Wikinews interviews candidate for New York City mayor Vitaly Filipchenko

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

In early May, Wikinews extended an invitation to Vitaly Filipchenko, an independent candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election, set to take place November 2nd, alongside other candidates. Filipchenko answered some questions about his policies and campaign during a phone interview.

Filipchenko, registered on the New York City Campaign Finance Board as Vitaly A. Filipchenko, is the first Russian candidate for New York City mayor, being born in Tomsk, Siberia in 1973, according to news agency Sputnik. He has since naturalised as a United States citizen. According to the web site, Filipchenko has been educated in road construction and maintenance and owns a moving services company; he describes himself on his web site as a “small business owner”. On his web site’s platform page, he says that “[m]y English may not be perfect – but my platform is.”

Incumbent Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio, who won re-election in the 2017 New York City mayoral election by 66.5%, cannot run for a third term under term limits. As of April 28, 22 candidates are currently running, the majority of whom are also Democrats. Ahead of the June Democratic primary for New York City mayor, a poll conducted May 23 and 24 by WPIX and Emerson College of 12 Democratic candidates with a margin of error of 3.2 per cent has former commissioner for the New York City Department of Sanitation Kathryn Garcia and Borough President of Brooklyn Eric Adams leading with 21.1% and 20.1%, respectively.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Visual Arts Brampton has announced the winners of its Second Annual Snail Mail World Postcard Art Show. Currently on display in the Fridge Front Gallery in Shoppers World, The Snail Mail Show features well over 350 entries from 14 countries around the world. This is up from the previous year’s approximately 300 from 6 countries.

Shown in the exhibit is original works from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yugoslavia.

Juror Alicia Mitchell BA viewed the show on August 18 to make her selections from the entries received.

Surprisingly, in the process of identifying her choices for each award, Mitcell ended up awarding two sets of relatives. Sarah Baptist won the Juror’s Choice Award for Purple, while Ann Baptist won Best Photography for Tires. Nicholas Moreau won Best Snail Art for Albert Einsnail, while his mother Janice Moreau won for Best Use of Medium for Bird Days of Summer.

Best of Theme (Remember) went to Beek’s Remembrance of My Father. Brampton Guardian Arts editor Tina Depko awarded the Media Award to child entrant Jessica Taylor’s Cat love. Toni DiSano of Ballwin, Montana won Best Fabric Art/Sculpture/Installation for her fabric art piece “Vortex”.

Honourable mentions this year were:

• Judith Bush’s photograph/mixed media “Los Baños & Surrounds” or “Altered Landscape/Last Vestiges” (Mountain View, California, USA)
• Betty Jean Evans’ watercolour “Snowy Afternoon” (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
• Julie Fina’s painting “Mona + Jeanne” (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
• Aaron Goulborn’s cartoon “The Classics play a classic” (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
• Lee’s “Brampton” (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
• Paulina Su’s scratchboard “Type of Wading Bird” (Brampton, Ontario, Canada)
• Gina Turner’s vector art “Who are you looking at?” (Pefferlaw, Ontario, Canada)

A complete list is available on The Snail Mail Show’s website.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Two doctors who treated actor John Ritter for chest pain in Burbank, California were cleared of a negligence lawsuit on Friday. Ritter was an American television and film actor who died of aortic dissection on 11 September 2003.

Ritter’s children and widow (Amy Yasbeck) filed a US$67 million lawsuit claiming negligence by the doctors, both at the time Ritter fell ill and at a medical checkup two years earlier where problems with Ritter’s aorta could have been spotted.

A jury hearing the case at Los Angeles County Superior Court voted 9-3 to dismiss the claims, satisfied that the defendants, Dr. Joseph Lee and Dr. Matthew Lotysch, acted properly during their examination and treatment of Ritter.

Ritter’s last role was in leading the cast of the television series 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter whose production was disrupted by his death.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A farming town in California claims that it may disappear due to the United States federal government shutting off water pumps, though the government states the actions are necessary to save several marine species.

In July 2009, action by the Federal Bureau of Reclamation to protect threatened fish stopped irrigation pumping to parts of the California Central Valley causing canals leading into Huron, California and the surrounding areas and the farms that rely on them to lose their primary irrigation source. Unemployment has reached 40% in some areas as the farms have dried up.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated the action is putting the fish “above the needs of millions of Californians.”

Highlighting the city’s plight, Huron Police Chief Frank Steenport stated, “A year from now, [Huron] may not be here.”

In an interview in Huron on Tuesday, comedian Paul Rodriguez, whose mother owns a farm in the area, criticized the actions of the government and called for President Barack Obama to review the decision. “This used to be an almond orchard. Now all that is left is firewood.”

Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors, a nonprofit association of 27 public agencies from across California that purchase water from the government under contract, said “these cuts are crippling on our people and businesses — especially in the Central Valley where farmers are being forced to fallow their land and workers are being laid off. Rather than piecemeal restrictions, we need to balance the needs of the environment and the needs of people with a collective plan for the Delta.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, states the water pumping inside central California threatens several species, including Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, North American green sturgeon, and Southern Resident killer whales, which rely on Chinook salmon runs for food. In the Huron area, the delta smelt is specifically targeted.

In defense of the actions, Rod McInnis, the southwest regional director for NOAA’s Fisheries Service stated, “What is at stake here is not just the survival of species but the health of entire ecosystems and the economies that depend on them. We are ready to work with our federal and state partners, farmers and residents to find solutions that benefit the economy, environment and Central Valley families.”

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Ogun state police said the proprietor, the principal, and a teacher at Meteorite Standard School in Ayetoro, Nigeria were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly tying two students — one male and one female — to crosses and lashing them with a horsewhip for being late to school. They are being charged with assault as well as intention to cause grievous bodily harm.

According to police officer Livinus, who witnessed the lashing, he told the proprietor of the private school, identified as Afolayan Joseph, to untie the students. The proprietors “refused, saying there was nothing anybody could tell him that would make him to release them,” Livinus told a local newspaper The Punch. Livinus added that he was beaten when the tried to untie the students. “Before I returned from picking handcuffs from my car, they had grabbed a friend who was with me […] and beaten him up with a horsewhip”, the police officer said.

Livinus said he entered the school property with the help of neighbours, but the principal denied to follow him. Linivous later called Itele police station’s divisional officer for additional police at the scene, who later handled the situation. Calling the act as “barbaric”, Ogun Police Public Relations Officer Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the arrest of three. Oyeyemi said the investigation is to be conducted by State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

The public relations officer said, “I don’t see any offence that a secondary school pupil will commit that will make someone to tie him or her and be flogging them in public.” Oyeyemi later added saying, “The act is no longer a corrective measure; it is a barbaric act and it will not be allowed in this 21st century”. Nigeria is not one of the countries who have banned corporal punishment.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Apple Inc. will hold a music-centered event in San Francisco, California on September 1. It has been widely speculated that the company will introduce an updated line of iPod portable music players and a new Apple TV.

The company e-mailed invitations for the event to various media organizations on Wednesday. The message included a picture of a guitar and the time of the event. Apple did not release any information about what products would be involved.

Apple has released new iPods through previous similar events in September in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. This year, Apple may unveil a new iPod Touch with two cameras, similar to their recent iPhone 4 design. It will likely also update the iTunes music store and software.

Speculation about a new Apple TV is mixed. While many blogs are reporting that a refresh of the device will be announced, analysts say that it is unlikely to happen during next Wednesday’s event. According to Reuters, sources are saying that Apple is negotiating with major television networks, including ABC and NBC, in order to provide shows for purchase on iTunes. However, they also reported that the deal has not been completed, and none of the companies involved have commented on the rumors.

It has also been rumored that Apple will introduce a new online music service. In 2009, Apple took over a company that allowed users to stream music online rather than download individual songs. Apple has not confirmed the rumors.

Last September’s media event saw the return of Apple CEO Steve Jobs after he took a break to undergo a liver transplant. This year, the event will be held in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, previously used by Apple in April for the unveiling of the iPad.

Friday, August 25, 2006

An 8th case of mad cow disease was found in a cow in the province of Alberta. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency did a test and found BSE. The agency found no part of the beef cow’s carcass entered either the human or animal feed chains. The CFIA said that, “the cow could have likely lived another 6 months or so, but died of complications of mastitis”.

“The animal’s age is between eight and 10 years”, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The CFIA also traced 172 animals would likely ate feed out of that load.

“The cow’s exposure to BSE likely occurred before or during the introduction of new feed regulations in 1997 prohibiting use of cattle parts susceptible to the disease in certain animal feeds”, A release said yesterday.

An investigation is already underway to find the animal’s birth farm and potential sources of contaminated feed.

The United States has delayed lifting a ban on older cattle imports from Canada, pending investigation.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Criminal Investigation Department of the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) is carrying out investigations following the discovery of a body at a house in Cumberland Road in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

An RGP spokesman confirmed that a body, that of a British woman in her 50s who lived in Gibraltar, had been found, but he refused to give further details, telling reporters that the victim’s next of kin had not yet been informed. He went on to say that the RGP “are dealing with this as a suspicious death”. The Gibraltar Chronicle reported that the woman had sustained a wound.

Local residents became aware of the activity of the police and ambulance services around midnight.

Forensic investigators were on the scene until mid morning, and several people are believed to be helping the police with their enquiries. A man was arrested on suspicion of murder late Wednesday evening and was being held for questioning, but has now been released on Police bail pending ongoing investigations. Under local law in Gibraltar, he could be held for up to 24 hours without charge, after which time he must be released or charged.

This is the fourth death in Gibraltar in the last week. Others have included a man found hanged in Upper Town, another who was found on a Ministry of Defence base in a secure area, and drowned himself in the harbour, and a third man whose body was found severely decomposed in Varyl Road.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Calgary city council voted 10 to 3 on Wednesday to stop fluoridating their water supply. This overturns a previous plebiscite from 1989 to add the fluoride in an attempt to reduce tooth decay.

Opponents of water fluoridation claim that there could be unknown health effects of fluoride, and question its effectiveness in preventing tooth decay. They also claim that individuals should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to use fluoride. However, Alberta Health Services maintains that current evidence shows that fluoride is both safe, and beneficial to dental health.

It is estimated that no longer fluoridating the water supply could save Calgary’s city council C$750 thousand (€550 thousand) annually, as well as cutting a C$6 million (€4.3 million) upgrade to the fluoridation system.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Marija Minic is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the York Centre riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed her regarding her values, her experience, and her campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.