Red Light, Green Light, No Oversight A Free Press investigation into the City of Winnipeg's transportation division By: Ryan Thorpe Posted: 2:00 PM CST Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022

Red Light, Green Light, No Oversight

Christian Sweryda has spent hundreds of hours cataloguing and tracking the changes to intersections in Winnipeg. His findings point to financial mismanagement in the public works department.

That research is the basis of a Free Press investigative series by Ryan Thorpe: Red Light, Green Light, No Oversight.

Officials say catastrophic base fire was known ahead of time, allowed to burn

Canada's military says a grass fire that killed four soldiers and sent scores more to hospital with bad burns was known well beforehand but not considered a threat.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, says the grass fire was a kilometre away and considered sufficiently under control that training exercises were allowed to continue Saturday afternoon at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in central Alberta.

However, he said conditions — including a violent, sudden windstorm — sent those flames racing over the Prairie landscape at lightning speed, landing right on top of the soldiers.

"This was a very uncommon occurrence," Rutland told a news conference Sunday.

Consumer apprehension grows as US retailers adopt AI-assisted pricing tools

U.S. consumers aren't just frustrated with high prices. They're angry and confused about the increasingly high-tech ways that restaurant chains and major retailers are setting those prices.

Digital price tags are rapidly replacing paper ones in grocery aisles. Artificial intelligence tools help businesses decide what to charge by predicting how customers might respond. Terms like “dynamic pricing” and “surveillance pricing” are stirring anxiety on social media, where users wonder if different people are getting different prices for the same product.

Americans have grown accustomed to changing prices when booking flights, hotel rooms and rides, but the prospect of everyday spending shaped by algorithms they don’t understand and personal data they may not realize they’re sharing has touched a nerve.

“There are major tensions happening right now between who’s really going to have the power with some of these algorithms and usage of bots and AI: the companies or the shopper,” said Katie Thomas, who leads an internal consumer behavior think tank at the management consulting firm Kearney.

Province looks to keep nearly $1M from traffic stop

The RCMP constable could see that Alireza Haghgoo was nervous. The 22-year-old, seated as a passenger in a rental Nissan SUV the Mountie pulled over for speeding outside Brandon in late July, was breathing heavily and tapping his foot constantly.

Movie theatre reopening generates excitement in Selkirk

Selkirk got an extra dose of lights, cameras and action this weekend.

And ribbon cutting — for the grand reopening of the city’s sole theatre.

“It’s fantastic,” Mayor Larry Johannson said. “The sky’s the limit.”

The Garry Theatre now operates under a non-profit charity. It’s been closed since 2021, when Landmark Cinemas left the city.

Manitoba premier offers condolences after CFB Wainwright tragedy

Premier Wab Kinew said Manitoba “stands ready to help in any way we can” and will lower its flags to half-mast after a large fire tore through a Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright, Alta. Saturday, resulting in four confirmed deaths and dozens of serious injuries.

“This is a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones, those who were injured and everyone affected,” Kinew said in a statement Sunday.

“We know there are families waiting for news about their loved ones, and our thoughts are with them, too.”

Kinew said he was in touch with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and federal Defence Minister David McGuinty to offer Manitoba’s assistance and share condolences.