Back of the Class

Top Five
Oprah Winfrey (‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’): $260m
Simon Cowell (‘American Idol’): $45m
Judge Sheindlin (‘Judge Judy’): $30m
Katie Couric (‘CBS Evening News Anchor’): $15m
Zach Braff (‘Scrubs’): $6.3m

Network Prime Time
William Petersen (‘CSI’): $5m
Charlie Sheen (‘Two and a Half Men’): $3.5m
Mariska Hargitay (‘Law & Order: SVU’): $3.5m
Chris Meloni (‘Law & Order: SVU’): $3.5m
Hugh Laurie (‘House’): $3m
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (‘New Adventures of Old Christine’): $2m
Ellen Pompeo (‘Grey’s Anatomy’): $2m
Eva Longoria (‘Desperate Housewives’): $2m

Daytime
Judge Judy: $30m
Bob Barker: $10m
Maury Povich: $7m
Ellen DeGeneres: $5m
Jerry Springer: $3 - 4m
Tyra Banks: $3.5m

News Anchors
Katie Couric (‘CBS Evening News’ anchor): $15m
Matt Lauer (NBC ‘Today’ co-anchor): $12m
Meredith Vieira (NBC ‘Today’ co-anchor): $10m

Vancouver Public Libraries are now closed, with workers from all branches striking. They are attending a mass picket at the main branch, downtown today.
Well, we won’t be able to take out new books for a while, but this is not the worst of the strike. Garbage removal, parks, pools and community centre closures have had a major impact on Vancouverites.

Talks involving CUPE local 15 may resume soon. Workers in Richmond voted yesterday to accept a contract offer and lets hope Vancouver workers work out a deal soon.

Meanwhile a major oil spill in Burnaby has affected many families in that area. A few unlucky homeowners homes were ruined, and more than 100 homes were evacuated after of an oil spill caused by a ruptured pipeline sprayed greasy crude around the neighbourhood and sent a stream of black oil down to the ocean.

Cleanup of the spill forced the evacuation of homes in Burnaby and threatens the Burrard Inlet. Cleanup will be a massive job that could take weeks and cost millions of dollars. People are complaining of side effects as well as having difficulty removing the oil from their bodies.

A fine summer we are having!

A fine time to have a strike, eh? The middle of summer……

Amongst other things, Community Centres and all programs in Community Centres are closed. What happens to all those working parents dependent on their kids going to summer camp programs at these centres? Indoor and outdoor pools are closed as well as fitness centres. No garbage collection either…..

For a full list of closures click here.

Apologies for the hiatus… I have been enjoying my summer, camping in the Okanagon. We sweltered in the recent heatwave, but nothing beats getting out of the city, camping around a beautiful lake, swimming and just chilling with a lovely bottle of red wine around a campfire.

Wouldn’t we all like to travel like this?