Royal Albert owner changes management, temporarily pulling plug on live music

Letters, July 27

It would appear to me that Tom Brodbeck and the Free Press suffer from some of the same symptoms of ignoring the trends and facts that inflicts Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives.

Automation reaches new heights on farm

LANGHAM, Sask. — The thousands of farmers from across the Prairies who flock to the annual Ag in Motion show every July seem oblivious to the possibility the technology on display could one day replace many of them.

Families with children in tow, Hutterite colony workers, grandparents and young couples just starting out roamed through the 600 or more exhibitor displays, amazed at how everything about farming just keeps getting bigger, more efficient and increasingly more automated.

It’s now possible to seed using a 100-foot-wide drill — a 12-foot jump over the widest available a few years ago — provided the farmer can afford a tractor with enough horsepower to pull it. Those sell for around $850,000 and up.

Granted, the number of farms with enough acres to justify that kind of width and drawing power is still relatively small, but farms continue to grow. And it’s no secret the number of people who have the interest, skills and financial wherewithal to run them continues to shrink.

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Capricorn.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Parents should keep an eye on their kids. Surprise invitations and romantic encounters might make this an exciting day for you. Do not let your courageous impulses be dampened by parents, authority figures or critics. Believe in yourself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Vacant Bay store on road to redevelopment, St. Vital Centre owner says

Entertainment attractions are coming to fill the former Hudson’s Bay space in St. Vital Centre.

Montreal-based real estate firm Leyad, the south Winnipeg mall’s owner, says it is finalizing an agreement for the vacant property. Further details should appear in the next couple months, said president Henry Zavriyev.

“We’re looking at what other types of experiences we can bring to the mall that aren’t just typical retail,” he said during a visit to Winnipeg this week.

“We want to create an experience where you can just come to the mall, hang out here for hours, no matter if you’re a kid, an adult, a retiree.”

A small step among troubling signs

There’s no getting around the fact — to many people, downtown Winnipeg is unsafe. Period.

Despite its many attractions — from NHL hockey to concerts and performances at venues large and small, from galleries and boutiques to fine restaurants and nightlife — Winnipeg’s core also reveals this city’s most visible and unsettling social problem.

Hundreds of Winnipeg’s marginalized people congregate in the city centre because that’s where the social services agencies and charitable organizations offering support are located. Many in this group are homeless, many also dealing with mental-health issues that can include addictions to alcohol and various illegal drugs.

With this community comes all the attendant issues — from petty vandalism to violence, drug dealing, break-ins and more. Public intoxication, people passed out or sleeping on sidewalks and in doorways. The use of toxic street drugs leads to overdoses or unpredictable behaviour, including aggression and physical violence.