Newh

True Story: A Man Drove His Car into Wingin’ It, Then Offered to Buy the People He Nearly Killed Some Wings As Apology

That’s it, that’s the story: a Dodge Ram rammed itself pretty deep into the Clarenville restaurant on Saturday afternoon, by accident, and luckily no one was sitting in the table he took out. The driver bought a round of wings to apologize.

Locals Looking to Launch Promising New Apps After Success at a National Event

This year’s “Startup Weekend” has come and gone, and St. John’s was one of the 500 Canadian cities to take part. It was a 54-hour event for web developers and designers looking to launch their next big idea for a computer program or app. One local man, Larry Penney, came out the champ of the event: his team finished first. They presented a tablet/smartphone app called Holla that allows people to post their random, anonymous thoughts online. Like Snap Chat’s ephemeral nature, what people post using Holla disappears in an hour. It was a hit particularly among university-aged folk, AKA Generation Internet Anonymity. Posts can be made to certain geographic areas for people there to read, creating communities of frequent users around these site-specific posts. Penney’s other idea was an app that helps people locate books in a library, but it never got the same traction — possible on account of no one even knowing what a library is anymore in this city. Paul Doucet’s team took second place for an app called Airpark that lets people to sell their excess parking spots. The idea is to connect people looking for a parking spot near their home or office with someone who has said space available.

Kevin Kelly Cleared of Internet Luring Charges On Account of Deleted Evidence 

Things weren’t looking good for Kevin Kelly, grown man and former entertainment editor at the Newfoundland Herald accused of luring a minor on the internet. He met the 14 year old at a fashion show, and engaged in a series of increasingly sexual messages with her, reportedly going so far as to tell her he thinks of her while having sex with his girlfriend. Rendered uncomfortable, the teen girl told her parents, who went to the RNC. But, reluctant to proceed with the charges, she backed down and the investigation was closed. The RNC, assuming the case was closed, deleted the 92 pages of damning evidence. When the young lady changed her mind, it was too late: the RNC had deleted the evidence from their server, and Kelly’s defense, along with judge James Walsh, cried extreme negligence on the RNC’s behalf, deeming that evidence inadmissible in court (despite the fact print-outs existed).

Rumble in the Pews: Prison House Brawlers Think Their Case Should be Suspended Because Guards Knew They Were Gonna Jump Someone

Everyone’s seen the footage by now: a pile of inmates attacked a fellow inmate in the chapel at the Her Majesty’s Penitentiary. The lawyers representing the men who attacked the man in the pews are trying to have the case suspended because they claim prison management heard tell of the impending attack and did nothing, rendering the prison criminally negligent in the church house toss-up. So yes, you’re hearing it right: the people who were part of a 4-man assault on a fellow prisoner are fighting for a stay of proceedings because prison guards failed to ensure the safety of prisoners … even though they themselves were the ones putting people in harm’s way. Ain’t the law a funny thing? All involved have testified there was bad blood between the man attacked and Phillip Pynn. They were in fact kept in different units and not allowed to mix. Accept, it seems, in the chapel. Staff were concerned about the number of prisoners “coming like an army into the chapel” that day. Since the brawl, much has reportedly changed at HMP, including the number of bums allowed in chapel pews at any given time.

Local Author one of 11 Canadians on the International IMPAC Dublin Longlist

The IMPAC Dublin Literary Award comes with a cash prize of €100,000. It’s a unique award, international in scope: each year, public libraries worldwide nominate titles of “high literary merit,” to create the longlist. From there, a jury creates a shortlist. Local author Paul Bowdring has made this year’s longlist, for his novel The Stranger’s Gallery. It’s been a great year for Bowdring, having won the BMO Winterset Award earlier this year, and having made the shortlist for the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Heritage and History Book Award in November. Other Canadian titles on the list include heavy hitters like Marg Atwood’s Maddadam, Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda, and Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being.

MHA George Murphy Questions Minister’s Fracking Panel 

NDP Environment and Conservation critic George Murphy has questions about our government’s hand-picked fracking review panel. Murphy has asked why there was nobody with expertise in public health appointed to the panel, and hasn’t gotten much in the way of a decent answer. His  question has been echoed by several individuals from environmental groups as well, all of whom are concerned about the potential risks of allowing hydraulic fracturing operations in the province. “One panel member holds a patent to a drilling process and has a vested interest in seeing drilling proceed,” Murphy said. “Would the minister agree that this member of the panel is already in a conflict of interest position?”