Bar scan ban limited, for now

EDMONTON – A privacy commission ruling this week that prohibits an Alberta bar owner from scanning patrons’ drivers licences will not extend to other bars – for at least 50 days.

Fifty days is the time limit for an appeal of the decision, which Paul Vickers of Penny Lane entertainment has already said he will launch.

In Edmonton, Vickers owns Ceili’s Irish Pub on 109th Street and Cowboys Country Saloon on 180th Street.

Past winners to battle for ‘best of Booker’ honour

A battle of the Booker winners is brewing this year, with organizers announcing a “best of” honour to celebrate the award’s 40th anniversary.

Organizers unveiled on Thursday a “Best of the Booker Prize” competition to determine the best novel to have won the prestigious English-language fiction honour since the inaugural trophy was handed out in April 1969.

Personal data on 28,000 schoolchildren stolen

A laptop computer holding a database with personal information on thousands of Newfoundland schoolchildren was among several stolen during a robbery, school officials said Thursday.

The database — with information on 28,000 students, most in the St. John’s area — includes names, addresses, medicare numbers, phone numbers and the names of guardians, the Eastern School District board said.