites across the province. Appointments were [...] Read More »

STONY PLAIN, Alta. – A trial date has been set for a jailed Alberta pastor who is accused of holding Sunday services that violated COVID-19 rules. James Coates with GraceLife Church in Spruce Grove, near Edmonton, did not appear in court Wednesday when a date for a three-day trial was set to start May 3. [...] Read More »

CALGARY – Alberta Health Services says more than 12,000 seniors born in 1946 and earlier have booked appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations so far this morning. Chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, has said there are 230,000 Albertans in that age group and has urged those eager to get their shots to be patient [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – The Democratic-led House is poised to pass a bill that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labour and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate. The Equality Act amends existing civil rights law to explicitly include sexual orientation and [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – Republicans are closing ranks against Democrats’ proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, even as the White House seemed to rule out a procedural Senate power play to protect one provision most treasured by progressives: a minimum wage hike. Despite paper-thin congressional majorities, Democratic leaders were poised to push the sweeping package through the [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – The acting U.S. Capitol Police chief was pressed to explain Thursday why the agency hadn’t been prepared to fend off a violent mob of insurrectionists, including white supremacists, who were trying to halt the certification of the presidential election last month, even though officials had compelling advance intelligence. Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman denied [...] Read More »

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine recorded a 50% increase Thursday in daily new COVID-19 infections, a day after authorities launched the country’s vaccination campaign. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said 8,147 confirmed new infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, up from 5,424 a day earlier. He did not speculate on the cause of the spike, [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – A gathering of conservatives this weekend in Florida will serve as an unabashed endorsement of former President Donald Trump’s desire to remain the leader of the Republican Party – and as a forum to fan his false claim that he lost the November election only because of widespread voter fraud. Matt Schlapp, chairman [...] Read More »