News roundup, 13 Aug 2026

- This week's Democratic primaries have had mixed results for leftwing candidates. In Minnesota, sitting lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan soundly defeated establishment candidate Angie Craig, while climate activist William Lawrence won the primary for a House seat in Michigan. On the other hand, Francesca Hong was narrowly defeated in the primary for Wisconsin governor by centrist David Crowley.

- Winnipeg city councillor Russ Wyatt is facing new charges of sexual assault and related crimes distinct from other similar charges laid earlier this year. In both cases he has also been charge with administering a "noxious thing", i.e. drugging the victims.

- A new poll in Alberta has found that 52% of respondents would have voted in favour of a ban on coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies had the question been allowed onto the ballot. Of course the usual caveats about "shy Tories" apply here.

- Environment Canada has adopted a new system for its severe weather alerts that's supposed to take a more granular look at the weather in the hope of reducing false positives. The embedded video does a good job of explaining; I guess we'll have a better idea of how it works after a few storms. 

- A French vintner has arranged solar panels in a five metre high canopy over his vineyard; interestingly, energy production was actually a secondary reason for doing so. The main reason is to protect the crop from excessive heat and hail. He's paying a price for this, though - he's not allowed to call it cognac, since 2002, France's strict appellation d’origine contrôlée laws prohibit the application of a regional label to any wine grown under cover, so it has to be sold as generic wine without geographical indication. While the country's National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) has expressed willingness to look at exceptions to the rule, some appelations have already explicitly excluded agrivoltaics from their own specifications, citing concerns about damage to the landscape; there are concerns about the effect of the visual impact on tourism. In any case, the French have a concept called terroir that assumes that such changes will have an impact on the wine quality, and this is a huge factor in these laws. Given how much climate change is already locked in, though, they may need to adjust these rules to allow for adaptation, or else face the extinction of many vintages.

News roundup, 11 Aug 2026

- Water levels in the Danube River are now so low due to drought that the wrecks of warships scuttled by the Nazis during WWII are resurfacing. More seriously, the situation is impacting irrigation as well as power generation.

- The Launchpad, a yacht owned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, apparently failed to respond to a call for assistance as required by maritime law. A skiff that had run out of fuel had made a mayday call; its occupants were rescued by a cruise ship despite the fact that Zuckerberg's yacht was closer. A representative for Zuckerberg claims that the crew of the Launchpad initially didn't hear the call and that by the time they did, the cruise ship had already responded.

- Leftwing candidates will again be challenging the Democratic establishment in primaries this week. Francesca Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is leading in the polls for the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor against establishment choice David Crowley, while Minnesota's left-leaning lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan is facing the more centrist House member Angie Craig in the primary for the Senate seat vacated by Tina Smith.

- There are now a total of 11 candidates in the running for mayor of Winnipeg in this fall's municipal election. The latest person to enter the race is Brad Gross, a realtor notorious for having the buildings he's listed burn down. These include the Sutherland and Manwin hotels as well as a Main Street apartment building. Some folks on Reddit also think Winnipeg Sun owner and former Tory MLA Kevin Klein is considering a run, based on the fact that they're suddenly getting polled on his potential candidacy.

- Manitoba Hydro CEO Allan Danroth's claim before the Public Utilities Board that new gas turbines are essential to maintain a reliable supply, already disputed by critics, is being further called into question with revelations that the existing Brandon gas plant underperforms during cold weather. As I've indicated before, Danroth previously worked for private energy companies in Alberta, so there's a good chance that he has friends and investments in that province's natural gas industry. I do hope the PUB digs deeper into these matters.