Guardian: Nils Pratley: New Water Commission must create an environmental enforcer that is feared
An independent commission into the English and Welsh water sector would have been an excellent idea about 20 years ago. It is hard to pinpoint precisely when the industry went seriously off the rails but Ofwat’s infamous price review of 2004 is one starting point. That is when the undoubted gains from higher investment in the decade after privatisation in 1989 started to evaporate and the story turned into one of financial engineering and grossly inadequate regulation.
The 2004 settlement was wildly generous to the companies and kickstarted the disastrous take-private buyout boom by private equity and global infrastructure funds. Dividend extraction and “whole business securitisations” followed, tolerated by an economic regulator that, absurdly, took the view that sky-high debt levels and Cayman Islands financing vehicles were not its job to worry about.
Verge: Apple’s AirPods Pro hearing health features are as good as they sound
Apple announced a trio of major new hearing health features for the AirPods Pro 2 in September, including clinical-grade hearing aid functionality, a hearing test, and more robust hearing protection. All three will roll out next week with the release of iOS 18.1, and they could mark a watershed moment for hearing health awareness. Apple is about to instantly turn the world’s most popular earbuds into an over-the-counter hearing aid.
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With iOS 18.1 and the soon-to-be-released AirPods firmware update, the AirPods Pro 2 will offer hearing protection at all times across noise cancellation, transparency, and adaptive audio modes. There’s no “concert mode” or a specific setting to toggle. You can think of this as an expansion of the loud sound reduction option that was already in place. Hearing protection is on by default, and Apple says “an all-new multiband high dynamic range algorithm” helps to preserve the natural sound of concerts and other live events.
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For those 18 years and older with mild to moderate hearing loss, the AirPods Pro 2 can now serve as a clinical-grade hearing aid. Once enabled, you can also toggle on a “Media Assist” setting that uses your hearing test results to optimize the sound of music, phone calls, and video content.
Globe: Flight delayed or cancelled? You might want to ask about a business class rebooking
Air passengers could learn a useful lesson from an Edmonton resident who challenged a carrier’s rebooking of a cancelled flight after he discovered that a much earlier departure had room in business class.
When Zachary Penner’s flight to Toronto was cancelled just half an hour before it was supposed to take off in mid-July, Air Canada automatically sent him a new ticket in economy class, the same fare he had purchased, for a flight leaving a day later. But a quick web search revealed that a business-class seat remained up for grabs on a similar flight departing just six hours after the cancelled one.
While Air Canada initially refused to upgrade Mr. Penner to the pricier spot, it eventually re-accommodated him on the earlier flight, saying an economy seat had suddenly become available, he said.
So they bumped someone from economy to business class, and then told him an economy seat had become available!
TorStar: Once again, Leafs play down to their opposition in 6-2 loss
Toronto followed up one of its best games of the young season with one of its worst in a road loss to a young, injury-riddled team.
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The Leafs were playing on back-to-back nights, coming off a complete — almost emotional — effort in beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Monday.
That led to a lot of pre-game gushing about how good [sic] the Maple Leafs were playing, how they were playing a different version of hockey under Berube, how they physically dominated opponents and how well they defended.
Year-after-year overconfidence hurts the Leafs repeatedly.
TorStar: The CBC’s new boss will inherit a ton of challenges. Here’s what observers say she’s up against
CBC’s new CEO will face a number of challenges as she takes the job, including a new mandate, how to fix English TV, and low morale all while waiting for the next election and whatever surprises that may bring.
I hope she has a better vision than the previous CEO.
TorStar: Doug Ford poised to send cheques to every Ontarian
Premier Doug Ford is poised to send cheques to 16 million Ontarians to offset rising costs as a possible early election looms, the Star has learned.
Sources say the premier’s gambit will be announced in Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s fall economic statement on Oct. 30.
While the precise amount of the rebate cheques is still being finalized, it should be at least $200 for every adult and child in the province.
Matt Langford (@matthew@social.lol): Little known Kindle resources
I’m always surprised how many people who use Kindles (or other e-readers) don’t know about these resources.
Use these to follow authors and books to find the best deals:
- bookbub.com
- ereaderiq.com
Use these to legally download free ebooks:
- gutenberg.org
- standardebooks.org
- aliceandbooks.com
Go read.
MacRumors: Report: Apple May Stop Producing Vision Pro by the End of 2024
Apple has abruptly reduced production of the Vision Pro headset and could stop making the current version of the device completely by the end of 2024, The Information reports.
Citing multiple people “directly involved” in making components for the headset, the report says that the scaling back of production began in the early summer. This indicates that Apple now has a sufficient number of Vision Pro units in its inventory to meet demand for the device’s remaining lifespan through to next year.
TorStar: Peter Khill argues for lesser sentence over judge’s error
“I am truly discomfited and humbled in bringing this matter to your court’s attention,” Justice Andrew Goodman wrote in a letter explaining his mistake — that he read out the wrong number from an old draft, and didn’t immediately correct himself.
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The appeal panel made up of Justices Gary Trotter, Benjamin Zarnett and Jonathon George will deliver their decision on the conviction and sentence appeals at a later date. Khill remains on bail pending that decision.
Politico: Poll shows California’s Prop 36 crime initiative poised to pass by large margin
Nearly three-quarters of the California electorate plans to vote for a high-profile ballot measure that would increase penalties for some theft- and drug-related crimes, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Seventy-three percent of likely voters said they would support Proposition 36, the survey from the Public Policy Institute of California found, compared with just 25 percent who plan to oppose it. That’s a slight increase from PPIC’s September poll, which found 71 percent of likely voters in favor of it.
Last Updated: 23.Oct.2024 23:46 EDT
