Humber's North campus will be shut down and without electricity over much of the Victoria Day weekend.   The Facilities Management office of the college says work is being done to replace 40-year-old cables.  As a result, it says the entire North campus will be closed from 7:00 Saturday morning until 7:00 Monday morning, May 20th.  The North campus buildings, University of Guelph-Humber, the Humber community pool and even Residence buildings will be affected.  The notice says faculty, staff, and students will not be allowed into buildings during the electrical shutdown.

Spencer Wood, Humber's associate director of Maintenance and Operations, says 30 students who live in residence at the North campus are being moved to residence housing at the Lakeshore campus for the weekend.  It's understood about 30 other students have opted to leave for the weekend.

Radio Humber will continue to broadcast on 96-9 on FM Radio, but streaming may be disrupted.

Record Store Day 2013 may have come and gone this past weekend but that isn’t to say it wasn’t a success.

According to MusicWeek.com vinyl sales rose to 60 per cent compared to last year’s Record Store Day, while single sales rose to 20 per cent.

Record shops that participated in the international event were mostly independent music stores and reported that an average customer spent over seventy dollars while others spent hundreds of dollars on the limited edition vinyl.

According to the Official Charts Company, eight of the top 10 vinyl albums were RSD Exclusives.

Spencer Hickman, who is the RSD Coordinator for the UK, told MusicWeek that indie record stores are more than just shops since they have a focus for the passion, the excitement and in the stubborn belief in the power of great music which is the hallmark of the true music fan.

“What was particularly exciting visiting stores on Saturday was to see so many families who had made a day-out of it, and were clearly introducing a whole new generation to the joys of record buying,” said Hickman.

Since most of the records that are sold on RSD are limited edition, some buyers may tend to resell their new purchased vinyl on eBay for a higher price.

Paul Quirk, who is the chairman for the Entertainment Retailers Association, told MusicWeek that record stores have made long strides to restrict the sales to eBay and says that researchers suggest less than 2 per cent of Record Store Day sales ended up on eBay this year.

Quirk says RSD organizers are already talking about restricting further re-sales for RSD 2014.

“I am confident we can continue to reduce the impact of this problem,” said Quirk.     

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced that legendary Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn is the 2013 JUNO Awards Sustainability Ambassador.

Cockburn’s role will help CARAS and the JUNO Awards raise awareness about reducing their carbon footprint.  

 "Bruce Cockburn is a tremendous advocate for environmental awareness and conservation, which make him an ideal candidate to be this year's sustainability ambassador," said Chris Topping, Vice President, Events and Special Programming for CARAS and The JUNO Awards. "Through the combination of our initiatives this year we hope to inspire communities, artists, industry representatives, and others to take action today."

Born in Ottawa, Cockburn, 67, has always raised awareness on many issues throughout his musical career. He continues to protest against unsustainable logging, pollution, native rights, Third World Debt and land mines through organizations such as Amnesty International and The David Suzuki Foundation. 

“The JUNO Awards are a living example of how the power of music connects us and drives positive change,” said Cockburn. “Each year,

they demonstrate their commitment to sustainability through engaging stakeholders, managing resource consumption and waste,

mitigating climate change impacts, and integrating sustainability into purchasing decisions.”

Cockburn is also one of the JUNO Award Canadian artists profiled in The Power of Music: Sustainability and the JUNOS, which is an

exhibit at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.

The interactive exhibit, developed in partnership by CARAS and the RSM, highlights the connection between music and sustainability by featuring the music and personal causes of Cockburn, Sarah Harmer, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Neil Young.

CARAS is a not-for-profit organization designed to preserve and enhance the Canadian music and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of ongoing opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through vehicles such as The JUNO Awards.

The 42nd annual JUNO Awards will take place on Sunday, April 21st. For more information, go to www.junoawards.ca or www.carasonline.ca.

Humber College campus doors are wide open today for the spring Open House!  If you're looking for your post-secondary education program, you can visit between 10:00 in the morning and 2:00 in the afternoon Saturday, April 13th.

There are more than 30 distinct programs in the School of Media Studies and Information Technology.  The school website has details, including which campus offers the specific program:  www.mediastudies.humber.ca

Radio Broadcasting programs are offered at the North Campus, on Humber College Boulevard near Highway 27 and Finch.

Radio Humber students are broadcasting live from the Open House, and offering tours;  LISTEN Live on-air on 96-9FM Radio; online here at radio.humber.ca; or on your mobile device through the TuneIn Radio app.  Radio Humber is everywhere!

Students coming from high school, or without a college or university credential, can apply to the two-year Radio Broadcasting-Diploma program:

http://mediastudies.humber.ca/broadcasting/

Students with a Bachelor's degree can meet students and faculty from the post-graduate Radio Broadcasting program, which runs two semesters and awards an Ontario Post-Graduate Certificate.  The program's own website has more details:

http://www.mediastudies.humber.ca/broadcasting-post-grad/

Canadians are mourning the passing of a musical legend whose gritty lyrics and feisty personality touched generations.  Stompin' Tom Connors was 77.  A representative says Connors died of natural causes.  A public memorial service will be held in Peterborough on March 13th.  Connors leaves more than 60 albums of songs -- 10 have yet to be released.  He wrote about life as he experienced it in communities across Canada from the tobacco fields of Tilsonburg to Sudbury Saturday Night, and his Hockey Song.  He was born in New Brunswick, but spent his childhood in Skinner's Pond, Prince Edward Island..leaving a childhood of foster homes, orphan care, and poverty at the age of 13.

Connors received six Juno Awards, but gave them back in anger, protesting what he felt was an abandonment of Canadian music and a trend to U-S style domination in music.  He was eventually named a Companion of the Order of Canada.  He leaves behind his wife Lena, four children, and grandchildren.  And to Canadians, he leaves this message, posted on his official website on March 6th:

"Hello friends, I want all my fans, past, present, or future, to know that without you, there would have not been any Stompin' Tom."

"It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with it's beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world."

"I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future."

"I humbly thank you all, one last time, for allowing me in your homes, I hope I continue to bring a little bit of cheer into your lives from the work I have done."

Sincerely,

Your Friend always,

Stompin' Tom Connors