Zak Vescera @zakvescera Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Zak Vescera

@zakvescera

5,847

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Reporter @IJFMedia , ink-stained wretch. Former @TheTyee @TheStarPhoenix , @ubyssey forever. EN/FR. zak.vescera @theijf .org

Vancouver

Joined November 2013

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

7 months

The cat is out of the bag. I'm now reporting for @IJFMedia in B.C., where my work will focus on investigations and white collar crime. If you have story ideas, tips, or if you would like to confess to white collar crime, please reach out.

@IJFMedia

Investigative Journalism Foundation

7 months

We are so excited to announce that @zakvescera is joining our team as a reporter! Vescera is a Vancouver-based journalist who loves digging into a big story. Through his work, he hopes to keep the powerful accountable and shine a light on what matters in his home province.

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

5 years

Media rep: Sorry, they're not available Me: That's okay. Can I speak to them tomorrow? Media rep: Actually, they're on vacation. Me: Cool. Can I talk to them next week? Media rep: Actually, they're dead. Forever. You can never talk to them. Here's a press release

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

3 years

On a media call with Sask. gov officials right now reporters are being told to *not* ask about comments Premier Scott Moe made on radio about getting rid of public health measures. Very glad to see my fellow reporters ignore that. Not gov.'s job to tell us what to ask

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

3 years

Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer. Dr. Saqib Shahab, wept audibly on a call today as he described Saskatchewan's latest disease modelling. He says the public will have to sharply reduce their close contacts to prevent unnecessary death and suffering

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

5 years

Apartment hunting in Vancouver: 20 people at the showing. There are no windows. Lease is 600 years. Price is your soul. Apartment hunting in Saskatoon: Utilities you never knew existed are included in rent. Landlords call you drunk at night begging you to move in.

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

10 months

God, this is beyond weird Stickers show up at UBC that suggest the school's Social Justice Centre supports Hamas. Centre says hey, that's not us! Now it appears the stickers were made by an unnamed contractor for Hillel, a Jewish student group

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Hillel BC says independent contractor distributed “offensive” stickers on campus

An independent contractor previously associated with Hillel BC distributed “offensive” stickers on campus, according to a social media post on Instagram by the organization.

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

2 years

Good morning. I work for @TheTyee now, where I'll be covering labour in a city and region where workers increasingly cannot afford to live. I'm excited to get cracking. Send tips and hate mail to zvescera @thetyee .ca.

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

2 years

I'm leaving the StarPhoenix. After three amazing years in Saskatchewan, next week will be my last at the paper. I love this city and this province. If you read my work, spoke with me for a story or offered me help — thank you. I mean it.

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Zak Vescera

3 years

scoop: Saskatchewan officials were warned for months about "high likelihood" of a record-setting fall COVID-19 surge by one of the nation's top disease modelling teams. But they dropped restrictions anyway, and held off reintroducing them for months

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Sask. was warned in June of 'high likelihood' of fall COVID-19 surge: internal documents

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

3 years

I have suffered every flavour of stonewalling, obfuscation and spin, but I did not get my student newspaper's logo tattooed on my ankle to endure this horseshit

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Zak Vescera

2 years

kinda fun to watch the rest of Canada slowly learn about Saskatchewan politics

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

3 years

Premier Scott Moe repeated falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccine at a press availability today. He claimed vaccines do not prevent transmission/infection against the Omicron variant. Experts say that is "completely false" #skpoli

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COVID-19: Moe scrapping proof of vaccination, repeats falsehoods on vaccines

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

4 years

"As a university, we need to make it crystal clear that racism and bias have no place in our community and that we have zero tolerance for it." People slotted to speak at UBC in past three years: - Stefan Molyneux - Lauren Southern - Jen Smith - Ricardo Duchesne - etc

@UBC

University of British Columbia

4 years

Together against Racism and Injustice. Read a statement from @ubcprez :

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Zak Vescera

5 years

We tracked down "Sue." The texts from Ontario Strong, BC Strong and more are being run by the same political advertisers at the heart of the 2011 robocall scandal #onpoli #canpoli #bcpoli

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Controversial 'robocall' firm behind mass text messages across Canada

vancouversun.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

My first question to him was on the modelling, my second was to ask if he's OK. I don't really know what we take from this except to remember he's a civil servant, but also a human being

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Zak Vescera

1 year

Seven months ago, Starbucks workers at a Dunbar street shop voted to unionize, making them the only union Starbucks in Vancouver. This month, the company is closing the store #canlab #bclab

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Vancouver’s Only Unionized Starbucks Is Closing | The Tyee

Months after an organizing drive, the corporation is shutting the outlet.

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Zak Vescera

4 years

Saskatoon is slippery enough that I saw a guy eat shit, went over to check on him, and then also ate shit, and we just lay there suffering together

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Zak Vescera

4 years

Canadian reporters whenever we write “the feds” instead of “federal government”

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Zak Vescera

2 years

The head of Saskatchewan’s surgery department says that spending cash on the private system could weaken the public one by sapping staff who are in desperately short supply

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Staffing shortage weighs down Saskatchewan surgery restart

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

The top scientist who leads Saskatchewan's disease modelling work says it is "balderdash," "rubbish," and "untrue" to suggest their models recommended "economically punitive" or "extreme" measures in the summer and fall as politicians have suggested

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Top disease modeller says Sask. projections never called for 'extreme' measures

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

3 years

my COVID-19 research got, uh, a little too personal for my liking this week. happy to say I'm nearly done my quarantine and am almost fully recovered. Vaccines work. If you haven't, get your booster when you can, and stay safe. this thing isn't fun

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Zak Vescera

5 years

every vancouverite: "Hey Zak how's Saskatoon?" "Oh it's gre—" "Must be COLD huh? Haha! Welcome back to the tropics 'bud!'" Then they chug a 33 acres beer, down a couple edibles and withdraw $900 from an atm because they pay their landlord in cash

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Zak Vescera

2 years

For decades, students at a private Saskatoon Christian school say they were abused. They say they and their parents felt powerless to stop it, because the church controlled every part of their lives. I've spent the last two weeks trying to explain how.

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'They tried to tear us apart': How a Saskatoon church with radical ideology controlled students,...

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

2 years

Former students at what is now Legacy Christian Academy say their families were pressured to give money, the proceeds of home sales, farmland and even personal belongings to the church. We got 4 decades worth of financial records and followed some money

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Zak Vescera

3 years

tired: syphilis is on the rise in the prairies because of dating apps wired: syphilis is surging because whole segments of our communities cannot or do not feel safe accessing key health services, a problem deeply intertwined with stigma against people who use drugs

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Saskatchewan's vaccine rollout was the envy of other provinces, until it wasn't. We now has the highest COVID-19 death rate and one of the lowest vaccination rates. I tried to find out why, and it led me to fish derbies, rural towns and a crisis of trust

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COVID-19: Why is Saskatchewan's vaccination rate so low?

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

7 months

This is my last week at The Tyee, and just typing that made me sad. What a joy to work with such wonderful colleagues at such a great newsroom. I'm staying in journalism, and in Vancouver, and I'm very excited for what comes next.

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Zak Vescera

2 years

Days after his sister was killed in the worst stabbing attack in Canadian history, Darryl Burns stood in front of the world and chose to forgive.

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'Trying to hold myself together' says Chief of James Smith Cree Nation after killing rampage

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Shahab has been a familiar face for countless people in this province over the past 19 months. He's always been poised, measured and calm under a lot of pressure. I'll note he got right back up and finished the press briefing, which went well overtime.

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Editorial: Our job is to hold government accountable The StarPhoenix and Leader-Post respond to a government representative telling journalists what questions they could ask earlier this week

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Editorial: Our job is to hold government accountable

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

5 years

one day you're don cherry, the next day you're done, cherry

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Saskatchewan's CMHO Dr. Saqib Shahab is now a COVID-19 close contact after Premier Scott Moe tested positive. Shahab says he'll test himself at days 3, 5 and 7 Makes a point of noting he kept on a KN95 mask throughout yesterday's press conference. Moe removed his several times

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Love gradually watching the next generation of Canadian journalists become completely demoralized

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Zak Vescera

3 years

The Saskatchewan Health Authority is now tapping into the most powerful forces in the province to encourage vaccination 1) Free ice cream (yes, actually), and 2) Saskatoon's disdain for Regina and vice versa

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Today the StarPhoenix is launching Trapped. It is a series about Saskatchewan's toxic drug crisis, the lives it has taken from us and the failures in policy — from housing to health — that have perpetuated the crisis. I'd really like if you read it.

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Why you need to read Trapped: A series exploring Sask.’s deadly overdose crisis

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Today I spoke to two moms whose kids' surgeries were cancelled; someone whose friend is on a waitlist for a liver transplant and a woman who just lost someone to COVID-19. All said some variation of "This didn't have to happen."

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Zak Vescera

3 years

2/3 of Saskatoon's incumbent MPs aren't saying whether they've been vaccinated against COVID-19 I've been reaching out to candidates since last week. Of the three major parties, the Conservatives were the only ones who didn't all respond

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Two Saskatoon incumbent MPs mum on their vaccination status

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

5 years

a suspicious number of PR people have followed me since this tweet

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Zak Vescera

4 years

Instead of posting a picture of my mom, I’ll just say that once a raccoon broke into our house and ate our cats’ food and her immediate concern was whether the raccoon was going hungry and whether it had a supportive family

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Zak Vescera

3 years

A couple people have asked what I asked the Premier today. Here is a (rough) transcript of our exchange on my first question. I later asked him again if he or Shahab acknowledged if reopening in July might have been a mistake, as Dr. Hinshaw said in Alberta

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Zak Vescera

2 years

The government has grown very fond of making these announcements via social media late in the afternoon when reporters have little chance to ask follow up questions or learn more details

@PremierScottMoe

Scott Moe

@PremierScottMoe

2 years

This fall, our government will be sending a $500 affordability cheque to everyone in Saskatchewan aged 18 and older. Here’s why…

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Zak Vescera

5 years

If you ever think you've made a brutal mistake, my copy editor just informed me Instead of "eating a ham sandwich" I put "eating out a ham sandwich" in my draft and now I can never come back to the newsroom

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Zak Vescera

3 years

The Sask. government declined for months to provide this modelling to media. I'm grateful the StarPhoenix has uploaded some full, key presentations to this article for everyone to see. (If you don't cite us, I'll cyberbully you)

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Internal government modelling said Sask. could reduce COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and ICU admissions by as much as 50 per cent with a province-wide mask mandate Gov. is not introducing one. Modelling has us heading to 400-500 cases per day

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Zak Vescera

5 years

Tired: Paris, France Wired: The Paris of the Prairies Some personal news: I start as a reporter at @TheStarPhoenix in Saskatoon next week and I couldn't be more excited

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Premier Scott Moe doesn't believe gatherings restrictions will slow the spread of Omicron based on other jurisdictions I asked whether Sask. residents should trust him or officials urging people to not gather. Moe said: "They should trust themselves."

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Zak Vescera

3 years

in the 4th wave every journalist who starts a tweet with *BREAKING*, NEW or JUST IN has to put $5 in a jar

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Zak Vescera

5 years

Got my first Actual Mailed piece of hate mail today and the cowards didn’t even include a sending address

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

1 year

Almost a year ago, I took on a story for a major Canadian magazine. I did a dozen interviews -- some that were very difficult for sources. Drafts were submitted and returned. Story clocked in around 3,000 words. I haven't heard from them in months. Was never paid.

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Zak Vescera

3 years

I obtained hundreds of pages of presentations to ministers laying out what they were warned of, when. As early as June 15, modellers said numbers could skyrocket in the fall unless vaccination rates climbed. They didn't.

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COVID-19: Why is Saskatchewan's vaccination rate so low?

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

2 years

In spring 2021, Saskatchewan’s health minister said the province’s COVID protocols were “very strong.” In private emails, the province’s top doctor said they were “not enough” and risked the integrity of the health system

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Emails hint at divide between Shahab, government on COVID-19 in 2021

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

10 months

If I was still a student reporter I'd be losing my mind rn. Who is the contractor? Why'd they do this? What did they have to gain? And who figured out where the stickers came from?

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Organ donations in Saskatchewan have been indefinitely suspended because of surging COVID-19 cases This means people who registered to donate will not be able to give that gift, says SHA executive director Lori Garchinski, save for a few procedures Story to come

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Zak Vescera

3 years

The founders of Sask.'s first HIV hospice and the first prenatal home for HIV-positive and at-risk moms in the country were told time and time again they would fail. They didn't, which meant I got to bug them for this profile on Sanctum Care Group

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Bridges: 'Relentless' Sanctum founders give solace in Saskatoon's inner city

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

4 years

Back from vacation with some cool news. I won News Media Canada's Edward Goff Penny Award for young journalists for my work at The @VancouverSun and @TheStarPhoenix Honoured to be recognized. More honoured by my editors, who let me pitch stories I'm truly excited to tell

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Zak Vescera

3 years

I spoke to Premier Scott Moe today about why Sask. is the only province in Canada not clamping down public health measures as Omicron arrives Moe believes most will take precautions *without* being mandated to. Many experts I spoke with disagree

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COVID-19: Moe puts message over mandates as Omicron arrives

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

4 years

i will personally slay covid-19 by myself in gloved-hand-to-gloved-hand combat for what it is has done to big poppa

@RaeElle

Rae Elle

4 years

Big Poppa has been so sad today, I think he miss playing with the kids in the building. He just watches them from the patio

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Some good news: the Sask. Health Authority is setting up on-site immunization clinics in some Saskatoon homeless shelters, some of them this week. This is big news for people who don’t have phones to make a booking or a car to access a drive-thru site.

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'Wonderful gift' of vaccine reaching Saskatoon shelters

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

3 years

In August, modellers also said re-introducing a mask mandate could reduce hospitalizations by as much as 50 per cent. Days later, Premier Scott Moe declined to do that, before eventually re-introducing that requirement in mid-September.

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How the fourth wave of COVID-19 beat Saskatchewan

thestarphoenix.com

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@zakvescera

Zak Vescera

11 months

I've spent nearly two years trying to find documents about why the head of Saskatchewan's health care system mysteriously resigned. I failed, and wrote about it for @CBCSask #cdnfoi

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Sask. Health Authority won't release details on CEO resignation despite privacy commissioner's...

Information and privacy commissioner Ron Kruzeniski found the SHA failed to properly apply the law when it denied CBC Saskatchewan's requests for documents about the departure of Scott Livingstone,...

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Committed a Prairie reporter cardinal sin today when I brought a pen to take notes at an outdoor event in -21 wind chill like an idiot

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Zak Vescera

2 years

It bears repeating: in July 2021, Saskatchewan’s gov was warned by their own disease modelling team that the acute care system would be overwhelmed in the fall unless they acted. and that’s exactly what happened.

@MMandryk

Murray Mandryk

2 years

My column today: Emails reveal Moe, Merriman bungled Covid-19 in 2021 via @leaderpost

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Zak Vescera

2 years

Just spoke with Dr. Shahab, who says residents should consider once again wearing a mask in indoor public places as COVID-19 caseloads, hospitalization rise in SK.

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COVID-19 surges in Saskatchewan; Shahab says to mask up

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

A detail that did not make it into the headline, but that I think does matter: a former laundry room in St. Paul's Hospital is being used as part of the ICU, now, for want of space. (It used to house patients in the past, but still, this is where we're at)

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Modellers also said a "circuit breaker" would be "critical" for maintaining surgical services and reducing mortality in October. Saskatchewan did not do that, contrary to calls from some public health experts.

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Zak Vescera

3 years

they were out of stickers but I got a covid-19 vaccine while listening to "kryptonite" by 3 doors down blaring over the pharmacy loudspeaker and you can never take that from me

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Zak Vescera

5 years

While we're talking about the picture, I hope we can also talk about the culture at Vancouver's private schools The fact that happened less than two decades ago and evidently nobody cared enough to do something is telling

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Zak Vescera

2 years

In 2019, a blogging magnate and a J-school drop-out turned millionaire unveiled a plan to save local news. 250 new reporters; 50 new outlets; 3 years. This week they fired half their editorial staff at their flagship publication. What went wrong:

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A Bold Experiment in Local Journalism Hits the Rocks | The Tyee

Staff cuts at Overstory Media’s flagship raise alarms about its vision for local journalism’s future.

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Zak Vescera

3 years

In Saskatoon, businesses launched an impromptu fundraising drive to a safe drug consumption site open after it was passed over for gov. funding A far cry from the usual story, where business lobbies against these locations

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Saskatoon businesses fundraise to help safe drug consumption site

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

2 years

Preliminary data on "breakthrough" COVID-19 infections in Saskatchewan indicate people who are unvaccinated are 5 times as likely to be hospitalization with the virus compared to those with three shots. They are 10 times more likely to wind up in ICU

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Zak Vescera

1 year

with meta blocking links, I think the only solution is for Canadian news agencies to start printing articles out on paper and then delivering them to homes for a fee

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Zak Vescera

3 years

February 2022 is shaping up to be one of the deadliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic for Saskatchewan. More than 60 deaths reported in the first 12 days and hospitalizations still at a record peak. #skpoli

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COVID-19: Sask death rate doubled in second week of February

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Here is a more detailed dive into the logic Sask. Premier Scott Moe used to declare vaccines don't protect against infection/transmission with Omicron, and why his claims are false. His office says his statements from yesterday stand

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Experts explain why Premier Scott Moe's claims on COVID-19 vaccines are false

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

This makes Saskatchewan the only province in Canada without any kind of gathering restrictions or capacity limits in place.

@StephTaylornews

Stephanie Taylor

@StephTaylornews

3 years

Quebec, Ontario, B.C., and now Manitoba have imposed new COVID-19 restrictions in time for Christmas until the New Year #cdnpoli

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Zak Vescera

2 years

lil scoop: Days after Premier Scott Moe said it was time to end COVID-19 restrictions, the SHA's top brass warned of a continued, worsening and longer peak of people in hospital.

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SHA warned of 'lengthened' COVID wave after Moe said he'd scrap restrictions

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

2 years

A decade ago, Saskatchewan's government pledged to end wait times in emergency rooms. Today, they're worse than they've ever been, with dozens of patients in Saskatoon on a given day unable to find a bed. A short look at what's going wrong

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COVID-19 deepens Saskatchewan's waiting room woes

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

3 years

I think it’s notable that important information like this isn’t reaching us because of a press conference or official release, but from a town hall the SHA organizes for physicians Which begs the question: why isn’t this shared more broadly?

@DennisKendel

Dennis Kendel

3 years

Current situation in Saskatchewan - info from @SaskHealth

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Zak Vescera

4 years

THINGS TO AVOID THIS HALLOWEEN: - big indoor gatherings with friends from different households - Any crowded place where you can't safely keep two metres of distance - Visiting a Swedish cult with your boyfriend and his pals even though your relationship is falling apart

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Zak Vescera

3 years

first saskatchewan winter: sweet god why is that guy wearing shorts second saskatchewan winter: oh, another guy wearing shorts third saskatchewan winter: I am the guy wearing shorts

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Zak Vescera

3 years

@gleocbc Exactly. Government doesn't get to pitch policy on talk radio and not answer any other questions about it

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Zak Vescera

3 years

excited to celebrate that great Saskatchewan reporter tradition of brad wall telling us no, he's not running for the Conservative party leadership and will people please stop asking

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Zak Vescera

3 years

pleased to report that I have become that guy in Vancouver who is like "Saskatoon is awesome, you should visit" but everyone thinks it's a trap

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Zak Vescera

4 years

Was reading through misconduct charges for Sask health staff and found the single most petty move of all time

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Saskatchewan's Premier said COVID-19 gathering limits don't work, aren't worth the social cost and that people should "trust themselves" in the fifth wave Critics say he is undermining faith in his own top doctor and abdicating leadership on the file

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Zak Vescera

4 years

"Racist comments speak more to the people making them than to whom they are directed." - Dr. Saqib Shahab

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Zak Vescera

2 years

budget day is a little bit like Christmas for journalists, only if you worked all Christmas and all your presents were actually just depression

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Zak Vescera

2 years

How bad is Saskatchewan’s HIV crisis? In 2020, we had more than three times as many new cases per capita as the national average. And that year the number of new diagnoses actually dropped (they’ve since rebounded to a record high)

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Zak Vescera

4 years

I've tweeted it before but it cannot be said enough: if you are an epidemiologist, health care worker, or other expert who has taken time to explain elements of this pandemic to an idiot journalist (particularly me), thank you so much.

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Meanwhile: internal documents show the SHA is preparing for a record number of COVID-19 patients in next 2 weeks. They anticipate health care services will be disrupted and warn the peak census of patients *may* exceed the limits of their surge capacity

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Sask. hospitals prepare for surge, anticipate service disruptions

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

2 years

The gist of Saskatchewan's latest weekly COVID-19 report: We're plateauing, but in a bad place. Hospitalizations stuck around 300~. ER visits with COVID-19 symptoms tick back up. And 33 more deaths from Mar. 13 to Mar. 19, an average of nearly 5 a day

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Zak Vescera

3 years

Saskatchewan is ending all its public health restrictions this week. In Saskatoon hospitals, medicine wards are running at 140% capacity. And February is set to be one of the pandemic's deadliest months.

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COVID-19: Sask. reports 37 more deaths, Saskatoon hospitals feeling crunch

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

2 years

small scoop: A private Saskatoon Christian school linked to an abuse scandal is being shut down The Minister of Education revoked its license, supposedly after the director refused to cooperate with a government-appointed administrator

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Christian school in Saskatoon linked to abuse scandal shut down

thestarphoenix.com

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Zak Vescera

5 years

@IndiaGMcAlister Moi: Ça va, c'est un pays bilingue. Vous pourriez passer mon numéro à — Attaché de presse: Was wollen sie? Ich versteht nicht.

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Zak Vescera

5 years

ONE NIGHT STAND: - Leaves you feeling empty - Trashy - Not made of fine mahogany ONE NIGHTSTAND: - Full, probably with good books - Sophisticated - Made of fine, fine mahogany

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Zak Vescera

2 years

Saskatchewan’s deputy medical health officer confirms the province is now seeing a rising number of hospitalization as related to COVID-19, reversing months of decline. Says BA.5 variant the culprit. Detailed Epi report to be released tomorrow

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Zak Vescera

3 years

I spoke with Premier Moe about Shahab's comments. He says he shares his concern for people getting sick and dying and commended Shahab for his work over the course of the pandemic. NDP Leader Ryan Meili added Shahab's words reflect the pain many in health care currently feel

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Zak Vescera

2 years

I'm in Alberta for all of two hours and the damn premier resigns

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Zak Vescera

5 years

@tsmith1211 @twiterlessabe Sounds like the reporter is committed to getting the story right and giving you time for fair comment in spite of pressure from their editor

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Zak Vescera

4 years

My incredibly kind family ordered donuts to the office for my birthday, on the one day in world history when a Saskatchewan newsroom does not want shared office food

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Zak Vescera

4 years

Phoned a clinic today to set up an interview and as soon as I said I was a reporter the receptionist asked if I needed counselling services

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