What’s happening today
WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESThe emergency room at the Health Sciences Centre will feature a minor treatment area with seven new stretcher spaces and two new secure interview rooms.
Wait is over: The overdue report from the province’s Wait Times Reduction Task Force is being released at a 12:30 p.m. news conference. The document will reveal how long patients are waiting for emergency care and some medical procedures. Reporter Jane Gerster will be there.
City suggests detour: The Arlington Bridge will be closed to southbound traffic for several hours today as the city repairs lighting. The lane will be closed from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., and motorists are advised to use alternate routes such as the McPhillips Street underpass or Slaw Rebchuk Bridge.
Deja vu vote: The U.S. Senate has passed what some are calling the most sweeping tax-reform legislation in a generation. The House of Representatives is expected to re-vote this morning after the Senate had to amend part of the bill because of a procedural error. READ MORE
Weather
Your forecast: You’d better bundle up today. There will be a high of -15 C and a wind chill of -31, and it will be increasingly cloudy, with a 30 per cent chance of flurries and wind from the northeast at 20 km/h in the afternoon.
In case you missed it
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, FileRide-hailing service insurance rates could change in the future, depending on MPI’s claims experience, which will reflect the number of collisions the vehicles are involved in, MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said Tuesday.
MPI proposes plan: Manitoba Public Insurance submitted an application to the Public Utilities Board last week that would see Uber and Lyft drivers pay less than cabbies but up to 20 per cent more than regular drivers. Maggie Macintosh reports. READ MORE
Meeting with mayor: City hall reporter Aldo Santin sat down with Mayor Brian Bowman on Tuesday for a year-end interview. Bowman, who has fought plenty of battles in 2017, still won’t say whether he plans to run for re-election. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban blocks the path of Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele (55) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Wild win: The Jets beat the Predators in Nashville 6-4 last night as Brandon Tanev scored the winning goal with less than 1:30 remaining in the third period. The Jets had lost six straight road games. Mike Sawatzky reports. READ MORE
Trending now
#Edible80sSongs: Get a taste of nostalgia with such hits as “Another One Bites the Crust,” “Total Eclair Of The Heart,” “Sweet Dreams are Made of Cheese” and “Raspberry Parfait.”
On this date
On Dec. 20, 1951: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that manufacturing production in Manitoba reached an all-time high of $596,000,000 in 1951, with a bigger boom expected in the coming year. The federal trade minister declared that inflation was being curbed. Winnipeg’s power commission met behind closed doors with Manitoba hydro-electric officials to discuss the city’s role in the province’s proposal for public ownership of power. Winnipeg’s “Rooster Town” area was described as a place dominated by rough shacks where residents lacked running water and the nearest pump was roughly a mile away. READ MORE
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