I didn't find any articles about this, so I apologize if my understanding is incorrect.

Plant-it was a self-hosted gardening companion platform, similar to HortusFox. It seems that the project used to have a self-hosted backend, and due to development difficulties, they are focusing on the Android app only. If you are looking for a selfhosted option, the recommendation seems to be https://www.hortusfox.com/

Excerpts from the Changelog:

[!CAUTION] Read the following before upgrading the app.

We are thrilled to share some significant changes to our open source app project that will enhance your experience and simplify usage.

TL;DR

The app is now fully focused on the frontend, eliminating the backend. This simplifies installation and development but means the iOS and web versions are discontinued. Users will need to re-enter their data in the new version. Upgrade if you want a better app; iOS/web users should not upgrade.

Background

The previous setup of our project, which included a backend (Spring Boot) and a frontend (Flutter), has proven to be quite error-prone. The majority of issues stemmed from the backend and its complex setup, leading to unnecessary complications in our architecture. This complexity has resulted in errors and slowed down development, making it challenging to deliver a seamless experience.

Key Updates

The app is now fully focused on the frontend, eliminating the need for a backend. This means you can simply install and launch the app on your mobile device without worrying about backend deployment issues. With the codebase now exclusively in Flutter, we can develop and resolve bugs more quickly than ever before. This shift makes the project significantly simpler and more efficient.

Important Changes

While these updates bring many benefits, there are some downsides to consider:

• No More iOS/Web Version: Unfortunately, the iOS and web versions of the app will no longer be available. Although the iOS version was not accessible before, users could install the web app on iOS devices. This option is now discontinued.

• For iOS Users: We understand that some of you may be unhappy with this decision. If you are currently using the app on iOS, we recommend sticking with version 0.10.0. This version will remain available but will not receive further updates.

What Now?

You can download the first release from the release asset. Please note that you will need to re-insert all your data (plants, photos, reminders, etc.), as there is no mechanism to copy the database due to the architectural changes. We welcome your feedback to help us enhance the app further.

Who Should and Should Not Upgrade

If you want a better app and future updates, you should definitely upgrade to the new version. However, if you are an iOS or web user, we recommend that you do not upgrade.

Future Possibilities

We are actively exploring alternatives that may allow us to reintroduce iOS and web support in the future. Stay tuned for updates.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we make these changes. We believe these improvements will lead to a better user experience and a more robust app overall. Happy gardening! 🌱

Hopefully this will help with some of the questions and concerns from last time. IMO, being informed on the details will help people push for the changes they want to see. The linked article has additional links throughout the text that I've copied below, and those links were not captured when I created this post. Please see the CBC link for those, or let me know what I should add to this post.

But what is involuntary care? And how does it work?

Basically, it's care and treatment for people experiencing mental illness so severe that it impacts the safety of themselves or those around them, and they cannot — or will not — be treated voluntarily.

Who qualifies for involuntary care?

According to the province, anyone receiving involuntary treatment must meet a specific set of criteria.

They must have a mental disorder that requires treatment; their disorder impairs their ability to react appropriately to their environment or associate with others; they need care or supervision to prevent substantial mental or physical deterioration, or for the protection of themselves or others; they require treatment in a designated facility; and, the person can't be admitted voluntarily.

How does someone get admitted into involuntary care?

Sometimes, people are brought into the hospital by police if they believe the person is likely to hurt themselves or others.

The Mental Health Act states that the director of a designated involuntary care facility can admit and detain individuals for up to 48 hours for examination and treatment after receiving a medical certificate completed by a physician or nurse practitioner, also known as becoming certified under the act.

How long would they be there?

Individuals in involuntary care can be kept there for one month — or longer if their doctor thinks it's necessary.

Can you challenge certification under the Mental Health Act?

Yes. Such appeals can be made to the Mental Health Review Board.

What treatments are given in involuntary care?

While the Ministry of Health wasn't specific about treatments, it said patients are given individualized care, which can include medications and counselling, as well as making sure patients are getting enough sleep, eating nutritiously and getting physical exercise.

Do people have a choice as to what treatments they receive?

Health Minister Josie Osborne said in an interview with CBC News that individuals in involuntary care do not get that choice. Instead, those choices are made by a team of experts.

The ministry said in an email to CBC News that doctors will include patients when possible, but that involuntary patients may have to take certain medications or receive other types of treatment even if they don't want to.

Can people choose to leave if they've been admitted into involuntary care?

No. Once admitted into involuntary care and certified under the Mental Health Act, a patient is not permitted to leave.

Who cares for people in involuntary care?

Nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians — including psychiatrists — mental health workers and therapists, facility administrators and leaders, and Indigenous and vocational support workers all contribute to caring for involuntary patients.

Who is in charge of overseeing it?

Health authorities oversee facilities that provide involuntary treatment, while individual facility directors are in charge of the facilities.

How is it decided when someone should be released?

When the person no longer meets the criteria under the Mental Health Act, as laid out above, they are discharged from involuntary care.

Is care ongoing once patients have been released?

According to the ministry, ongoing care is explained in a discharge plan and may be provided by family and health-care providers.

What are the issues or concerns with involuntary care?

Advocates have long raised concerns about the efficacy and humanity of involuntary care.

The Canadian Mental Health Association B.C. worries about a reliance on involuntary treatment, when voluntary services "have not kept up with demand."

It has also said there is a lack of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of involuntary treatment for people who have substance-use disorders.

In 2019, a B.C. Ombudsperson report found several inconsistencies with how some facilities document treatments or how they determine a person meets the criteria to be certified.

Who does it benefit?

The province says that involuntary care is designed to protect individuals from harming themselves and others.

As B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke put it in 2019, it can be a "life-saving power" when used properly.

Description from the developer:

Pinepods is a podcast server that’s self hosted. It aims to be a multi-client version of what you might already have on your phone that allows you to listen anywhere. Host pinepods and get a web client, mobile apps, desktop apps, even a CLI app. Your progress syncs between all these. It supports gpodder sync for use with your existing apps if you want (though I’ve put 100 plus hours into the mobile apps and really would appreciate people at least giving them a go) and it has tons of features. Think Notifications on release, smart playlists, multi user, sharing, chapter support, YouTube channel to podcast support. Loads of stuff, and loads more still to come.

With 0.8.0 the mobile apps are now on Google Play and the Apple app stores, and the api has been fully rewritten in rust. It’s a lean mean podcasting machine. And actually the real current version is 0.8.1.

Excerpts from the Changelog:

Introducing PinePods 0.8.0 – The absolute biggest Pinepods release to date. Pinepods mobile clients are officially released! Additionally the backend api has gotten a complete rewrite in rust!

📱 Official Native Mobile App

• Flutter-Based App – Brand new official mobile app built with Flutter for iOS and Android
• Cross-Platform Synchronization – Seamless sync between mobile, web, and other Pinepods clients (More to come on other very soon)
• Offline Support – Download episodes for offline listening with intelligent storage management
• Native Mobile Features – Background playback, lock screen controls, notification management, and mobile-optimized UI
• Professional Distribution – Will be available on both iOS App Store and Google Play Store along with open stores such as f-droid and izzyondroid

The android apk will be attached to the github release. As well as released to the Google Play Store, f-droid, and izzyondroid Shortly after the 0.8.0 release. I need to get this release out in order to get them on the android stores fully.

Links:

iOS App Store

🦀 Complete Rust API Transformation

• Python Elimination – All Python dependencies have been completely removed from the container, resulting in a dramatically smaller and more efficient deployment
• Horust Process Management – Switched from supervisor to Horust for robust, lightweight process supervision and startup management. This is part of removing the python dependency and also utilizes more great rust based dependancies
• Internal Task Scheduler – Background processes now run directly within the Rust API service using tokio-cron-scheduler, eliminating the Celery dependency entirely
• Enhanced Reliability – Background tasks are more reliable with better error handling, automatic retries, and integrated logging
• Streamlined Container – Significantly reduced container size and complexity with the removal of Python runtime and associated dependencies

🔧 Infrastructure & Reliability Improvements

• Horust Service Management – All services now managed by Horust with proper process supervision, automatic restarts, and clean shutdown handling
• Integrated Background Processing – Podcast refresh, nightly maintenance, and cleanup tasks now run as scheduled jobs within the main Rust API service
• Database Operation Reliability – Improved server backup and restore operations with better error handling and validation
• Timezone Configuration – Runtime timezone configuration without container rebuilds, properly affecting all time-sensitive operations
• Simplified Deployment – Reduced container complexity and startup time with streamlined process management

🏗️ Development & Performance

• Pure Rust API – Complete rewrite of the Python API in Rust for improved performance, memory efficiency, and type safety
• Eliminated Dependencies – Removed Python runtime, Celery worker system, and associated packages from the container
• Better Resource Usage – Significantly reduced memory footprint and CPU usage with native Rust performance
• Improved Error Handling – Better error messages, logging, and debugging capabilities throughout the system
• Type Safety – Enhanced reliability through Rust's type system and memory safety guarantees

🐞 General App Fixes and Improvments

• Better Youtube Support – The youtube search api is now embeded in the standard Pinepods Search api. This makes searching Youtube much faster and more consistent.
• Multi-Select Episodes – On the page for any given podcast you can now select and take actions on any given number of episodes. This allows you to mark all episodes of a given podcast as complete in one fell swoop. Arrows also appear on the episodes allowing you to mark all episodes newer or older than a particular episode.
• Playlist Limits – System Playlists are now limited to a max of 1000 episodes. This will take the most relevant 1000 for the playlist.
• Playlist Fixes - Also fixed an issue with the Almost Complete playlist where the completed percentage wasn't working correctly.
• Category Fixes - Categories throughout the app have been improved. Sometimes they would previously show as a strange looking vector. This will no longer occur.
• Premium Feeds - Premium feeds should now be fully functional everywhere.
• Backup/Restore Database - The Backup and Restore functionality has been 100% totally rebuilt. This should fix some issues that it previously had with actually restoring. There's also an option to schedule backups now. So that they run on a regular basis. The restore option will automtically see these backups as options to restore from.
• Subscribed People Fixes - The functionality around subscribed people has gotten some major fixes as well. This should fix numerous bugs related to people subscription
• Match Podcast Index IDs - There's a new option in settings to match a podcast to it's podcast index counterpart. Having this ID correct will allow for more consistent host following.
• Auto Complete Options - There's also been an option added to playback settings in the settings area to auto complete an episode if it gets to a certain amount of seconds to the end of it. For example, you can set it to 30 seconds and if an episode is within 30 seconds of the end it will automatically mark it complete.
• Authenciation options added to NTFY Notifications - The NTFY notification settings now support username and passwords or authentication tokens. These can be skipped entirely still if you have no auth.
• Additional OIDC Settings - Experimental name claim settings added to to OIDC setup area. Name, email, user, roles claim options. As well as admin and user roles have all been added.

🕸️ Website Rebuild

• The Pinepods Website has gotten a complete revamp! It's looking much nicer!
• Many more docs have been written as well. There's documentation for just about every option in Pinepods. If you find something missing please let me know!

Pinepods is a podcast server that’s self hosted. It aims to be a multi-client version of what you might already have on your phone that allows you to listen anywhere. Host pinepods and get a web client, mobile apps, desktop apps, even a CLI app. Your progress syncs between all these. It supports gpodder sync for use with your existing apps if you want (though I’ve put 100 plus hours into the mobile apps and really would appreciate people at least giving them a go) and it has tons of features. Think Notifications on release, smart playlists, multi user, sharing, chapter support, YouTube channel to podcast support. Loads of stuff, and loads more still to come.

With 0.8.0 the mobile apps are now on Google Play and the Apple app stores, and the api has been fully rewritten in rust. It’s a lean mean podcasting machine. And actually the real current version is 0.8.1.

Canada’s mid-sized cities — those with populations between 50,000 to 500,000 — have long been characterized as low-density, dispersed and decentralized. In these cities, cars dominate, public transit is limited and residents prefer the space and privacy of suburban neighbourhoods.

Several mounting issues, ranging from climate change and the housing affordability crisis to the growing infrastructure deficit, are challenging municipalities to rethink this approach.

Cities are adopting growth management strategies that promote density and seek to curtail, rather than encourage, urban sprawl. Key to this is intensification, a strategy that prioritizes adding new housing in existing and mature neighbourhoods instead of outward expansion along the city’s edge.

City centres are often central to intensification strategies, given the abundance of vacant or underused land. Adding more residents supports downtown revitalization efforts, while simultaneously curbing urban sprawl.

Proposals for new or expanded bike lanes are often met with fierce backlash, in a phenomenon dubbed “bikelash,” with car drivers reluctant to lose any street space.

Yet our study finds that the current imbalance of spatial allocation is so overwhelmingly in favour of cars that it’s possible to make substantial improvements to bike infrastructure without significantly decreasing the space allocated per driver.

After all, a key advantage of bicycles is their incredible space-efficiency. Even if all the bike infrastructure space in the city were to double, the proportion of roadway given to cars would not fall below 90 per cent in any borough.

Arc’teryx, a popular Canadian clothing brand based in Vancouver, is being blasted online following an event in China near the Tibetan Plateau.

According to reports from publications like CNN and the BBC, a multi-coloured fireworks display went off at the foothills of the Himalayas, which is what sparked the backlash.

Arc’teryx reportedly collaborated with artist Cai Guo-Qiang for the fireworks display. An official video of the display was later taken down. The blowback is a result of the potential environmental impacts on the Tibetan Plateau, which is a sensitive ecosystem.

Arc’teryx has issued an apology and published it on several of its social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

In its apology, Arc’teryx said that the fireworks display “was out of line with Arc’teryx’s values.”

“We’ve heard your concerns, and we share them,” the popular Canadian clothing brand said on Instagram.

“This event was in direct opposition to our commitment to outdoor spaces, who we are, and who we want to be for our people and our community. We are deeply disappointed that this happened, and apologize, full stop.”

Arc’teryx states that it’s addressing this issue directly with the artist and its local team in China and will make changes to ensure such an incident does not happen again.

The clothing brand also stated that it’s mitigating the environmental and social impacts that this event might have had.

“We are grateful to our community for holding us accountable.”

BBC reported that the artist involved has also apologized for his role in the event.

The wider community hasn’t necessarily received the apology all too well, with a flurry of comments in response, including many in Chinese. Some people suggested that Arc’teryx has blamed the China team.