On Today’s Show

The cost of electricity is going down in Ontario for at least the next six weeks.

For the next month and a half, Ontarians will pay off-peak prices for electricity, regardless of the time of day.

The province said the discount will be automatically applied to hydro bills and there is no application process for customers.

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Pie-Zano’s Authentic Italian Pizza, officially closed to customers on Monday night with the intention of reopening on April 6.

After deciding to close, staff started using all of the products they had in stock to make as many pizzas as possible and give local police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and staff at the hospital in Chatham a free dinner.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau started a #PlanetheCurve social media challenge, where they ask Canadian celebrities to encourage people to stay home.  One of the people he tagged was Ryan Reynolds.  So, Ryan posted a video poking fun at the importance of celebrities.

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Dogs have become the thing to have during Spain’s coronavirus lockdown. Why? Walking the dog has become an enviable “get-out-of-jail” card in the country, as almost all other movement in public has been strictly banned. But as you know, dogs need to go outside, and the dogs in Spain seem to be enjoying more walks these days than ever before, as family members quarrel over who gets to leash Rover up next. Some dog owners are even offering to rent theirs out. The subject has sparked a flood of humor on social media, with posts of pups offering themselves at 15 euros a walk, and other dogs supposedly collapsing in exhaustion with captions like: “But you’ve already taken me out 38 times today”.  One man in Northern Spain was caught by police (and on a viral video) dragging a stuffed toy on a leash, and another video shows a man getting ready to “walk” his daughter, who is disguised as a dalmatian.

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ENTERTAINMENT

OPRAH is making STEDMAN stay in the guest house because he was away on business until last Thursday.  She says he was, quote, “late to the party” in understanding how serious the coronavirus pandemic is.

She told him, quote, “You ain’t coming and sleeping in my bed.  Literally . . . he goes, ‘I’m not?’  I go, ‘Oh, no no no no.  It doesn’t work that way.  Have you not been paying attention to the news?’

They still talk . . . from a distance . . . and she leaves meals on his doorstep.  And he’s not upset about his new living arrangement.  Oprah says, quote, “He’s happy to make me safe.”

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TODAY IS……………….

• “Pecan Day”, an annual salute to the only nut tree native to North America. The word comes from Algonquian language, meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack. The proper pronunciation is ‘peh-CAHN’ not ‘PEE-can’.

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

 Six years ago this week, Dierks Bentley was #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “I Hold On,” a song that he says is very personal to him. Dierks explains: [It’s so me. It’s so personal, and yet it’s universal at the same time. You know, these verses are snippets about my life and just things about me, and it’s kind of a song of self-discovery too, you know. Who am I after all these years? What’s important to me? Why do I do certain things that I do? Why do I hold on to certain things that I hold onto? It’s a little bit of me trying to figure out who I am, and then the choruses, it’s who we are as Americans, as a people, as human beings, I guess. There are things that we really value and that we hold on to ‘em really tight – faith, love and freedom. In a way, it’s kind of a love song too

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COVID UPATES

Remember this kid from last week?  Brady Sluder went viral after he did an interview and said he refused to let the crisis interfere with his spring break trip to Miami.  Well, he’s now apologized via Instagram.  He said he’s sorry for his “insensitivity and unawareness.” Adding, quote, “Our generation may feel invincible, like I did when I commented, but we have a responsibility to listen and follow the recommendations in our communities.”

A couple in New York didn’t want to wait to get married. So they stood on the street while a friend officiated from the WINDOW of his fourth-floor apartment.  A few other friends watched from a distance, or from their car.

A company in upstate New York that makes 3-D printers came up with a simple plastic faceguard that hospitals can print out and snap together.  They posted the instructions for free, and they’ve been downloaded thousands of times already.

A store in Denmark has figured out a way to stop hand sanitizer hoarding:  Your first bottle costs $5.75 . . . any additional bottles cost $143.

A guy in France has gone viral for making us feel guilty about not exercising during the pandemic.  He ran a full marathon on the 25-foot balcony of his apartment.  That’s 26.2 miles . . . and it took him six hours and 48 minutes. A video making the rounds features brief clips of him that were shot by his girlfriend and by himself.  You see him running at night and during the day.

Neighbors in Milwaukee put on a bunch of inflatable T-rex costumes and organized a dinosaur parade the other day.  They stayed six feet away at all times, and marched through town to cheer people up.  Especially kids.

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YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPRAY YOUR GROCERIES WITH BLEACH

Do you have to disinfect the food you bring home from the grocery store?

The coronavirus pandemic has people cleaning and disinfecting things more than ever before, but Dr. Tamika Sims, with the International Food Information Council, says, “Yes, there can be a virus transfer risk if someone carrying the virus sneezes onto your produce and within hours you touch it and then immediately eat it—but the chances of this occurring are slim.

Also, using bleach or detergent on anything you plan to eat has some with risks.” Sims says that ingesting any amount of bleach can be a major health hazard, and if you’re concerned just cook, or wash your produce thoroughly with warm water. She adds, “[The] CDC has told us that this virus [breaks down] relatively easily with warm water and with heat.”

You can also rinse canned goods or items in plastic or glass containers if you’re worried, though it’s not clear that these kinds of objects pose a major threat of contagion. Overall, just be careful if you’re using any kind of chemical cleaning agent on food with semi permeable packaging and make sure you don’t get it into your food in general.

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Tips from Astronauts on How to Self-Isolate Without Going Nuts

Who knows more about self-isolating in a dangerous environment than ASTRONAUTS?

Former Space Station commander Chris Hadfield got on YouTube and shared some pointers on how to get through this without going nuts.  And astronaut Scott Kelly shared some great tips too.

1. Do your research, understand the situation, and listen to the experts.  Don’t just be afraid.

2. Follow a schedule.  If we’re in this for the long haul, you don’t want to drift through each day without a plan.  Having some structure really helps.

3. Get outside if you can.  They can’t do it in space, and it’s one of the things they miss most.  If you can’t go outside, just crack a window.  Or try this:  On the Space Station, they play a lot of nature sounds, like birds and trees rustling in the wind.

4. Keep a journal.  NASA has been studying the effects of self-isolation for decades.  And they’ve found it’s one of the best ways to stop cabin fever.

5. Take time to connect with your loved ones.  Video calls with friends and family are HUGE for astronauts.  So take advantage of it, and appreciate how lucky we are it’s even possible to connect online now.

Like Hadfield says, “There’s never been a better time [in history] to self-isolate.”

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BIRTHDAYS

[77] Paul Michael Glaser, actor (‘Starsky’ on “Starsky and Hutch” 1975-79)

[73] (Sir) Elton John sold over 250 million albums & 100 million singles

[55] Sarah Jessica Parker, actress (“Sex & The City: The Movie”)

[38] Danica Patrick, retired auto racing driver/first (and only) woman to win an Indy car race

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Is Your House Currently Cleaner or Messier Than Usual?

There are somewhere around ONE BILLION people isolating themselves in their homes right now around the world . . . maybe more.

That means there’s more potential for a mess around the house . . . but also more potential time to clean it.  So which route are you taking?

According to a new survey, 26% of people say that their house is currently CLEANER than usual.

Only 7% say it’s currently MESSIER than usual.  63% say it’s the same.  

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“Do the Five”: The Five Tips We All Need to Follow to Slow Down the Virus

If you’ve googled “coronavirus tips” recently, you may have seen this.  Google is promoting something called the “Do the Five” campaign to remind people about the main health tips everyone needs to follow to help slow the virus down.

We guarantee you’ve heard all five before.  But the point is for more people to really make them a habit.

1. Wash your hands more often.  At least 20 seconds with hot water and soap.

(Always wash after coughing or sneezing . . . before, during and after you prepare food . . . before eating . . . after using the bathroom . . . after handling animals or animal waste . . . and as a safety precaution when caring for the sick.)

2.  Cough into your elbow.  It’s much better than coughing into your hands.

3. Don’t touch your face.  Especially when you’re out in public.

4. If you do have to go out, try to stay a minimum of three feet away from people.  Six-to-eight feet is even better.

5. Stay home unless you absolutely HAVE to leave the house.  Buying groceries and supplies is okay, but try to limit your trips as much as possible.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 25^TH                                               

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

[77] Paul Michael Glaser, actor (‘Starsky’ on “Starsky and Hutch” 1975-79)

[73] (Sir) Elton John sold over 250 million albums & 100 million singles

[55] Sarah Jessica Parker, actress (“Sex & The City: The Movie”)

[38] Danica Patrick, retired auto racing driver/first (and only) woman to win an Indy car race

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1. The cost of electricity is going down in Ontario for at least the next six weeks.

For the next month and a half, Ontarians will pay off-peak prices for electricity, regardless of the time of day.

The province said the discount will be automatically applied to hydro bills and there is no application process for customers.

Pie-Zano’s Authentic Italian Pizza, officially closed to customers on Monday night with the intention of reopening on April 6.

After deciding to close, staff started using all of the products they had in stock to make as many pizzas as possible and give local police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and staff at the hospital in Chatham a free dinner.

2. Here’s New Jersey’s governor talking about a “knucklehead” who’s facing charges for saying he had the coronavirus and coughing on a grocery store worker.

3. Facebook donates masks, NASA astronaut offers advice on being alone, people in history that invented great things during a plague, Target customers claim their hand sanitizer doesn’t work, and people are eating more and sleeping less.  (From David Spade, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel’s home shows on Tuesday, March 24, 2020)

4. Last night on “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy sang a song about having to take your mom to the prom, in the backyard, due to being quarantined.  (From “The Tonight Show” on Tuesday, March 24, 2020)

LEBRON JAMES HAIR ISSUES

LeBron James posted a video letting us know he and his family are dealing with some hair care issues due to self-quarantining.

Kelsea Ballerini Had a Drone Deliver Her New Album to Fans

KELSEA BALLERINI came up with a pretty good idea to get her new album, “Kelsea”, into the hands of her biggest fans during the age of social distancing.  She had a drone deliver it.  At least one fan got a pizza too.

She sent messages ahead of time, so they’d know something was coming.  She included some of the drone footage in her video of the stunt, which she opened by saying, quote, “We’re getting a little creative with this album . . . drop.”

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BRETT YOUNG SERENADES HIS DAUGHTER WITH ‘SILLY’ SONGS

Brett Young has been using his singing and songwriting skills to calm his infant daughter whenever possible. He makes up what he calls “silly” songs in the moment and never relies on his catalogue of hits. [“My wife wishes that I would sing more of my songs or like, ‘real songs,’ she calls them. I make up little things when she’s crying to try to calm her down, and they’re goofy and they’re silly but they work. And, no, there’s not one song because none of them are actual songs. They’re all in the moment – it’s like, let’s make up some words to a melody that seemed to calm this girl down and so, yeah I do. But it’s all really silly and it’s nothing that will ever make it outside the walls of our house, that’s for sure.”]

Brett is closing in on the end of his self-imposed 14-day quarantine aboard his tour bus parked in his driveway after returning from Europe. He recently serenaded fans with an acoustic version of his latest hit, “Catch,” which he filmed on his bus.

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LIVE STREAMS: JIMMY ALLEN, MATT STELL, LINDSAY ELL, SCOTTY McCREERY 

Live streams from artists are ongoing, many are spontaneous, but here are a few that are scheduled for today and tomorrow:

Starting tonight ( March 25) Matt Stell will host a weekly Instagram Live series, Penned Up, beginning at 9pm ET. Lindsey Ell, Hardy, and Jameson Rodgers will be guests.

Scotty McCreery will do Facebook Live throughout the afternoon beginning at 1pm ET today.

Tomorrow night (March26) Jimmie Allen will perform at 5pm ET. The show will be available on all of his social pages.

Ingrid Andress will be live via Instagram this Friday afternoon to celebrate the rele3ase of her debut album LADY LIKE

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer