• The Guardian reports that polling reveals the three leading parties of Prince Edward Island--the Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens--are too close to call.


• CBC's As It Happens reports on the confusion caused readers by the fact that, one day, the Journal-Pioneer of Summerside had no obituaries.


• More international students studying at UPEI have stayed and found jobs locally on the Island, CBC reports.


• Vacation rentals seem to be cutting significantly into the stock of housing in Charlottetown. CBC reports.


• The small community of Victoria-by-the-Sea has apparently passed effective legislation to discourage vacation rentals and encourage year-round settlement in its housing stock. CBC reports.

• News that lobsters experience pain when lowered into boiling water will have implications for the Island. CBC reports.


• The National Post reports on a Legion hall in Tignish that shamefully refused a Sikh man entry on account of his headdress.


• Happily, shipments of The Globe and Mail's Saturday edition to Prince Edward Island have resumed. CBC goes into detail.


• The Prince Edward Island government has contracted with three companies to grow three million grams of marijuana for local sale. CBC reports.


• The University of Prince Edward Island will be offering a two-year Master's program in tourism. CBC reports.

Wade MacLauchlan, law professor, author, and former president of the University of Prince Edward Island, announced his bid to lead the P.E.I. Liberal Party Friday.

MacLauchlan made the announcement at a news conference in York, just outside of Charlottetown. If he is successful, MacLauchlan will automatically become P.E.I.'s next premier.

Current Liberal premier Robert Ghiz announced on Nov. 13 he would step down pending a leading convention, which has since been scheduled for Feb. 20-21.

MacLauchlan took the stage with the majority of the Liberal caucus standing behind him, including prominent cabinet ministers who were rumoured to be interested in the leadership. Finance and Energy Minister Wes Sheridan, Health Minister Doug Currie, Innovation and Higher Learning Minister Allen Roach, Education Minister Alan McIsaac and Agriculture Minister George Webster were all on the stage.

Transportation Minister Robert Vessey introduced MacLauchlan, and announced his candidacy.

At the University of Prince Edward Island, a student newspaper became one of the first Canadian papers to reprint the incendiary editorial cartoons when it published them in its Wednesday edition.

The drawings were included in 2,000 copies of the UPEI Cadre that were distributed on campus. University administration promptly ordered the papers taken off the stands, however.

Ray Keating, the editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, defended his decision to print the cartoons. He said they were published along with commentary to provide the information people require to make an informed decision.

"We decided that prefaced with our comments, showing the cartoons for what they are was the only way to allow people to have their own opinion on the matter (of) whether they're offensive or not," Keating told CTV Newsnet.

"So many people seemed to be ready to condemn the cartoons and say it was a terrible thing based on the events that were happening in Syria. But most of the people, if not all of the people we spoke to had never seen the cartoons."

The university's administration took a strong stance against the publication of the cartoons, calling it a "reckless move," and defending the decision to pull the newspapers.

"The administration has taken this action on grounds that publication of the caricatures represents a reckless invitation to public disorder and humiliation," said a statement. "The university acknowledges the debates about press freedom and responsibility generated by this matter."

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