Adria Vasil answers readers' environmental queries in her "Ecoholic" column for the Toronto alt-weekly. While her just-released book shares its name with the column, it "takes a different approach, with in-depth discussion and advice covering fashion, beauty, home improvement, outdoor living, money and more," NOW reports. She says her approach is to counsel people on the small things they can do to be more earth-friendly. "Let's face it," Vasil says. "You can't achieve environmental purity unless you're Woody Harrelson and you have millions of dollars."
Briony Penn, who was an AltWeekly Award finalist in 2002 for her columns in the Victoria alt-weekly, will seek to represent the Saanich Gulf-Islands riding in Canada's next federal election, according to the Globe and Mail. If she wins the Liberal nomination at a March 31 meeting, she will run against incumbent Gary Lunn in an election expected to be this spring. The longtime Green Party activist's decision to run with the Liberals was unexpected, but Penn says getting elected and changing policy is her first priority. "We can't wait around for proportional representation," she says.
In an intra-company switcheroo, Jim Parker takes over this week as publisher of a collection of publications in Victoria, British Columbia, including Monday Magazine. Meanwhile, the alt-weekly's former publisher, Bill Macadam, will fill Parker's old position at the News Leader & Pictorial, based 40 minutes north of Victoria in the Cowichan Valley. Both papers are owned by Black Press Group, Ltd.
Alice Klein, editor and CEO of the Toronto alt-weekly, has recently completed her debut film, Call of the Hummingbird. The "full-frontal eco-manifesto," which Klein directed, produced and wrote, will premiere next month at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Her stage name is "Champain," but in real life she's Stacy Reardon, marketing coordinator for NOW Magazine in Toronto. "The league will be back down in the States in April so this marketing chick has loads of title defending to do!" Stacy exclaims, promoting her own appearances like a true marketing coordinator-Pillow Fight League champion.
Last week we reported that Vancouver alt-weekly Georgia Straight broke the story that British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and his wife own shares of stock in mining giant Alcan Inc., which does business with the state-owned water utility. In fact, the article also appeared in Monday Magazine, an AAN-member paper that is published in Victoria, the seat of the provincial government. Russ Francis, who wrote the story, contributes to both papers. Blame Canada? No, blame Canada.com, the Web site of the National Post, which is where we found the partially erroneous story.
