Celebrity sighting in Vancouver By Jessica Hewitt ig Hollywood stars Tom Cruise B and Joshua Jackson are in town this week as Mission Impossible IV: Ghost Protocol and the newest season of Fringe begins filming. You don’t also want to forget Cruise’s entourage— Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise were also spotted in Vancouver. Recent photos have shown Holmes grocery shopping at Whole Foods, riding a stationary bike at the Steve Nash Fitness Club on Granville Street and shoe shopping with Suri at Holt Renfrew. Photos surfaced of Cruise and film crews stationed under the Burrard Street Bridge and exchanging “‘hellos” to curious onlookers. An evening shoot outside the Vancouver Convention Centre also took place last Thursday and Friday. Vancouverites working downtown will expect to see numerous props including palm trees to make Vancouver to look similar to India, the scene for the newest action flick. Jackson, the Vancouver based actor, arrived alone at the Vancouver airport sporting a hipster look and a couple of carry-ons. An explosion of tweets on various Twitter pages disclosed Jackson and other cast members filming at Lonsdale Quay on the North Shore on January 12,2011. Despite the interest in the actor, no reports have been confirmed. Don’t worry Twilight fans, the newest instalment of the Twilight franchise, Breaking Dawn, will begin filming in Vancouver on February 24 and continue until April 15,2011. Expect to see Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and the rest of the cast in popular metro Vancouver hot spots and high-end downtown hotels. The two popular CW TV shows Supernatural and Smaliville also started filming around town last week. On Katya Holloway’s Twitter page residents of Vancouver and area are encouraged to keep an eye out for celebrities and post photos, locations and times. Her page is dedicated to providing up-to-the-minute news on where to find celebrities in and around Vancouver. : Tom Cruise Recent deaths of birds, fish and crabs: probably not the apocalypse By Karin Keefe n New Year’s Eve, 5000 Om fell out of the sky in Beebe Arkansas. In the days that followed, similar mass deaths of birds were reported in Louisiana, Kentucky, Sweden and Italy. And then dead fish and crabs started washing up on far-flung beaches in Brazil, New Zealand, England and the Eastern US. To some it seemed like a global catastrophe of biblical proportions. However, as scientists explain, the causes are much more mundane. In an ABC News report, Professor of Physics Dr. Michio Kaku states that these “die-offs take place every single day.” According to the US Geological Survey, an average of 163 reports of mass deaths are made to the government each year. These die-offs can be caused by a number of problems including pollution, power lines, stormy weather, parasites and disease. This winter, extreme temperatures are being blamed for some of the deaths, such _ as 40,000 crabs washing up on the shore in England. In the US, the New Year’s custom of setting off fireworks is suspected to be the cause of some of the bird deaths, while in Italy it seems that sunflower seeds are to blame. Apparently, a large number of turtle doves fell out of the sky after overeating sunflower seeds from an oil factory. According to biologists, birds travel in large numbers and 5000 of them falling out of the sky at one time is not a lot. It might not have seemed that way to the drivers on the main drag of Beebe, Arkansas the morning after New Year’s though. Falcon’s “merit pay” scheme for teachers sparks education debate By Kate Hunt .C. Liberal leadership hopeful B Kevin Falcon is getting a taste of controversy since his recently- revealed plan to create a Master Teacher Incentive Program sparked backlash from educators. On January 4, Falcon announced that if he gained the premiership he would revamp the pay structure of B.C.’s public school teachers to reward educators based on performance rather than job seniority and experience. The plan is based on one recently implemented in Australia. The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) has slammed the proposal, stating that such a policy would place undue emphasis on standardized test scores, which, according to the BCTF, do not accurately reflect a teacher’s value in the classroom. Critics claim that Falcon’s plan oversimplifies what makes an exceptional educator. Says Joanna Larson, President of the Prince Rupert District Teachers’ Union, “[Quality of education] is not something you can easily break down. What we’re doing in our schools is qualitative, not quantitative.” Critics are concerned that Falcon’s proposed incentive program would discourage new teachers from more innovative educational practices, such as collaborative learning and critical thinking. They have also pointed to a number of complexities that could be overlooked, not the least of which are socioeconomic factors. BCTF President Susan Lambert says performance-based pay for teachers is old-fashioned and ineffectual: “It would be ludicrous for any Canadian jurisdiction to import ‘merit pay’ or ‘performance pay’ —it has been tried and has failed many times, both in the USA and the UK.” However, Falcon has dismissed claims that the incentives would be based solely on outmoded standardized testing. “The criteria could include peer evaluation, parental input, improved test results, extracurricular school activities, and other suggestions that may arise,” he stated. He also insists that the plan is intended to reward excellent teachers, not stifle them: “Any studies done show the best predictor of educational achievement is excellent teaching, and this needs to be reinforced.” Supporters of the proposed incentive program include Delta School Board chair Dale Saip. Falcon is one of six candidates running for the B.C. Liberal Party leadership. The vote will take place on February 26.