News Shorts By Kristina Mameli Vancouver’s composting initiative Vancouver City Counsel decided Thursday that funds would be put forward to encourage Vancouverites to compost their kitchen scraps. The curb side composting is fittingly slated to begin April 22, on Earth Day. Kitchen scraps will be picked up bi- weekly with yard trimmings. Annually, 6,100 tonnes of kitchen scraps make their way to Vancouver Landfills. The new program hopes to see much of that waste diverted, though it excludes residents living in apartments or condos as well as businesses with private garbage collection. The program does not come cheap, however, and is expected to cost $230,000 with an additional $240,000 to subsidize those already composting. Dead fish in Byrne Creek More than 150 dead fish, mostly trout and coho salmon, were counted Friday in Burnaby’s Byrne Creek. The contamination, described by stream keepers on their website as smelling strongly of ammonia and being a “very soapy, bubbly substance” is supposedly responsible for the kill. City officials were taking samples Thursday after the issue was first reported. The official cause is not yet known. 3.5 million pairs of red mittens The most popular merchandise of the Olympics, VANOC reports that it has sold almost four million pairs of the coveted red mittens since last fall. And now, the mittens, originally sold for $10 a pair in . support of the Own the Podium program, are completely sold out. : c We Canadians oppose motion to change lyrics of national anthem By Tanya Colledge, Staff Reporter wo days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in a speech to the throne that his government would review the English version of “O Canada” to make it more gender neutral, the idea was abruptly shut down. The anthem, composed in 1880 by Callixa Lavallée, came to be in 1980 replacing the previously sung “God Save the Queen”. Although its lyrics have been adapted several times throughout the years, the current version is based on a poem written in 1908 by Stanley Weird. “O Canada” became Vancouver’s most sung song over the last two weeks, as Canadians belted the lyrics in the streets during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. The proposed change would affect phrases such as “our native land” and “in all our sons command,” in order to give equality to all genders and races. Perhaps it was the overwhelming sense of patriotism that swept the country as Canada took home the most gold medals ever at the Olympic Games, or the Prime Minister’s personal deduction that a change in the refrain would ring truer for our country’s largely populated youth, which brought on the desire to change the lyrics, but the motion was strongly opposed by other members of Parliament, including Haper’s own caucus. “We offered to hear from Canadians on this issue and they have already spoken loud and clear. They overwhelmingly do not want to open the issue,” said Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister’s press secretary. “The government will not precede any further to change our national anthem.” According to some critics, the Conservative government brought up the issue in order to blind Canadians from what was really being presented in the budget on Thursday— important issues such as health care, unemployment, education and the deficit. But for now, the Canadian public remains traditional and unfooled, arguing that making one change may lead to another, eventually making the original anthem unrecognizable. Swap-O-Rama-Rama at Douglas Non-profit organization brings the Douglas community together Kristina Mameli news editor ave a bag of clothes you have no use for? Hes Maybe have a slightly unnatural affinity for the Bedazzler? Busy Saturday? On Saturday March 13 from 11 a.m. to4 p.m. in the Main Atrium of Douglas’ David Lam Campus in Coquitlam, Swap-O-Rama-Rama, a non-profit organization, in conjunction with Douglas College and ArtsConnect, presents the perfect outlet for artistically inclined fashionistas and for those with the drive to create. Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a non-profit organization started in 2005 by Wendy Jehanara Tremayne. The event is designed to be anti-consumerism and challenges the Douglas community to think outside the box and create something wonderful from the exchange of unwanted items. The event is free, sponsors such as Yudu are providing a silk-screening machines and inks, Port Coquitlam’s Sundrop Textiles is sponsoring 15 sewing machines and Fabricana and others are donating fabric and more supplies. Organizers ask that you bring at least one bag of clothes you no longer want to the event. The idea is to collect a new bag of clothes to work with from the swap pile, and then decorate, sew and silkscreen those items. It’s an excellent and budget friendly way to revitalize your wardrobe and clean out your closet. “This is kind of a wild event and a great community builder,” said Jillian Hull, a Douglas instructor and ArtsConnect board member in a press release on Douglas’ website. “We’re hoping to bring Douglas students, local artists and the whole community together to share our stuff, our talents and our collective desire to consume less and create more.” Local artists, from sewers to painters, will lead Do-it-Yourself Workshops with materials supplied. Hull added that “everyone is welcome. In fact, since the event is really created by the people who participate in it, anyone who would like to volunteer for this event can connect with us.” The event will culminate with a red carpet fashion show and will include live music from indie acts including Douglas students. For more information or to volunteer, contact Jillian Hull at hullj@douglas.be.ca or Helen Daniels at info@artsconnect.ca.