In brief

Kick it to the curb

FOR those looking to do some spring cleaning in the fall, here's your chance.

The City of Winnipeg has organized a day where Winnipeggers can take reusable and unwanted items from their homes and leave them on the curbs of their front streets with a sign that reads "Free." The idea is for others to go through the things and decide whether they want to take something home. The event, which will take place today and Sunday, allows people to get rid of clutter while preventing any unwanted items from ending up in a landfill.

The rules are simple: Keep items that are not to be taken away from those that are and remove leftover items from the curb by dusk on Sunday.

Toilets, items with bed bugs, and items such as baby walkers and lawn darts that are considered to be potentially unsafe are not permitted to be placed by the curb.

Shindico seeks rezoning

A plan to build a 600,000-square-foot commercial development on a 16-hectare plot of land near Winnipeg's western limit faces a major test at council on Tuesday.

Winnipeg developer Shindico is asking the city to rezone agricultural land on Portage Avenue to allow the development of a new mixed-use centre called Westport Festival. The land in question is west of the Perimeter Highway but inside city limits.

Shindico proposes an amended set of zoning rules to apply to the development. One of the changes involves smaller signage, as an earlier request to erect a sign as tall as the Statue of Liberty has been dropped.

Digital-sign rules still out

A new set of rules governing digital signs is coming back to council but still won't be ready for approval.

In July, council's property committee gave city staff more time to complete a package of new regulations governing digital signs. The most significant proposed change involves banning moving images outside of downtown Winnipeg.

Those rules will come before council's property committee on Tuesday, but committee chairman Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said the city will require another two months to finish the package. A plan to generate revenue from the signs is not complete, the councillor explained.

Two men stabbed

Two young men were stabbed early Friday in separate incidents, police reported Friday morning.

A 19-year-old man was stabbed outside the MTS Centre around 1:30 a.m. after several suspects approached him, Patrol Sgt. Monica Stothers said. He was able to make his way home and call police.

At 2:10 a.m., a 20-year-old man was walking in the vicinity of Selkirk Avenue and Charles Street when several males robbed him, stabbing him in the process. He is in stable condition.

Police have no suspects in custody.

Not a massage parlour

The City of Winnipeg may allow holistic medical establishments to be considered a personal-service provider and not a massage parlour.

On Monday, council's downtown development committee will consider a licensing change that would allow holistic medical establishments that offer massage services to avoid the trouble of obtaining a massage-parlour licence.

If approved, the change would require a holistic medical establishment to present the city with "evidence of certification or membership with a recognized professional body that provides appropriate oversight," a report to council states.

Market gets grants

The St. Norbert Farmers' Market will be able to make improvements to the market site after receiving $250,000 worth of grants.

Market president Phil Veldhuis made the funding announcement to 300 guests Thursday evening at Farmers' Feast, an annual outdoor celebration of local food.

The grant money, which came about through a large project called Drainage Inside the Dike, will be used to improve groundwater drainage at the market site, as current drainage issues have left both vendors and visitors of the market splashing in big puddles on rainy days.

The list of funders includes the province, the city, the Winnipeg Foundation and a number of community partners.

The improvements are expected to be made in spring 2013.

-- staff

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 8, 2012 A13