Mitt Romney Dept: While Kansas will put its 40 delegates up for grabs on Saturday, most observers are keeping a closer watch on next week's primaries in Alabama and Mississippi. That's where many believe Newt Gingrich's campaign will reach a make-or-break point, the former House speaker's statements to the contrary notwithstanding, according to CBC. Looking to shore up support in this Midwestern state that seemed ready to give the former Pennsylvania senator yet another win and further challenge Romney's front-runner status, Santorum likened Romney to Obama and cast both as unacceptable for conservatives and the top two Republican candidates resumed their hard-edged attacks on each other on Friday as the race for the party's presidential nomination headed into the Deep South. Hoping to tap into deep distrust of Washington, Rick Santorum, who along with rival Texas Rep. Ron Paul spent the day in Kansas, suggested Friday that President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican frontrunner, share a top priority: Take money and freedom, away from Americans so they can tell them how to live. 'Washington insider Rick Santorum is lashing out at Mitt Romney because he can't accept the fact that it's nearly impossible for him to win the number of delegates needed to secure the Republican nomination.' Andrea Saul, Romney spokeswoman (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Entire System Dept: Sixty per cent of alarms are false or unnecessary and the number of non-emergency alarm calls has been steadily rising in recent years, said TTC spokesman Brad Ross, according to The Star. When a PAA is activated the entire system grinds to a halt, said Ross, who stressed that nobody s blaming riders and feeling faint on the subway? The TTC is asking riders to think twice before they push the yellow passenger assistance alarms those long yellow strips with black print along the train windows. The TTC doesn t want people to avoid using a passenger assistance alarm or PAA for real emergencies, but transit officials suggest sometimes passengers should look to other avenues of help. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty Dept: Politically, from the government's standpoint, that won't happen a moment too soon - even if the budget provokes great controversy, which it most certainly will, according to Vancouver Sun. "Everybody's going to be busy for a long time reporting about it," said one insider, speaking of the coming budget, to be handed down by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on March 29 and in a sharp break from their first two mandates, the Harper Conservatives are preparing to unveil a budget that is revolutionary rather than evolutionary, one that will introduce sweeping structural changes in key areas of federal policy. Whether in trade, immigration, retirement benefits, resource development, innovation or fiscal policy, Conservative insiders say, the years of plodding, minority-era "incrementalism" are over. Indeed, there's a sense within Conservative ranks that their moment of truth, a chance to distinguish themselves from the other par-ties in stark terms and establish a lasting legacy, has arrived. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Alejandro Martinez Dept: He was the best friend of David Ostrihon, according to The Star. So, too, did their quest for answers about what went wrong that night. It has been a journey that has uncovered a terrible series of miscues, mistakes and sometimes baffling misjudgments and he was the beloved partner of Alejandro Martinez. And when James Hearst died from a heart attack on June 25, 2009, after waiting 38 minutes in a downtown apartment lobby for help from paramedics, their grieving began. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Youth Assisting Youth Dept: For me it brings a terrible sadness and a tragic sense of loss, principal Peggy Aitchison said upon hearing news that remains found last week were confirmed Friday to be Makhniashvili, according to CBC. Youth Assisting Youth www.yay.org 1-877-932-1919 The principal of the school where Mariam Makhniashvili was a student said Forest Hill Collegiate Institute has taken steps to better integrate new students. The 17-year-old Grade 11 student went missing on Sept. 14, 2009. Outreach groups (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rick Kirchner Dept: But with the pickerel season closing early at Harold Nesbitt s place on Lake Nipissing, that was out. Too bad, they liked the privacy there. So it was settled: Rick Kirchner would host on Lake Muskosung, according to The Star. This time, though, the Maple Leafs got in the way and aZILDA, ONT. The fishing trip was down to the final details. They were to head there Friday. The miner, the auto mechanic, the shipper/receiver from the hardware store and the unemployed hockey coach, all in their mid-50s, had enjoyed these excursions for more than three decades a few laughs, a few beers, a lot of fishing and maybe some cards, though the coach isn t very good at cards. Mostly they just enjoyed the relaxed comfort of lifelong friends. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Ameliasburgh Purdy Dept: For more than 40 years Purdy and his wife Eurithe welcomed writers, both aspiring and accomplished, to converse, to debate, to argue about poetry at the A-frame house nestled in the Prince Edward County hamlet of Ameliasburgh Purdy forgoes the h in his writings of the place , according to The Star. Yet the fight to buy and preserve the storied home as a writer s retreat has stalled along with the economy, said Jean Baird, Vancouver-based publishing consultant and many-time houseguest and made of salvaged lumber in 1957, the house that beloved Canadian poet Al Purdy built sits on the bank of a rural Ontario lake, its future as insecure as its rickety footings. She offered sandwiches; he served whisky. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Business Leaders Dept: The results of their efforts were put to the test recently at the Vancouver Convention Centre, where 292 students pitched their Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship projects for the right to advance to a national competition in May, and a world event later this year, according to Vancouver Sun. The winner of each category, as chosen by dozens of business leaders who acted as judges at the event, goes on to the nationals in Calgary. The World Cup event will be held in Washington, D.C., in September and business students all over Western Canada have been collaborating to find ways of teaching high-risk groups - such as single low-income mothers, first nations youth and new immigrants - how to manage their money. The financial literacy category was one of four, with others including environmental, entrepreneurial and young women business leader. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Rob Ford Dept: What did you expect, citizens? Did you really think Mayor Rob Ford was going to keep his promise of giving you a subway station a block from every house, Paris-style? If so, why? Expand on that, according to The Star. And you d cheer him, wouldn t you and when I read that the wonderful Karen Stintz, chair of the TTC, endured jeers, boos and insults at a Scarborough public meeting on Thursday night because she was unable to sculpt a subway extension out of a cup of mud, some old hair and $12 in dimes, I shake my head. Subways! Subways! the crowd chanted. Seriously. Why are you mugging Stintz, not Ford? If Ford had showed up, he d tell you that your subway is already headed eastward. What else would you expect? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

Monsieur Lazhar Dept: The triumph for "Monsieur Lazhar" follows acclaim from critics around the world and an Oscar nomination for best foreign-language film. The intimate low-budget dramedy beat out slick star-packed rivals including David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," which nabbed five awards, and Jean-Marc Vallee's "Cafe de Flore," which claimed three, according to CTV. "We're really honoured, it's revenge for the Oscar," McCraw said to laughs at a press conference backstage, referring to the film's recent Academy Award loss to Iran's "A Separation." The acclaimed portrait of innocence and loss collected a leading six trophies at Thursday's bash, while international movie stars Viggo Mortensen and Vanessa Paradis won acting prizes at the televised gala celebrating the best in Canadian film. Wins for "Monsieur Lazhar" included the second best picture trophy in a row for Quebec producers Luc Dery and Kim McCraw, who were also behind last year's champion, "Incendies." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.