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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Gossipy bits....
According to Order in Council #198, Todd Scarth, a senior mover-and-shaker in Greg Selinger’s bid for NDP leader, has been rewarded with a full-time post in the Community and Economic Development Committee of cabinet. That sounds like an obscure backroom group of wonks, but actually the CEDC is the most influential policy office in the province. It used to be headed up by Eugene Kostyra, widely seen as the second most powerful guy in the province, next to Gary Doer. Basically every public project you care about goes through CEDC.
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Speaking of projects you care about, Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen was asked yesterday about the city’s rapid transit funding stalemate. He said the province ought to quit micromanaging the city and comply with council’s request to redirect funding to LRT rather than BRT. I agree with him entirely in principle – the city shouldn’t be treated like a pimply-faced teenybopper whose decisions are second-guessed by mommy and daddy. But, I am willing to abandon all my principle for a rapid transit system. And, I suspect McFadyen knows what a total mess his old boss has made of possibly the most important infrastructure project since the floodway. Anyway, McFadyen had a funny little zinger for Selinger: "If he wants to be the mayor of Winnipeg, he should run for mayor. Again."
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• If anyone thinks Winnipeg police are open and transparent, then check out this very helpful notice we got earlier this week. Good thing nobody ever has any questions for police that aren’t covered in four-line press releases.
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About Mary Agnes Welch
Mary Agnes Welch joined the Free Press in 2002, first as a general assignment reporter and then covering city hall and the Manitoba legislature before moving to her current post as public policy reporter.
Before Winnipeg, she worked at the Windsor Star and the Odessa American, a small daily newspaper in West Texas. There, in addition to covering more than 20 counties, she took high school football scores from coaches all over West Texas by phone every Friday night.
Mary Agnes is a graduate of Columbia University’s journalism school, has won several Western Ontario Newspaper Awards and has been part of two teams of reporters nominated for a Michener Award. In 2011, she was nominated for a National Newspaper Award in the beat category. She is also the former national president of the Canadian Association of Journalists.
She once misspelled "Shih Tzu" in the paper and received 37 emails from angry dog-owners.
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