And now for the local news..

[Gob]

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/

Pair charged over truckie shooting
9:58 AM AEST |

BREAKING NEWS: NSW police have charged two men with murder over last year’s killing of Canberra truck driver Bob Knight. The pair are among four men and two juveniles arrested over the killing in raids across Sydney’s south-west last night and early this morning.


Workers reject ACT pay offer

Unions representing up to 20,000 ACT public-sector employees have threatened industrial action after rejecting the Stanhope Government's latest pay offer yesterday. More than 350 members from 10 unions voted to knock back the Government's offer of a 2.25 per cent pay rise this year and 2.5per cent next year.

However, ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said last night the pay offer was ''appropriate and reasonable'', given the hit the territory's budget had taken due to the global financial crisis and cuts in GST payments.


Elsom steels for might of Waratahs

Rocky Elsom has warned his ACT Brumbies teammates they will face a side with no weaknesses when they line up against the NSW Waratahs on Saturday night. As the Brumbies strive to keep their Super 14 season alive, former Waratahs flanker and No8 Elsom has heaped praise on his old club ahead of the must-win encounter at Sydney's ANZ Stadium.

Ok, a link to, and the headline(s) and/or excerpts from your local paper or news source, let's see what's making the news in your town, city or state.

[The Hen]

I won't bother adding anything then, eh?

[Scooter]

http://www.torontosun.com

Gunshot scatters marijuana protesters

A peaceful protest at Dundas Square to legalize marijuana turned into a free-for-all with hundreds of scrambling people after a man fired a gun into the air.

At about 4:12 p.m. — eight minutes before the protest was scheduled to start — witnesses said they heard what sounded like a balloon popping. Some people said they saw a fight between two men and one of them waved a gun in the air.

"Everyone started to scramble," said Shane Mulligan, who was at the square.

"The guy had a gun up in the air. When I saw that I thought someone was going to get shot for sure. It's scary."

Police seized a gun at the scene and arrested a 33-year-old man. Another man was taken to hospital by ambulance for head wounds after allegedly being pistolwhipped.


Man used shoe batteries for height — not bombs

A man’s vanity came undone when security guards at Pearson International’s Terminal One departure area asked him to take off his shoes early Tuesday.

They found batteries stuffed inside the 27-year-old man’s shoes.

Suspecting an attempt to attack the plane headed for Chicago’s O’Hare airport, the man was taken into custody without incident by Peel police at 8:47 a.m.

But after between five and six hours, while being grilled by police and other security services, they realized that the man was using the batteries as lifts, to make himself look taller, a police source said.


Sex education program sparks outcry

Premier Dalton McGuinty is defending the province’s new sex education curriculum against accusations from “family values” groups that it exposes young children to inappropriate material.

Dr. Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College, said Ontario’s revamped sex education curriculum will teach 11-year-olds about oral and anal sex and eight-year-olds about sexual orientation and identity.

”Little eight-year-olds, they’re going to be taught they look one way on the outside but they may be the opposite on the inside,” McVety said. “This is so confusing to an eight-year-old ... these are children in the strongest sense of the word — they’re innocent, they’re clean, they’re beautiful — and to corrupt them by imparting a question of gender identity is beyond the pale.”

Ontario is introducing an updated health and physical education curriculum this fall in all publicly funded schools.

Children in Grade 1 will be taught to identify male and female genitalia, where the previous curriculum referred only generally to body parts.

In Grade 3, students will learn about visible differences and invisible differences between people, such as learning abilities, gender identity and sexual orientation.

[Sue U]

http://www.courierpostonline.com/sectio ... ersey-News

War between schools, governor not over yet
In a showdown between Gov. Chris Christie and New Jersey school districts, it wasn't totally clear Tuesday who would emerge the big winner.

While some budgets passed -- notably Haddonfield, Gloucester Township and Deptford -- others failed, including Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Eastern Regional, Lenape Regional, Evesham, Medford and Mount Laurel.

But while some budgets pass and others fail every year, this year was different.

Christie's deep cuts to school aid -- the results being schools dropping everything from staffing to sports and with hikes in school tax levies as high as 9 percent -- generated enough interest to spike a voter turnout of more than the usual 13 to 15 percent in some districts.

[School budget and state spending issues have resulted in flaring hostilities between the newly-elected governor and the teachers' union, getting a lot of play in the regional press. School budget in my town failed yesterday by 400 votes.]

Aid cut imperils Camden Children's Garden
CAMDEN — Anthony Camacho still gets up before sunrise to go to work at the Camden Children's Garden, even though he's not scheduled to be there until 9:30 a.m.

There is work to do, the 35-year-old Camden resident said.

But with state budget cuts threatening to close the public garden next year, he might not have his job for much longer.

Gov. Chris Christie erased the nonprofit's annual $625,000 state grant from his proposed 2011 budget. He also eliminated $416,666 from this year's funding for the garden's operations and maintenance. The state Department of the Treasury notified the Camden City Garden Club of the spending freeze on Feb. 16.

[ One of the few truly bright spots in a city that sorely needs them. ]

Donor hopes legacy continues to bloom
CHERRY HILL — Hundreds of trees that line Chapel Avenue are bursting with juicy, pink puffs of cherry blossoms, thanks to the decades-long effort of Cherry Hill resident Joseph Zanghi.

"I haven't missed a planting season since 1973," the 74-year-old said.

In 1972, the township was in the midst of a public relations nightmare. Some grisly crimes had put Cherry Hill in the news. The neighborhoods were divided on some roads and developments.

"There was a lot of negative news coming out of Cherry Hill," Zanghi said.

After coming up with the idea to give the town a reason to unite in cheer, Zanghi donated the first five cherry trees himself for planting on Chapel Avenue in 1972 and has been planting and maintaining the trees ever since.

"This was something that would bring us together every year," he said.

Zanghi worries, though, about who will care for the trees after he's gone.

[This is my own (new) neighborhood; my daughters love these trees because the falling petals make piles of pink "snow" on the ground. I didn't know there was just one guy responsible!]