The Ontario Provincial Police Association has asked the O.P.P. to phase out the state-trooper-style hats which have been a signature of the official garb since 1997. Apparently, the flat, wide brims fare more like a Frisbee when working by passing highway traffic or during a windy day. Extending well beyond the ears, the unwieldy topper also bumps around the cruisers in annoying ways. Basically, too much untimely slapstick for such a dignified uniform. Though......

Forget death and taxes: the one real constant in life is breathy local news coverage of almost any kind of weather. Watching TV news reporters acting bewildered by temperature fluctuations or any amount of precipitation, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the giant dome that has maintained the city's perfect 21° year-round weather for hundreds of years had just broken down, letting sandstorms, radiation, and monsters invade the city from the post-apocalyptic wasteland that......