Pete's Hit and Run Notes

14 May.... Can you feel it? That's the feeling of  a long weekend coming. Doncha love it?  I'll be the one on the Tiki swing in the backyard with the cold one and bowl of S&V chips.  Ah, Springtime !

Here's what I know so far today.....

American Idol viewers continue to dwindle. The 21.8 million who watched last Tuesday's competition was the smallest Tuesday audience for the show in five years.  Another big event, the Survivor finale, was watched by 13 million and didn't crack the Neilsen top 10. And Donny and Marie's Favorite Mom show on Sunday flopped ranking 107^th for the week with just 2.4 million viewers.

Michael Moore is making a sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11, which was a scathing indictment on George W. Bush's handling of the war on terror starting with the September 11^th attacks.  The new film will pick up where that one left off since Bush's popularity started to plummet, the Iraq war continues and the economy falters.  One thing we do know is it won't be a presidential tribute movie, he's got lots of ammunition to load into the film.

We're about to get hit by a sharp increase in the price of Natural Gas to the tune of about 20% starting July 1st.  Enbridge says commodity investment is pushing up the price of gas .  The increase will add about $300 to the average yearly household gas bill.

OPP is conducting a road safety campaign this week leading into the long weekend. They're looking for aggressive drivers, drunk motorists, and those not wearing seatbelts.  Hiway 400 will be a primary focus and the new OPP plane will be circling all the major hiways. 

Britney Spears had yet another minor car bang up yesterday on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills.  She was cruising in her convertible Mercedes when she banged into the back of a Ford Explorer.  Her bodyguard calmed the motorist down, Britney then hopped in the passenger seat and invited the motorist to her gated home so they could exchange information.  I hope she at least put the kettle on to make some tea.

Bylaw enforcement here in Hamilton is about to get some teeth. Your enforcement officials will soon wear uniforms, drive marked cars and some will even wear bulletproof vests. This complete overhaul is in response to a review that found bylaw enforcement was a mismanaged joke here in the city.  Those who flaunt the bylaws will also discover the new strict guidelines when it comes to fines, and response times will be a new priority too.

Avril Lavigne, Feist and Nelly Furtado are among the stars up for Much Music's people's choice awards. They're up for fave Canadian artist, the full list will be announced next week. The trophy hardware will be handed out 15 June.

Playboy magazine is the latest entertainment outlet to post a loss in the first quarter of this year as more and more people get their news, information and entertainment online. They lost 3 million dollars January to March of this year compared with a 1.5 million dollar profit in those months a year ago.