As summers get hotter, Greece’s seasonal firefighters protest for permanent jobs

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I just ran into the short-haired girl I was crazy in love with back in high school. She wore all black clothes, kind of looked like a guy, but used dark lipstick and dyed her hair different weird colours. She always looked like a scary, powerful woman and she loved to tease me, because I was shy back then.

She was standing there in the sun, and I liked her new look — blue-black hair, dressed in a black suit, hot-looking and powerful as ever! But after we started talking, she suggested we go catch up over a drink and lunch.

After eating and drinking a lot on my tab, she was a bit tipsy and confessed she already has a boyfriend she quite likes, because he doesn’t bow down to her.

To get even, I told her I had a girlfriend, “but that could change.” Then I paid the tab. She finally liked something about me!

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: I started enjoying the company of women in my running group so much that I ran more and more, and dropped 35 pounds over the summer and early fall. And in the summer I became attracted to a bisexual woman in the group.

At first, we claimed we were “doing OK” with the men we married. But now, feelings of all kinds are accelerating between us.

I must say I’ve suspected my husband has had another woman in recent years, but now it doesn’t bother me the same way. I finally understand wanting two people at one time. I tell myself I’m not “cheating” on anybody — because I’m not cheating on my husband with another man. But that’s not even fooling me, anymore. I’m feeling a lot more emotion for my female love interest.

So now what? I don’t want to disrupt my whole family, so should I keep it a secret for everyone’s sake? I must say the female object of my affection isn’t thinking of leaving her husband and family. I could be wrong, but I suspect she’s just having a fun time experimenting.

“Trees don’t matter – we have bigger problems to worry about.”

This is what I read on Facebook after someone posted about the importance of voting for municipal candidates who care about Winnipeg’s trees.

I think everyone can agree that our city has many challenges. But I think what is missing in the narrative about this election is that voting with nature in mind isn’t important just because we love our neighbourhood elm tree or enjoy birdwatching.

Nature — in this case, I am referring to trees, birds and climate change — does not exist in a vacuum. Voting for candidates who value our urban canopy, want to have a bird-friendly city and seek to reduce the impacts of climate change is a key way of solving some of those “bigger problems.” According to a recent Abacus Data poll, Winnipeg has been given a failing grade by residents on transit, street maintenance and parks. Not only this, but one half of Winnipeggers think their city is going in the wrong direction.