Times changing for downtown blues club

Razed tree canopy leaves Selkirk Avenue stretch noisier, dirtier: resident

Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard sits on her front steps, looking at a row of tree stumps.

Until last fall, Allard would have opened her front door to a lush canopy of mature trees. Now, she has an unobstructed view of a freight terminal — the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard.

Although the residential street is quiet on this August afternoon, the steady beeping of machinery moving shipping containers carries throughout the neighbourhood.

It’s the first summer since Manitoba Hydro cut down 262 mature trees — most of them Siberian elms — along Selkirk Avenue between Keewatin and Railway streets.

City police to resume drug-enforcement crackdown

The Winnipeg Police Service is restarting a drug enforcement campaign in certain neighbourhoods Friday after a 10-day initiative led to more than 100 arrests – eight for drug possession or trafficking – earlier this summer.

Police said the renewed campaign, targeting open drug use and trafficking, will continue into November with an outreach-first approach and improved communication and collaboration with community organizations in response to complaints about the initial crackdown.

Chief Gene Bowers said the three-month campaign will be reassessed in November to determine where it will go from there.

Police said the 10-day initiative, which began June 24 and focused on Main Street near Higgins and Logan avenues, parts of West Broadway and other areas, involved 1,099 officer-generated and related calls for service.

Sea Bears say Allen recovering from nightclub assault

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are preparing for the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoffs without the services of its Most Valuable Player.

The club announced on Tuesday that star guard Teddy Allen has been ruled out for Thursday’s Western Conference semifinal against the Saskatoon Mamba at Canada Life Centre (7:30 p.m.) as he recovers from “significant health injuries” suffered after being assaulted by security staff at a downtown nightclub on Sunday.

“We continue to co-operate with the Winnipeg Police Service on its investigation and have referred them individuals and information based on what has been provided to us from those on the scene,” a statement from the club read.

“What we’ve seen and heard to date leads us to believe that Teddy was the victim of an assault at the hands of security at a downtown nightclub.”

Once hailed as sign of strong bond, U.S. consulate in Winnipeg to close

There was much fanfare when the U.S. government re-established a permanent presence in Winnipeg in April 2001 as it unveiled its consulate and hailed it as a major achievement between two friendly nations.

“It is testimony not only to the importance the U.S. government attaches to our bilateral relationship with Canada but also to the increasing prominence of Winnipeg, Manitoba and the western region of the country in bilateral and multilateral affairs,” said U.S. Ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin at a ceremony with then-premier Gary Doer.

Fast-forward to this week when it was learned the office at Portage and Main is set to close, meaning the U.S. will lose its primary advocate for American business and trade interests in Manitoba.

Dwight MacAulay was chief of protocol for the Manitoba government in 2001, calling it a time of celebration and strength between the countries.

Canad Inns puts Portage Avenue hotel, MET, office building ‘connected campus’ up for sale

Downtown entrepreneurs are watching with wary eyes as a prominent hotel and event centre hits the market.