A massive explosion at a fireworks warehouse killed two workers Thursday, police said, leaving a huge plume of smoke blanketing an area west of Montreal.

A series of explosions spread from the charred building after the initial blast at B.E.M. Fireworks near Valleyfield, Quebec. Images from the scene showed a building near a major highway completely destroyed.

Provincial police said two bodies were found in the wreckage but they did not identify them.

Nearly two hours after the blast, fireworks could still be heard exploding at the scene of the fire that continued to burn out of control hours after the explosion, according to witnesses.

Local fire chief Stephane Massicotte said since the warehouse was filled with pyrotechnics it was difficult to battle the blaze.

"This caused a huge amount of flames and very intense heat," Massicotte told reporters.

He said 150 firefighters were used to battle the flames, which were under control by early Thursday afternoon. Reporters on the ground also indicated that there were no fire hydrants in the vicinity.

"All of a sudden I heard, boom, boom, bang,'" Mario Cramerstetter said from his office, which is just over a mile (1.6 kilometers) away from the site.

"Initially I thought it was a bulldozer or a tractor but then we saw a big puff smoke. We kept on hearing popping, fireworks going off all the time."

Cramerstetter said it looked like a small building caught fire first and then spread to a larger storage unit.

"We got really, really, really scared," said Ginette Liboiron, who runs a convenience store across a highway overpass.

"I thought my store was falling to the ground. It shook like you can't imagine... We all went outside to see and saw the big, incredible smoke," she said. "It went high up in the air, then it became black, black, black."

Police ordered the surrounding community of Coteau-du-Lac evacuated. A nearby highway was also closed in both directions.

Police also said low traces of metal materials were found in the surrounding area.

Video captured by a news helicopter showed fireworks igniting inside the remnants of the smoldering building.

According to its website, B.E.M. has been designing and manufacturing pyrotechnics and fireworks for 25 years.

Robert Sauve, the mayor of Coteau-du-Lac, said the business has about 20 employees and the owner lives in the community, less than an hour's drive southwest of Montreal.

"This was a very respectable business, and it seems what happened this morning was an accident," he told reporters.

[readon1 url="http://trib.com/news/national/canada/big-explosion-at-quebec-fireworks-factory-kills/article_80948a15-b366-5399-a0a8-2c43600e554f.html"]Source: trib.com[/readon1]

As many as 100,000 people could be forced from their homes by heavy flooding in western Canada, Calgary city officials said, while mudslides forced the closure of the Trans-Canada Highway, isolating the mountain resort towns of Banff and Canmore.

Torrential rains and widespread flooding throughout southern Alberta on Thursday washed out roads and bridges, left at least one person missing and caused cars, couches and refrigerators to float away. Communities just south of Calgary were hit hard.

Officials said the evacuation would take place in stages over the next few days. The province reported that 12 communities were under states of emergency.

One woman who had been stranded on top of a trailer was missing after it was swept away, STARS air ambulance spokesman Cam Heke said.

Motorists who were trapped overnight Wednesday by water spilling over Canada's main western highway had to be rescued by helicopter, Town of Canmore spokeswoman Sally Caudill said.

"I woke up at about three o'clock in morning to the sound of this kind of rumbling, and it was the creek," said Wade Graham, a resident of Canmore. "At first it was just intense, pretty powerful, amazing thing to watch. As daylight came, it just got bigger and bigger and wider and wider, and it's still getting bigger and bigger and wider and wider."

He added, "I watched a refrigerator go by, I watched a shed go by, I watched couches go by. It's insane."

Bruce Burrell, director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, said water levels on the Bow River aren't expected to subside until Saturday afternoon. The Bow River Basin already has been battered with up to 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain.

"Depending on the extent of flooding we experience overnight, there may be areas of the city where people are not going to be able to get into until the weekend," he told a news conference.

In High River, Mounties asked people with motorboats to help rescue at least a dozen stranded homeowners.

"We have people on their rooftops who were unable to evacuate fast enough," said RCMP Sgt. Patricia Neely.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for the affected areas, estimating as much as 100 millimetres more rain could fall in the next two day

[readon1 url="http://trib.com/news/national/canada/flooding-may-force-from-west-canada-homes/article_98b44e10-f44b-5ac3-9dc8-83287384b7c5.html"]Source:trib.com[/readon1]

The Afghan Taliban are ready to free a U.S. army soldier held captive since 2009 in exchange for five of their senior operatives imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay as a conciliatory gesture, a senior spokesman for the group said Thursday.

Spokesman Shaheen Suhail says the Taliban wants to \Spokesman Shaheen Suhail says the Taliban wants to "build bridges of confidence" with the U.S. (Tariq Aziz/Associated Press)

The offer came as an Afghan government spokesman said President Hamid Karzai is now willing to join planned peace talks with the Taliban — provided that the Taliban flag and nameplate are removed from the militant group's newly opened political office in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar. Karzai also wants a formal letter from the United States supporting the Afghan government.

The only known American soldier held captive from the Afghan war is U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho. He disappeared from his base in southeastern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009, and is believed held in Pakistan.

In an exclusive telephone interview with The Associated Press from his Doha office, Taliban spokesman Shaheen Suhail said on Thursday that Bergdahl "is, as far as I know, in good condition."

Suhail did not elaborate on Bergdahl's current whereabouts.

It is not clear, however, if the offer is good with the entire Taliban.

A spokesman, located in Afghanistan, for the militant group "said the offer is not valid," according to freelance reporter Jennifer Glasse.

"This leads to some concerns about who is really speaking for the Taliban," and whether the officials in Qatar "have control," of the organization, Glasse told CBC News on Thursday.

Brian Stewart: Forget the cynics, why the Taliban might just want peace

Bergdahl's parents earlier this month received a letter from their son who turned 27 on March 28 through the International Committee of the Red Cross. They did not release details of the letter but renewed their plea for his release.

The prisoner exchange is the first item on the Taliban's agenda before even opening peace talks, added Suhail, who was first secretary at the Afghan Embassy in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad before the Taliban government's ouster in 2001.

"First has to be the release of detainees,” Sukhail said when asked about Bergdahl. "Yes. It would be an exchange. Then step by step, we want to build bridges of confidence to go forward."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with the Taliban while in Qatar for talks on the Syrian civil war.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with the Taliban while in Qatar for talks on the Syrian civil war. (Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press)

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected in Doha ahead of Saturday's conference on the Syrian civil war.

While in Qatar, Kerry is also expected to meet with the Taliban, who opened their political office earlier this week.

But complications set in almost immediately when Afghan President Hamid Karzai became infuriated by the Taliban's move to cast their new office in Doha as a rival embassy.

The Taliban held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday in which they hoisted their flag and a banner with the name they used while in power more than a decade ago: "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

Later, the Taliban replaced the sign to read simply: "Political office of the Taliban."

Karzai pulled out of the talks and suspended negotiations with the United States on a bilateral security agreement that would cover those U.S. troops who remained behind after the final withdrawal of NATO combat troops at the end of 2014.

Suhail said the Taliban are insistent that they want their first interlocutors to be the United States.

"First we talk to the Americans about those issues concerning the Americans and us and for those issues implementation is only in the hands of the Americans," he said.

"We want foreign troops to be pulled out of Afghanistan," he added. "If there are troops in Afghanistan then there will be a continuation of the war."

[readon1 url="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/06/20/taliban-free-solider-qatar-talks.html"]Source:www.cbc.ca[/readon1]

Look out Vine: Instagram isn't just about sharing arty photos anymore.

On Thursday, the company announced its 130 million monthly users will now be able to shoot and share 15-second videos, dressed up with one of 13 special filters.

The new video feature was made available to all iOS and Android Instagram users around the world Thursday as a free update to the existing Instagram app. The basic look of the app is the same, but a small movie icon has been added that takes you into video mode.

The changes were announced by Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom during a press event at the headquarters of Facebook, which bought Instagram last year.

"It's everything we know and love about Instagram, but it moves," Systrom said.

The video-sharing feature was widely expected and puts Instagram in direct competition with Vine, the popular Twitter-owned app that lets users share looping six-second video clips. Vine has skyrocketed in popularity in the six months since it launched, attracting more than 13 million users. Many of the six-second videos have a unique look and feel, employing fast cuts and stop-motion animations to tell quirky little stories.

Vine, Instagram and the rise of bite-sized video

On Instagram, the videos can be between three and 15 seconds long and include any number of individual video clips. But the coolest feature may come after you shoot the video: 13 brand-new filters, created by an artist specifically for Instagram video. They do the usual tweaks to make video pop, like adding vignettes, upping the contrast and playing with color. There is also an image-stabilization feature to even out shaky videos shot on the go.

For now, videos can only be shot from within the Instagram app, and there is no way to upload existing video from your phone's camera roll.

The 15-second limit was chosen after testing different times, said Systrom, who called it the right balance "between not too short that it constrains your creativity" and not so long that you have to wait a while for a file to upload.

In its two and a half years, Instagram has hosted 16 billion photos, Systrom said. Users post 1 billion likes a day, and 130 million people use the service each month, he said.

Systrom built up to the announcement with some flowery language about the significance of the new product.

"It's a powerful way to learn about new concepts, ideas and causes that move the world forward in a significant way," he said. "It's our collective belief that the world is better off collected and shared permanently."

Not to be outdone, Vine seems to be readying some new features itself. The app's co-founders posted several Vines Wednesday that suggest users will soon have the ability to save drafts, splice bits of multiple Vines together and browse content based on categories and genres.

The video-sharing news is the latest step in Facebook's quest to conquer mobile devices. The company has worked hard to increase revenue from mobile ads, which now make up 30% of the company's ad revenue.

Will you be trying out Instagram's video feature? Share your creation with CNN iReport by shooting a 15-second video on Instagram showing what the first day of summer looks like near you on June 21, and tag it #cnnireport. We'll showcase some of the best, most creative responses on CNN.com later that day.

[readon1 url="http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/20/tech/social-media/instagram-video/index.html"]Source:www.cnn.com[/readon1]

James Gandolfini, the gifted and charismatic actor who, with The Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase, developed the most nuanced, detailed and arguably fascinating television character of all time in the form of mob boss Tony Soprano, has died of a heart attack in Italy.

The actor was reportedly in Sicily to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival and planned to collaborate with Italian director Gabriele Muccino.

Details of his death are scant at the moment, but a source told the New York Daily News that Gandolfini died following a “massive” heart attack.

While Gandolfini became most famous for his three-time Emmy-winning portrayal of Tony Soprano—a mob boss/ family man with deeply-rooted psychological problems, whose strange journey through middle age and the death of the American Century became a dark and DeLillo-esque metaphor for modern American life—the New Jersey native had starred in several memorable roles throughout his career, frequently portraying emotionally complicated heavies in films like True Romance, Get Shorty, The Mexican, The Man Who Wasn’t There, In the Loop, Killing Them Softly and Not Fade Away.

A press-and spotlight-averse man, Gandolfini quietly amassed an incredible career of roles, with Tony Soprano, for better and worse (it’s hard to see him as anything else), looming as the dark star at the center of his character universe. His final role will be in the 2014 film, Animal Rescue.

Gandolfini is survived by his second wife, Deborah Lin, and two children.

Festival organizers Mario Sesti and Tiziana Rocca said instead they would organize a tribute "to celebrate his great achievement and talent."

They said they had heard from Gandolfini a few hours before he died and "he was very happy to receive this award and be able to travel to Italy."

The U.S. Embassy in Rome, which said it had only learned about the death from the media, said it would be available to provide a death certificate and help prepare the body for return to the United States. The embassy said it can often take between four and seven days to arrange for it to be sent outside of Italy.

The embassy spokesman declined further comment, directing inquiries to the family.

[readon1 url="http://screencrave.com/2013-06-19/james-gandolfini-dies-heart-attack-51"]Source:wonderwall.msn.com[/readon1]

A bill that bans the wearing of masks during a riot or unlawful assembly and carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence with a conviction of the offence became law today.

Bill C-309, a private member's bill introduced by Conservative MP Blake Richards in 2011, passed third reading in the Senate on May 23 and was proclaimed law during a royal assent ceremony in the Senate this afternoon.

Richards, MP for Wild Rose, Alta., said the bill is meant to give police an added tool to prevent lawful protests from becoming violent riots, and that it will help police identify people who engage in vandalism or other illegal acts. The bill is something that police, municipal authorities and businesses hit hard by riots in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and other cities in recent years, were asking for, according to Richards.

"The provisions of my bill are effective immediately, which means police officers across Canada now have access to these tools to protect the public from masked rioters," Richards said in a statement being released today.

The bill creates a new Criminal Code offence that makes it illegal to wear a mask or otherwise conceal your identity during a riot or unlawful assembly. Exceptions can be made if someone can prove they have a "lawful excuse" for covering their face such as religious or medical reasons.

The bill originally proposed a penalty of up to five years, but the House of Commons justice committee amended it and doubled the penalty to up to 10 years in prison for committing the offence.

Richards noted in his statement how rare it is for a private member's bill to become law and said that its final passage is the culmination of two years of work and a lot of consultation with police and business owners.

Bill comes into force immediately upon royal assent

"We can all rest easier tonight knowing our communities have been made safer with its passage," said Richards.

The bill didn't have unanimous support, and was opposed by some who are concerned about its effect on freedom of expression and privacy. Critics said the measures are unnecessary because the Criminal Code already includes a section about wearing disguises while committing a crime.

Civil liberties advocates argued the measures could create a chilling effect on free speech and that peaceful protesters can unintentionally find themselves involved in an unlawful assembly. They also noted that there are legitimate reasons for wearing masks at protests; some may be worried about reprisals at work, for example, if sighted at a political protest.

"Any law that infringes upon civil liberties needs to be held to a test of absolute necessity, and I don't think that test has been met in this instance," said Michael Byers, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia and a board member of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, in an interview. Byers testified at the Commons justice committee that studied the bill.

Byers said freedom of expression was not properly factored into the design of the bill and that its measures could deter acts of political expression.

Richards argues that his bill will actually help protect the legitimate right to protest because it will help prevent illegitimate protesters from infiltrating a peaceful event and causing trouble. He also said police told him the existing Criminal Code provision about disguises is more geared toward armed robbery offences and is difficult to apply in protest situations.

In a recent interview, Richards said there is a lot of misunderstanding about his bill and that there will always be people who disagree with it.

He said he is proud to have identified a problem and created a solution. The bill becomes law when it receives royal assent. 

[readon1 url="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/06/19/pol-mask-bill-royal-assent.html"]Source:www.cbc.ca[/readon1]

London (CNN) -- Prince William's wife, Catherine, plans to give birth to their first baby in the same hospital wing where her husband was born to Diana, Princess of Wales, almost 31 years ago, sources familiar with the plans said Wednesday.
The first details of the protocol surrounding the announcement of the birth were revealed as the Duchess of Cambridge enters the final weeks of her pregnancy.

The baby -- which, regardless of gender, will be heir to the British throne -- is expected to arrive in mid-July.
According to sources familiar with the plans, the birth will take place in the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, west London.

The first indication that the baby is on its way will be the announcement to the media that the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to the hospital in the early stages of labor, royal sources told CNN.

The next public announcement is expected to be that of the birth.
It will be made in the form of a formal bulletin, signed by medical staff and rushed in a car with a police escort to Buckingham Palace.

There, the notice will be placed on an easel on the palace forecourt, the royal sources said. This will be the first chance for the nation and those watching around the world to find out whether the new baby is a boy or a girl.

William and Catherine don't know the sex of their baby and want to keep the surprise until it's born, the royal sources said. William's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and other members of both families will be told of the birth before the public knows.

The next announcement will be that the Duchess of Cambridge and her baby are to be discharged from the hospital.
People are already laying bets on what the newest member of the royal family will be named.

Alexandra appears to be the favorite for a girl, with George the favored name for a boy, according to UK betting websites. Diana, Elizabeth and Victoria are also popular choices with punters.

The baby will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William.
Paternity leave

The royal couple will probably present their baby to the world on the same doorstep where a proud Diana and Prince Charles showed off William in 1982.

It's not yet been disclosed where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plan to spend the days and weeks following the birth, the royal sources said.

William, who will turn 31 on Friday, is expected to be given the usual paternity leave of two weeks by the Ministry of Defence, the royal sources said. He will then return to his job as a helicopter search and rescue pilot.
The revelation of the birth details may be cause for some anxiety, given the tragedy that followed Catherine's hospitalization late last year for acute morning sickness.

In that instance, a prank call by an Australian radio station to nursing staff at King Edward VII's Hospital, which sparked a media frenzy after details of Catherine's care were revealed, resulted in a nurse's suicide.

"We would appeal to all members of the media for an appropriate degree of sensitivity, dignity and privacy in their reporting," a royal source said.

"With the events of the King Edward Hospital still strong in our memories, we would expect any media covering the Duchess of Cambridge's hospitalization to ensure that the normal functions of the hospital are not impeded by any media presence."
Champagne on ice?

According to the Lindo Wing website, it has been offering private obstetric and neonatal care for mothers and babies since 1937.
The private wing operates alongside the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which is part of the National Health Service.

"Over the years, we have gained an international reputation for clinical excellence in both obstetric and neonatal medicine which has made us the choice for thousands of mothers. But what really sets us apart is the discreet, traditional, individualised service we provide," the Lindo Wing's online brochure says.

According to the prices listed, a stay in the Lindo Wing doesn't come cheap by comparison with National Health Service care, which is free at the point of delivery.

However, the mother can stay in a room with its own bath or private suite, with a range of facilities and services offered. Among them is "a comprehensive wine list should you wish to enjoy a glass of champagne and toast your baby's arrival."

The care package for the first 24 hours with a normal delivery starts at £4,965 ($7,777), with the price increasing for a larger room or suite, or if a forceps delivery or caesarean section is needed. An additional night's stay costs £900 ($1,400) or more on top of that price.

[readon1 url="http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/19/world/europe/uk-royal-birth-plans/index.html?hpt=wo_c2"]Source:/www.cnn.com[/readon1]

A bogus tabloid story came out this morning that claimed Enrique Iglesias and his girlfriend of 12 years Anna Kournikova were planning to wed soon in a huge blowout wedding with “A-list” celebrity guests like Nicole Scherzinger and Eva Longoria.

Right, because the man who said, “I’ve never really thought marriage would make a difference,” is going to have a Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova "Married" 12 Times Already

We didn’t bat an eyelash at the wedding rumors. Why? Because these two have supposedly gotten “married” and divorced several times in the last 12 years.

June 1, 2003: A news report claimed they were married in secret in the Dominican Republic.

December 16, 2004: Just kidding about that first wedding, they actually got married in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico after Anna was overheard telling fans at a tennis event that they got hitched.

December 11, 2006: The couple host a “Hanukkah party” (didn’t know either of them were Jewish) in reports that continually refer to them as man and wife.

May 27, 2007: Enrique reportedly told a Swedish newspaper that he and Anna are divorced and he was on the prowl for a new GF.

April 19, 2008: Well, that was a short-lived divorce. Now, sources claim Iglesias has been trying to get married to Anna for years and she keeps shooting him down. Does Enrique not know they’ve already been married twice?

June 29, 2008: Enrique himself admitted that he and Anna DID get married then got divorced, but some gossip bloggers reported at the time that he liked to give BS interviews to purposefully throw off the media, so…

September 25, 2009: The couple was spotted shopping at a Cartier shop in Paris, which in Hollywood always means, “engagement ring shopping.”

November 20, 2010: Flash forward a year, and Anna is spotted wearing a giant ring on her engagement finger.

November 30, 2010: Ten days later, those engagement ring rumors turned into full-on “secret wedding” rumors.

April 14, 2011: During a concert in Moscow, Enrique introduces Anna onstage as “my wife Anna.” So they got hitched?

December 26, 2012: Despite the fact that Anna wore an “engagement ring” back in 2010, she is spotted wearing a different “engagement ring” again.

Today: They are reportedly planning an elaborate upcoming wedding. You know, just as elaborate as their previous four weddings.

[readon1 url="http://www.hollyscoop.com/enrique-iglesias/enrique-iglesias-and-anna-kournikova-dodge-marriage-rumors-decade.html"]Source:www.hollyscoop.com [/readon1]

Ireland have been dealt two serious blows ahead of the European team championships in Dublin this weekend.

Hot on the heels of Fonnuala Britton's withdrawal, comes the withdrawal of Mark English.

The double cross country is a big loss to the Irish side as she was expected to win her 5,000 meters title.

Irish team manager Patsy McGonagle also confirmed the withdrawal of Letterkenny's rising prodigy Mark English.

English who is a rising star of the Irish athletics was another team management expected a top three performance from in Dublin.

Tallaght's Anthony Leigho will replace English.

Already missing key members Ciaran O'Lionard and high jumper Deirdre Ryan, the loss of the double European cross country champion adds more woe to the iish tale.

Britton's coach Chris Jones explained "We are cautiously withdrawing Fionnuala from the team due to a chest infection, as one of our premier athletes we are not willing to take any unnecessary risks."

Kerry Harty who was surprisingly over looked in the steeplechase been drafted into replace Britton in the 5,000 meters.

[readon1 url="http://eircomsports.eircom.net/News/britton-out-of-european-team-championships.aspx"]Source:eircomsports.eircom.net[/readon1]

In early April, I wrote a column about Quinn Lessing, an 18-year-old student at Coquitlam’s Pinetree Secondary. He was looking for a car.

Not just any car: He wanted, as he put it, “a hot car that would turn heads,” and he wanted it only for one day.

He wanted to take it to his grad celebration being held Saturday at The Bayshore. He wanted it so he and his date could arrive in style.

So Quinn put an ad on Craigslist. The ad read:

“WANTED: Car for grad.

“I want to use an exotic/ classic/ unique car for one day on my grad. I am willing to demonstrate my driving skills beforehand on my own vehicle (standard or auto), and will keep a video of the entire drive to ensure that I have not been speeding or recklessly driving.

“COMPENSATION:

“I’ll fill up your tank and pay you some money depending on the car, however please do not ask a $5000 deposit and me to take over your lease as I’m a student, not a loaded 25 year old looking for a hot ride.

“This has always been my dream to roll in a beautiful car with a hot girl by my side to grad, give a guy a hand.”

In the days that followed, several readers emailed me asking if I might put them in touch with Quinn. About a dozen offers resulted, some of them bona fide, some of them suspect. One person mused about offering Quinn a Rolls-Royce. It didn’t pan out.

But he did get real offers, including:

• A 1997 BMW Z3 convertible from a woman who wrote that it had “a few scratches on the left front bumper (one put there by my son)” and who would only want as payment that Quinn clean and wax the car (she would supply the wax).

• A 1999 BMW roadster convertible from a man whose son and daughter were both Pinetree graduates, and who asked, in payment, that Quinn volunteer his time for the three-day Golden Spike Days Festival.

• A 2009 BMW “Darth Maul” M3 (a special design model with distinctive black and red colour scheme).

• A 2012 Lexus LS460 luxury sedan.

• A 1966 Beaumont convertible (which would have been my choice).

• A black Corvette ZR1, which the offerer wanted a $650 rental fee for.

• A 2010 427 Mustang convertible.

• And, finally, and most peculiarly, a 2002 Ferrari that the owner had up for sale on Craigslist, and who wrote Quinn that: “I might as well make a few bucks before my car sells. I would need to put it under your insurance. Meaning I would have to gift it to you after you pre-sign a transfer paper for returning the car, as well as signing a statement of our terms. You would have to insure it for the day, which won’t cost very much. I would also need at least 1000$. I prefer 1200$ as you could imagine this is somewhat unorthodox.” Quinn did not take him up on the offer.

Meanwhile, a man named Ian Gillespie had read my column. The 50-year-old Gillespie is a developer. Maybe you have heard of some of his buildings: the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, the Shangri-La, the Woodward’s building. Last year, Vancouver Magazine named him one of the 50 most powerful people in Vancouver.

Quinn’s story cheered him.

“I thought it was just a nice story ... and with so much bad news in the paper, it was a nice change to see. And he seemed like a sweet kid. And the paper was still lying around the house that night, so I showed the story to my son, who’s in Grade 11, and I asked him what he thought about (the idea of lending Quinn a car for the grad), and he said ‘Yeah, I think it’s a really cool thing to do.’”

Gillespie had his executive assistant contact Quinn. She asked Quinn if he would like the use of her boss’s car, for free, no strings attached.

The car? A silver Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, with a top speed of Died And Gone To Heaven.

Quinn said — and I’m paraphrasing, because I wasn’t there, but this is what I like to think his reply was — “Holy Crap, Yes!”

Anyway, he accepted Gillespie’s offer.

Quinn picked the car up on Friday. Since this column was written on Thursday, I have no idea how that went, but I told him he had better not screw this up by getting in an accident before the grad.

“That,” Quinn said, “is all I have heard from everybody I’ve talked to.”

He will set up a dashboard video to record the odometer and speedometer the entire time he has the car, to prove he won’t be going over the speed limit. He and his date will first drive over to a friend’s house for pictures, and then, at 8 p.m., they will drive up to The Bayshore, where Quinn will give his keys to the valet. He hopes to get a picture taken of that momentous occasion.

As for Gillespie:

“I just hope Quinn has fun. He was so cute about taking care of the car.”

Gillespie, by the way, missed his grad.

He was busy that night, he said.

In early April, I wrote a column about Quinn Lessing, an 18-year-old student at Coquitlam’s Pinetree Secondary. He was looking for a car.

Not just any car: He wanted, as he put it, “a hot car that would turn heads,” and he wanted it only for one day.

He wanted to take it to his grad celebration being held Saturday at The Bayshore. He wanted it so he and his date could arrive in style.

So Quinn put an ad on Craigslist. The ad read:

“WANTED: Car for grad.

“I want to use an exotic/ classic/ unique car for one day on my grad. I am willing to demonstrate my driving skills beforehand on my own vehicle (standard or auto), and will keep a video of the entire drive to ensure that I have not been speeding or recklessly driving.

“COMPENSATION:

“I’ll fill up your tank and pay you some money depending on the car, however please do not ask a $5000 deposit and me to take over your lease as I’m a student, not a loaded 25 year old looking for a hot ride.

“This has always been my dream to roll in a beautiful car with a hot girl by my side to grad, give a guy a hand.”

In the days that followed, several readers emailed me asking if I might put them in touch with Quinn. About a dozen offers resulted, some of them bona fide, some of them suspect. One person mused about offering Quinn a Rolls-Royce. It didn’t pan out.

But he did get real offers, including:

• A 1997 BMW Z3 convertible from a woman who wrote that it had “a few scratches on the left front bumper (one put there by my son)” and who would only want as payment that Quinn clean and wax the car (she would supply the wax).

• A 1999 BMW roadster convertible from a man whose son and daughter were both Pinetree graduates, and who asked, in payment, that Quinn volunteer his time for the three-day Golden Spike Days Festival.

• A 2009 BMW “Darth Maul” M3 (a special design model with distinctive black and red colour scheme).

• A 2012 Lexus LS460 luxury sedan.

• A 1966 Beaumont convertible (which would have been my choice).

• A black Corvette ZR1, which the offerer wanted a $650 rental fee for.

• A 2010 427 Mustang convertible.

• And, finally, and most peculiarly, a 2002 Ferrari that the owner had up for sale on Craigslist, and who wrote Quinn that: “I might as well make a few bucks before my car sells. I would need to put it under your insurance. Meaning I would have to gift it to you after you pre-sign a transfer paper for returning the car, as well as signing a statement of our terms. You would have to insure it for the day, which won’t cost very much. I would also need at least 1000$. I prefer 1200$ as you could imagine this is somewhat unorthodox.” Quinn did not take him up on the offer.

Meanwhile, a man named Ian Gillespie had read my column. The 50-year-old Gillespie is a developer. Maybe you have heard of some of his buildings: the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, the Shangri-La, the Woodward’s building. Last year, Vancouver Magazine named him one of the 50 most powerful people in Vancouver.

Quinn’s story cheered him.

“I thought it was just a nice story ... and with so much bad news in the paper, it was a nice change to see. And he seemed like a sweet kid. And the paper was still lying around the house that night, so I showed the story to my son, who’s in Grade 11, and I asked him what he thought about (the idea of lending Quinn a car for the grad), and he said ‘Yeah, I think it’s a really cool thing to do.’”

Gillespie had his executive assistant contact Quinn. She asked Quinn if he would like the use of her boss’s car, for free, no strings attached.

The car? A silver Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, with a top speed of Died And Gone To Heaven.

Quinn said — and I’m paraphrasing, because I wasn’t there, but this is what I like to think his reply was — “Holy Crap, Yes!”

Anyway, he accepted Gillespie’s offer.

Quinn picked the car up on Friday. Since this column was written on Thursday, I have no idea how that went, but I told him he had better not screw this up by getting in an accident before the grad.

“That,” Quinn said, “is all I have heard from everybody I’ve talked to.”

He will set up a dashboard video to record the odometer and speedometer the entire time he has the car, to prove he won’t be going over the speed limit. He and his date will first drive over to a friend’s house for pictures, and then, at 8 p.m., they will drive up to The Bayshore, where Quinn will give his keys to the valet. He hopes to get a picture taken of that momentous occasion.

As for Gillespie:

“I just hope Quinn has fun. He was so cute about taking care of the car.”

Gillespie, by the way, missed his grad.

He was busy that night, he said.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Pete+McMartin+Quinn+Lessing+your+chariot+awaits/8496660/story.html#ixzz2VflxxP9H

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