Burger chain Wendy’s looking to test surge pricing at restaurants as early as next year

Sex assault charges against basketball referee stayed

A Winnipeg basketball referee accused of sexual offences involving three men has had criminal charges against him stayed.

Michael Shane Maryk, 45, had been set to stand trial July 20 on five counts of sexual assault and two counts of committing an indecent act, but instead agreed to a one-year peace bond prohibiting him from having any contact with the three men.

Maryk was employed by the Manitoba Association of Basketball Officials at the time the offences were alleged to have occurred.

The peace bond requires that Maryk not come within 200 metres of the men’s homes, schools or places of worship and have no contact with their families.

Fallis’s comic thriller infiltrates book club

The Free Press Book Club and McNally Robinson Booksellers are pleased to welcome Toronto author Terry Fallis to the next virtual meeting on Tuesday, September 29 at 7 p.m. to read from and discuss his novel The Marionette.

Fallis, a former lawyer, bureaucrat and political consultant, is the author of 10 bestselling novels and the two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour (in 2015 for No Relation and in 2008 for The Best Laid Plans, which also won CBC’s Canada Reads in 2011).

His 11th novel, An End In Itself, will be published in November by McClelland & Stewart, who also published The Marionette in October 2025 (and which was also longlisted for the Leacock medal).

The Marionette follows James Norval, bestselling author of a series of thrillers featuring fictional CIA agent Hunter Chase. While in Tajikistan researching his next Hunter Chase novel, Norval is detained by local officials and subsequently freed and ferried away by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

A life's story: ‘Ivor the Driver’ found his calling in the ranching life

Ivor Asham’s family couldn’t have picked a better image to accompany his obituary. There he is, riding Flash, his beloved brown and white quarter horse, a black cowboy hat on his head and a drink in his hand.

Asham owned and operated Birds Hill Park Ranch for nearly 35 years, where he shared his lifelong passion for horses with thousands of visitors. He moved hay, harnessed horses and drove the wagons, introducing himself as “Ivor the Driver.”

Over the years, Asham built a reputation as the quintessential cowboy.

There’s a restaurant at the ranch filled with memorabilia that he collected over the years. Calgary Stampede posters, cowboy boot-shaped shot glasses, a child’s rocking horse, a wagon wheel and numerous photos of legendary actor John Wayne are just some of the items that line the walls.

Burger chain Wendy’s looking to test surge pricing at restaurants as early as next year

Wendy’s is looking to test having the prices of its menu items fluctuate throughout the day based on demand, implementing a strategy that has already taken hold with ride-sharing companies and ticket sellers. During a conference call earlier this month, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said that the Dublin, Ohio-based burger chain will start testing dynamic pricing, also known as surge pricing, as early as next year. “Beginning as early as 2025, we will begin testing more enhanced features like dynamic pricing and daypart offerings, along with AI-enabled menu changes and suggestive selling,” he said. “As we continue to show the […]