Love me, love my Winnipeg: Seems our North End luck is changing

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Winnipeg Free Press archives

Well, my neighbourhood is officially on the upswing. I didn't get this from the latest census data or some sort of poll that is correct within a certain per cent, blah blah blah. I used a very grassroots measurement that is basically irrefutable: an empty can of Lucky. (A full can wouldn't have enabled me to put into words just how prosperous a neighbourhood we had clearly become.)

How does this measure anything you ask? Well, that empty can of Lucky sat there from when I left for work in the morning until I got home at about 11 p.m., in plain sight, on a corner lot. It was finally gone this morning. I debated picking it up yesterday morning as I generally don't appreciate litter on the boulevard, but I didn't have anywhere to put it.

This was a problem even before we made the switch to the wheelie bins. However, before I would have put it next to the auto bin, because I knew it would be spotted. It took me years to train the guys roaming the lanes that my blue box did not contain empties of any other can besides Tahiti Treat and every imaginable form of diet cherry Coke/Mountain Dew/7-up/Fresca (to balance the whopping 200 calories per can in Tahitit Treat!).

So now, with no bin to put it next to, and not wanting to put it in my recycling wheelie cart lest I start to find it strewn about the lane in future treasure hunts, I left it there. Like I said, I'm a corner lot, probably at least 100 people walk past my house daily and it was the only piece of litter in sight -- it was noticeable. But there it sat, all day long. See, clearly on the upswing.

Another sign my neighbourhood is on the upswing? Well, we just passed the one-year-murder-free mark -- 368 days to be exact. I think in the six years I've lived here we've managed a two-year stretch -- fingers crossed we break that record next year.

I'm also extremely disappointed in some of the reporting done at CJOB last week. I woke up listening to the news to learn two things, one of which is correct. First, there had been a stabbing (presumably this is correct). Second, that the 1300 block of Manitoba Avenue, where it happened, is in the North End (this is not correct). The 1300 block of Manitoba is several blocks west of McPhillips Street, the western boundary of the North End.

So, I tweeted CJOB to alert them of their error, and also called them since in their next news update they still hadn't corrected themselves. Now, I don't know if eventually they stopped adding the "North End" part to the news updates, but I know that they never changed the blurb on their website.

On that note, I've actually noticed that the Free Press in particular seems to have changed the format in how they report many things and now most stories seem to say the AAAA-block of Any Street and skip mentioning the neighbourhood altogether. I think this is the way to go. Interested parties can look up a more precise location and neighbourhood, and the general public can (very slowly) learn to stop being afraid of entire areas of their city.

-- follow this blog at http://lovemelovemywinnipeg.blogspot.ca/

WINNIPEG O' MY HEART

Stats worth retweeting

HAVE you guys seen the hilarious Twitter account @Stats_Canada? It's a tongue-in-cheek look at some little-known facts about our great country. I'm not sure who the geniuses are behind it, but they may be involved with CBC's This is That? (Or just working with them?) Anyway, over the last couple months a few of their tweets have caught my eye. For example, did you know that...

-- Last year, 2,213 babies born in Manitoba were named "Winnipeg Jets"

Or that:

-- 16 per cent of people reported missing in Winnipeg are later found driving in endless circles around Osborne Junction

And, not surprisingly:

-- 56 per cent of Manitobans are convinced they've travelled to the future when visiting other provinces.

This account is pretty much solid gold, and guarantees me a couple of laughs every day. Check it out! And in case you're worried that they only make fun of Winnipeg and Manitoba, I assure you all cities and provinces are fair game.

-- follow this blog at http://www.winnipegomyheart.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 30, 2012 A8