UBC Media Coverage Summary – 02/17/2016

The Media Coverage Summary is compiled from media clips Monday to Friday by UBC Public Affairs. Sign up for other Public Affairs e-mail services at http://news.ubc.ca/media-resources/digital-subscriptions/.

International/National
B.C. introduces measures to boost affordability amid housing anger
Rescue dogs trained how to fly a plane for new TV show
Stop wasting money on brand-name drugs
A perfect day in Vancouver, just in time for TED 2016
China will relocate 9,000 people to build world’s biggest radio telescope
B.C. budget offers little relief for renters, experts say

Op-Eds
Opinion: B.C. drunk on high housing prices

Local News
UBC hopes to cash in on wearable technology trend
Feb. 16, 2016 B.C. budget lookahead. Class size and composition.
Vancouver comic Demers adopts the slug life in Netflix’s Beat Bugs
B.C. budget offers help to buyers of new homes
Pete McMartin: UBC divestment — Going the way of the dinosaurs
Editorial: Debunking university fossil fuel divestment drives
Green startup has sweet smell of success

International/National

B.C. introduces measures to boost affordability amid housing anger
UBC policy professor Paul Kershaw commented on the new B.C. budget, which attempts to boost affordability in Vancouver through higher property transfer taxes and mandatory citizenship disclosure for buyers. “This budget simply shows the province is drunk on high housing prices,” said Kershaw. “We have to acknowledge that ongoing escalation in housing prices is not a uniform good.” Reuters, MSN, South China Morning Post, CBC News, CTV News, Winnipeg Free Press, Metro News, Times Colonist, The Tyee

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Rescue dogs trained how to fly a plane for new TV show
In Britain, 12 rescue dogs are part of a new TV challenge to see if they can be trained to fly a plane. UBC emeritus professor and dog psychology expert Stanley Coren believes it’s an unlikely scenario and compared dogs to a human toddler, who would probably be unable to fly an aircraft. Telegraph UK, MSN, Mashable, New Zealand Herald, Live Science

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Stop wasting money on brand-name drugs
A new Vox story examined the differences between generic and brand-name drugs. There are subtle differences between the branded drug and its generic equivalents, according to the article. UBC health policy expert Steve Morgan recommended that people try the generic first and switch if they notice significant differences. Vox

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A perfect day in Vancouver, just in time for TED 2016
The Museum of Anthropology is one of the top 10 things to see in Vancouver while attending TED 2016, according to Vogue. The story noted the museum’s collection of archaeological and ethnographic objects from First Nations communities. Vogue

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China will relocate 9,000 people to build world’s biggest radio telescope
About 9,000 residents living within five kilometres of a telescope being built in southwest China will be relocated to create a “sound electromagnetic wave environment.” The new telescope, FAST, will be the world’s biggest when completed in September. UBC astronomy professor Mark Halpern commented that a telescope of FAST’s size has to be built in a landscape form that’s already dish-shaped–hence FAST is being built in an inhabited area rather than a remote region. CBC News

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B.C. budget offers little relief for renters, experts say
The B.C. budget does not really help renters, according to experts interviewed by the Globe and Mail following Tuesday’s budget announcement. According to UBC real estate economist Tom Davidoff, what’s needed is more rental units. “It’s a very tight market. Rents have been rising sharply in the last few years and it’s a joke to try to buy a house at a thousand dollars a square foot … it cannot be done on Vancouver salaries,” said Davidoff. Globe and Mail

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Op-Eds

Opinion: B.C. drunk on high housing prices
From the perspective of Canadians in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, B.C. has the worst economy in the country, according to UBC public policy professor Paul Kershaw. In an op-ed for the Vancouver Sun, Kershaw noted that the B.C. budget does little to address the affordability and income challenges for this generation. “The B.C. budget … proposes no new annual taxes on housing wealth. No real measures to minimize speculation.” Vancouver Sun

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Local News

UBC hopes to cash in on wearable technology trend
CTV News highlighted wearable technology being developed at UBC, including a flexible wrist band that can monitor pulse and movement. The researchers, based at the Flexible Electronics and Energy Lab, have also developed a shirt that monitors heartbeat and movement through a built-in transmitter and fiber sensors. The shirt could be used for medical monitoring or during exercise. CTV News

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Feb. 16, 2016 B.C. budget lookahead. Class size and composition.
Charles Ungerleider, a professor emeritus of educational studies at UBC, commented on the increase in B.C. class sizes despite a teachers’ strike in 2014 that resulted in a fund to address class size and composition. According to Ungerleider, larger class sizes don’t necessarily mean lower quality of education, “but the question is how much further can you make further demands from teachers without discouraging able people from entering the profession.” CBC BC Almanac (segment starts 27:00)

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Vancouver comic Demers adopts the slug life in Netflix’s Beat Bugs
Charlie Demers, a comedian, author and UBC creative writing lecturer, will be the voice of a new Beatles-inspired animated kids show that will debut on Netflix in August. Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Calgary Herald, The Province

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B.C. budget offers help to buyers of new homes
Experts say the B.C. budget offers only half-measures. Jim Brander, a professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business, says it gives a small measure of tax relief to some buyers but “it’s not going to change affordability in Metro Vancouver very much at all.” He pointed to policies in other countries that bar foreign citizens from ownership. Vancouver Sun

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Pete McMartin: UBC divestment — Going the way of the dinosaurs
Vancouver Sun writer Pete McMartin criticized the UBC board’s rejection of calls to divest from fossil fuels, saying: “I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest demographic forces were at work here. The three board members who had most at stake in the vote — that is, their futures — either rejected the wisdom of the university’s continued investment in fossil fuels or had deep concerns about the nature of the process that led to the board’s decision.” Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen

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Editorial: Debunking university fossil fuel divestment drives
Business in Vancouver ran an editorial praising the recommendation from the finance committee of UBC’s board of governors to reject divestment calls from students and faculty. The editorial read in part: “[P]oliticizing and demonizing what continues to be a vitally important energy industry is neither helpful nor effective in finding practical long-term solutions to reduce carbon emissions and counter climate change.” Business in Vancouver

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Green startup has sweet smell of success
Business in Vancouver highlighted the success of kitchen composting business Compy, the brainchild of UBC commerce graduate Shawn Davis. Davis’ former teacher, Momo Deretic, with the Sauder School of Business, was also mentioned. Business in Vancouver

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